Carroll County hears extended public pleas as Blueprint fiscal shortfall imperils classroom staffing

Carroll County commissioners spent more than an hour hearing from dozens of parents, educators and former school leaders on March 6 as the county and school system try to resolve a large shortfall tied to Maryland’s Blueprint for Education.

Parents and local advocates pressed the board to find county money to prevent proposed cuts that school leaders say would create larger classes, reduce specialists and harm student services. ‘‘You guys are sitting on a $69,500,000 windfall that we could use to fund the $57,000,000,’’ said Joshua Hyde, a parent who opened the public-comment block, citing the county’s reported unassigned fund balance.

The board heard a formal presentation from Carroll County Public Schools Superintendent Cindy McCabe and Assistant/Chief John O’Neil. McCabe said the board of education’s FY26 request asks the county for $13 million to cover operating needs and an additional $44 million to reach 50% fiscal compliance under Blueprint. O’Neil outlined the arithmetic behind the request: about $9.3 million in new ongoing revenue is expected, $12.9 million in inflationary or baseline expenditure increases was identified, and roughly $33 million was noted as the third-year obligation on some collective-bargaining salary packages — producing a systemwide gap the school described as acute.

The superintendent and staff stressed that the Blueprint formula ties state and local shares to school-level staffing tiers. That means additional funding must be applied across the system’s formula-driven categories rather than being spent only at individual schools. ‘‘If we increased FY26 funding, we would have to adjust the staffing ratios across the system so the relief is distributed, not targeted to a single school,’’ O’Neil said.

Residents gave specific local examples of the consequences if the county does not act: Sharon Wilhide, a 15-year special-education teacher and parent, said some classrooms already exceed 30 students and warned, ‘‘Children cannot learn in a class of 42 students.’’ Several speakers said proposed changes would push parents to consider leaving the county and could depress property values.

Commissioners said they are actively engaging state officials, the Accountability Implementation Board and the county’s delegation in Annapolis to seek waivers, adjustments or timing changes to ease the county’s transition. Commissioners and school staff repeatedly explained a legal and fiscal limit: using large amounts of one-time fund balance to cover ongoing Blueprint obligations can increase the county’s maintenance-of-effort baseline and create an unsustainable recurring obligation.

Several commissioners described fiscal trade-offs in clear terms: using fund balance for recurring expenses would be risky and could produce the same shortfall next year if the state does not change the formula or share more of the cost.

What happens next: commissioners said they will continue to press state officials for relief while the county’s budget review process continues. The school system said its detailed fiscal-compliance work product and the presentation slides will remain available on the district website for residents seeking further detail.

The board took no formal appropriation on March 6; the session concluded with staff and elected officials agreeing to continue both local budget deliberations and state advocacy.