Charles County school leaders present aggressive FY2026 operating budget request as state funding shifts loom

Superintendent Dr. Navarro and Chief Financial Officer Karen Acton presented the Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) proposed fiscal year 2025–2026 operating budget at the board's January work session, outlining an estimated enrollment increase, proposed staffing additions and a county funding request of $25.3 million.

The budget materials presented by Karen Acton, CCPS chief financial officer, show full-time-equivalent enrollment expected to reach 27,370 in FY2026, up from 27,005 in the current year. Acton told the board the school system is asking for roughly $7 million in increased state support based on preliminary Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) allocations and a county funding increase of about $25.3 million, which the presentation characterized as an 11% rise from the current fiscal year. Acton summarized the total revenue request as “about $31.7 million,” or a 6.3% overall increase, based on those preliminary numbers.

Why it matters: Board members pressed presenters on where the district would cut or shift funds if the state’s figures change. Superintendent Dr. Navarro warned the board that a recently proposed state bill, the “Excellence in Maryland Public Schools Act,” could redirect or repurpose dollars that the budget currently counts as available, and said the district may need to make multiple adjustments depending on Annapolis’s final actions. “The blueprint is law and it has the funding already committed in law,” Navarro said, adding that proposed state-level changes would require legislative fixes and could increase pressure on local budgets.

Key revenue and enrollment details - Enrollment: CCPS projected FY2026 FTE of 27,370 (present year 27,005). - Preliminary state funding increase: about…