Cecil County Public Schools presents FY26 budget with class‑size pressures and state funding uncertainty

Dr. Lawson, superintendent of Cecil County Public Schools, opened the Jan. 2 budget work session by placing the FY26 numbers in context: "For me, this is my 7th budget as superintendent and 15th as a leadership team member." He and business staff outlined a requested operating budget that includes large increases in salaries and fixed charges and depends in part on one‑time fund balance use.

The board was told the system’s official enrollment count on Sept. 30 was 14,853 students and that per‑pupil spending in Cecil County remains far below the state average. Dr. Lawson said the district is about "$26,100 below the state average" on a per‑pupil basis, and that gap represents "upwards of $35, $36,000,000" in aggregate for the district’s students.

Why this matters: the presentation tied rising needs — more students with disabilities, more students eligible for free and reduced meals, and a sharp rise in multilingual learners — to greater staffing and program costs. School leaders warned those needs, together with larger average class sizes, are increasing instructional risk for struggling students.

Key budget details and context

- Staffing and positions: Dr. Hamer, representing Education Services staff, reported the district currently supports roughly 14,966 students and summarized the district’s staffing mix. He said the district added positions midyear from fund balance and other sources; staff later quantified about 82.4 total positions in the FY26 request and noted that roughly 73 positions were added since the start of FY25 (examples include kindergarten paraprofessionals, student support technicians, four pre‑K classrooms staffed with teachers and paraprofessionals, a JROTC position at Elkton High School and four technology positions for cybersecurity). The presentation stressed that many added positions are support staff rather than classroom teachers.

- Class sizes: Board members were shown that secondary classes of more than 25 students rose from 418 in school year 2021–22 to 526 in the current year, and that grades 3–5 classes with more than 25 students rose from 2 to 39 over the same period. Dr. Lawson emphasized the effect on students who are struggling: larger classes can "completely" allow a student who is meek to be overlooked.

- State funding uncertainty: presenters repeatedly qualified FY26 numbers as "based on current law," and warned that pending legislative action in Annapolis could reduce amounts the district expects. Dr. Lawson and business staff called out two potential disruptors: a proposed pause or reduction in the collaborative planning time line item (which they estimated would reduce foundation funding by roughly $2.3 million) and the prospect of county responsibility for a portion of public‑school pension costs (roughly $1.5 million). Staff said those changes alone could remove roughly $4.2 million of a $7.1 million state increase the district currently shows in preliminary state workbook figures.

- Blueprint and local share: presenters described how the Maryland Blueprint for Excellence drives many new, targeted state dollars (for example, concentration‑of‑poverty funds) but also imposes restrictions on how those funds can be spent. The district noted the concentration‑of‑poverty increase appears to add about $1.9 million but that those dollars are restricted to specified services (community school advisers, nurses and wraparound services) and "will have no impact on class sizes or instruction" in general.

- Fund balance and one‑time items: staff said the FY25 budget required using the district’s unassigned fund balance to balance operations and that the FY26 request again assumes using roughly $6.1 million of fund balance. The presentation itemized prior one‑time uses (prepaid expenditures, contingency, capital and health‑care reserves) and emphasized several program restorations and technology and cybersecurity hires that were paid from fund balance during the current year.

- Special education, early childhood and contracted services: the presentation highlighted a near‑term increase in special education contracted services, nonpublic placements and related services (an area staff said totals in the several millions). Staff also described an early‑childhood funding shift: money that previously flowed through the district to private pre‑K providers will move directly from county/state to those providers, reducing the district’s early‑childhood line by about $325,000 while the county/state continue the program.

What the board directed next

Board members were told the leadership team will provide a line‑by‑line backup packet to the board within a week and reconvene for a more detailed work session on Feb. 4. Staff repeatedly asked for questions and said the budget numbers shown are subject to change if Annapolis enacts legislation or if the county executive proposes different local funding levels.

Ending: The budget presentation closed with staff warning that, even under the worksheet numbers the district received from the state, large salary and fixed‑charge increases (staff estimated roughly $8 million just for those categories) mean the system will face substantial pressure and will depend on county funding choices and pending state legislative outcomes.