Wicomico County Board of Education reports enrollment surge, Beaver Run expansion and budget request; COVID retainage poses short-term cash issue

Leaders of Wicomico County Public Schools updated the county council at the April 15 work session on multiple topics: gift-card purchasing controls, a two-classroom addition at Beaver Run Elementary, an enrollment surge and changing student demographics, a COVID-grant retainage the district expects to cover short-term, and the district’s FY26 funding request (maintenance of effort plus a proposed 2 percent reinvestment).

Gift cards: The superintendent reported that Wicomico County Public Schools revised procurement procedures after a 2014 Department of Legislative Services audit to restrict the purchase of gift cards with board funds for employees. Under the district’s current procedure, gift cards may not be purchased as gifts, awards or incentives for employees with board funds; they may be purchased when used as awards or incentives for students, and the district uses a gift-card validation form to track requests, purchases and distribution. The district said that in FY24 there were 179 gift-card purchases recorded; all were for students (not employees) and the purchases came primarily from state funding for PBIS/attendance incentives, school activity funds, grants, or donated cards.

Beaver Run addition and pre-K: The district said it has roughly $2 million remaining from…