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Caroline County schools report FY25 closeout; board approves revised operating budget
Summary
School officials told commissioners state changes to pre-K payments reduced county revenue by $580,000 while interest and other sources offset some losses; the board approved a revised FY25 operating budget after questions about instructional salaries and categorical overages.
School system officials told the Caroline County Board of Commissioners on Dec. 2 that the district closed FY25 with several categorical adjustments and an overall surplus. Dr. Simmons and Miss Hignutt said the county received about $580,000 less in state revenue because the state paid participating private pre-K providers directly rather than routing the funds through the county. ‘‘The state ended up just paying them,’’ Miss Hignutt said.
Officials also reported roughly $684,000 in higher-than-expected other revenues (largely interest income), restricted revenues about $1.6 million below budget because restricted grant revenues must equal related expenditures, and line-item overages in operation of plant, maintenance, fixed charges and capital outlay. Hignutt said capital outlays were higher primarily because of consultant costs for a locker-room project, year-end purchases and payoff of a sports services center lease. Despite those overages, she said overall revenues exceeded expenditures by about $1.2 million.
Commissioners questioned the drop in state pre-K funding and differences between instructional-salary numbers and instructional-cost totals. Commissioner Porter asked how private providers qualified for direct payments; the presenters said participation in the state Blueprint pre-K program requires certain quality ratings and other conditions. On instructional salaries, staff said unfilled positions and year-end staffing changes are common reasons budget-to-actual variances.
After discussion, the board moved and approved the revised FY25 operating budget for the school system by voice vote.
