Superintendent proposes FY26 budget holding county request at $164 million; plans use of fund balance to avoid layoffs

Superintendent Dr. Townsville presented the Calvert County Public Schools proposed fiscal year 2026 operating budget at a board meeting, saying, “This budget is more than just numbers.” The proposal holds the district’s county appropriation at $164,000,000, the same amount received in the current fiscal year, and relies on prior-year savings and a planned $9,500,000 use of fund balance to cover increased costs while avoiding staff reductions.

The proposal matters because the district faces recurring cost pressures — wage increases from the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, rising starting teacher pay, and the exhaustion of federal ESSER funds — that the superintendent said the district intends to absorb without asking the county for additional funding. “We are not asking for an increase from the county, not a dollar more than what we are receiving in the current fiscal year,” Dr. Townsville told the board, and he repeated that the proposed plan will result in “no staff reductions.”

Under the proposal, the district’s expenditures are estimated to rise by roughly $9,000,000, a 3.4% increase the superintendent said is slightly above the December-to-December Consumer Price Index change of 2.9%. The budget presentation listed key cost drivers: a higher teacher starting salary (now $61,000, up from $54,000 a year earlier), $10,000 bonuses tied to national board certification, career-ladder increases required by the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, and the end of one-time ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) funding that had covered summer school, digital licenses and some devices.

Dr. Townsville described the district’s plan to fill the gap without asking the county for more money: use $6,000,000 in underspending from fiscal year 2024, an estimated $3,000,000 underspend from fiscal year 2025, projected interest earnings, and a $9,500,000 planned fund-balance drawdown. He also said the district froze some hiring and eliminated some positions during the FY24 budget crisis, citing the prior-year cut of about $22,500,000 that required a spending freeze and position eliminations.

The superintendent outlined a multi-step timeline: the board will hold director-level briefings on Feb. 13 and additional tentative meetings if needed; public written comment on the proposed FY26 budget is open through Feb. 24, 2025 (submitted via the Board of Education facilitator email or by mail to the Board office); the chief financial officer will submit the board’s proposed budget to Calvert County government on March 1, 2025; and the Board of Education is scheduled to adopt the FY26 operating budget by June 12, 2025.

Board members used their comments to reiterate priorities they want the budget to reflect: recruiting and retaining staff, honoring collective bargaining agreements with the Calvert Association of Education Support Staff, Calvert Education Association, and the Calvert Association of School Administrators, school safety measures (including dedicated SROs and safety advocates), additional GATE (Gifted and Talented Education) resource teachers in every elementary school, expanded in-school interventions, and professional development for all staff. Board member Marchio praised the Career Technology Academy’s work; Harrison said the board is “asking questions ad nauseam” as staff refine the numbers; and board member Goshorn urged the board to prioritize staff culture, safety and equitable pay structures.

Public comment at the meeting included an appeal from Megan Jeffries, who asked the board to fund a full-time GATE resource teacher at every elementary school. Jeffries said the Maryland State Advisory Council on Gifted and Talented Education emphasizes early primary talent development and argued a dedicated GATE resource teacher at each elementary school would help both gifted and advanced learners and assist classroom teachers with differentiation.

The superintendent emphasized that much of the district’s spending is for personnel: salary and wages make up the majority of the budget and two items account for roughly 86.5% of costs, the presentation said. Dr. Townsville noted that the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future has created new recurring obligations — career-ladder increases and a higher teacher starting salary among them — and that the end of ESSER funds removes a prior source that had covered summer programming and digital resources.

The presentation cited district academic achievements and extracurricular successes as context for the budget request: the superintendent listed state assessment rankings, national recognitions and athletic and arts accomplishments as part of the rationale for maintaining current program levels while absorbing new costs.

Board members and the superintendent acknowledged the budget remains a work in progress. The superintendent said staff will continue to meet regularly with Calvert County officials on funding and that the district will continue using 0-based budgeting practices to evaluate priorities. The board did not take any formal vote on the budget at this meeting.

A routine motion to adjourn was made and seconded later in the meeting and was recorded as approved; no further business was taken up after adjournment.