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Board flags state cuts to Blueprint programs and community supports; district weighs local backfill options
Summary
District staff told the board the governor's proposed budget delays collaborative planning, reduces Transitional Supplemental Instruction funding by about $2 million statewide and would freeze community school expansions; the board discussed possible local backfill and program prioritization.
Anne Arundel County Public Schools staff told the board at a Jan. 21 workshop that proposed state changes to Blueprint funding and related supports could reduce services for students and non-profit partners and prompt district efforts to backfill critical programs.
"This is a $2,000,000 hit," Matt Stanski, chief financial officer, said of the governor's proposed reduction to Transitional Supplemental Instruction (TSI) tutoring funding. TSI provides targeted K–3 tutoring aimed at accelerating early literacy. Stanski said the district views early reading intervention as a high priority and would seek to backfill the loss if the state reduction is enacted.
Stanski also told the board the governor’s proposal delays the collaborative planning time requirement by four years and limits additions to the Concentration of Poverty (community schools) program: under the proposal the state would fully fund the program in FY26 but freeze additions and per-pupil growth for FY27 and FY28. Separately, Stanski said a proposed statewide $90 million reduction in the consortium grants that fund nonprofit mental-health partners could reduce services that students receive through outside organizations.
Why it matters: the proposed changes affect services targeted at high-need students—early tutoring, community-school wraparound services and nonprofit mental-health consortia. Board members pressed staff about program effects and asked what the district would prioritize if the state reduces funding.
On possible responses, district staff outlined options including requesting county funding to backfill specific items (Stanski said the district would seek to preserve early reading investments) and considering internal amendments to the budget request. The workshop included a proposed $12.6 million school-support line intended to backfill much of the TSI reduction and preserve early reading staff if needed.
Board members, including Miss McFarland and Dr. Tobin, warned that cuts to community supports and TSI would compound inequities and urged vigorous advocacy with state and county officials. “It is a huge mistake,” Dr. Tobin said, describing a freeze to community-school funding that reduces services over multiple years.
Ending: district leadership said they will seek clarifying information from the state, prepare possible county backfill scenarios and return with recommended amendments or priorities for the board to consider before the Feb. 19 budget vote.
