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Commissioners direct staff to model reduced school increase, debate SROs and teacher compensation
Summary
The board asked staff to prepare a recommended budget that models a 3% increase for the Board of Education, debated resource officers and school security, and heard the school system describe negotiated compensation costs of about $3.5 million so far.
St. Mary’s County commissioners spent a major portion of their March 19 budget work session on school funding, school security and teacher compensation, asking staff to model a reduced Board of Education request while debating whether to add more school resource officers (SROs).
School-system representative Dr. Martirano reported a memorandum outlining current negotiations: the total negotiated cost to date across bargaining groups is about $3.5 million. He told commissioners the approximate planning factors staff used were about $1.2 million for a COLA (cost-of-living adjustment) and roughly $2.4 million for steps when applied across all employee groups; the memo also referenced a proposed $800 one-time stipend for employees at top-of-grade who cannot receive a step.
Commissioners discussed different growth targets for the Board of Education. Staff showed that reducing the board’s request from the originally requested level to a 5% increase required a $2,193,322 reduction; commissioners directed staff to model an even smaller 3% scenario for the Board of Education so the board can see the fiscal impact. Staff estimated each 1-percentage-point reduction for the Board of Education is roughly $800,000 and that changing BOE funding from 5% to 3% would free about $1.6 million for the public‑hearing reserve in the recommended budget.
School security drew extended debate. Commissioners and school representatives said the county currently has SRO coverage in the three high schools and in parts of the middle-school system. Some commissioners urged a cautious, evidence‑based approach: several suggested pausing new SRO hires for elementary schools and directing a task force and experts to review needs and options (including private security models) before committing to more hires. Others pressed for immediate additions to middle-school coverage.
After discussion the board reached a practical outcome for the draft budget: commissioners agreed to keep the existing SRO presence, to approve adding two additional resource officers for middle‑school coverage, and to defer further new SRO hires for elementary schools until a security study and joint school/county plan is completed. Commissioners also asked county and school staff to provide comparative information about security models used by other districts and the legal differences between sworn deputies and private contractors.
Commissioners emphasized they remain split on final funding levels and that the recommended budget will return next week with the board’s directed scenarios and the school-system compensation calculations for further review.
