DLS briefing: Southern Maryland to receive $686.5M in FY27 state aid, but health department cuts and college caps create local shortfalls
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Summary
A Department of Legislative Services briefing showed Calvert, Charles and St. Mary27s counties would receive a combined $686.5 million in FY27 state aid under the governor27s proposal, while proposed community college caps and rebased health-department formulas would reduce some local funding.
Arnold Arju, senior policy analyst with Maryland27s Department of Legislative Services, told the Southern Maryland delegation that Calvert, Charles and St. Mary27s counties would receive a combined $686,500,000 in state aid in fiscal 2027 under the governor27s proposed budget.
"Calvert, Charles, and Saint Mary's Counties will receive a combined $686,500,000 in state aid in fiscal 2027," Arju said, explaining that about $619,000,000 of that is direct aid that flows to local governments and school systems and $67,500,000 covers retirement contributions paid directly by the state.
Arju said K-12 education makes up the largest share of state aid and that per-capita distributions vary across the state; he noted Charles County is near the statewide average while Calvert and St. Mary27s rank below the average. He also identified a range of specific grants and capital allocations, including program open-space dollars and a Calvert Pines Senior Center renovation grant.
Arju highlighted year-over-year changes where public school funding is driving increases but local health departments face reductions. He said the three local health departments would see a combined reduction of approximately $1,700,000 as the formula was rebased after budget language enacted in 2025 limited supplemental salary adjustments.
Arju then described three governor-proposed changes directly affecting the delegation27s counties: a revised enrollment count for free and reduced-price meals that would increase statewide funding by $228,400,000 (with Charles County receiving roughly $2.5 million above statutory amounts under the revision); a provision capping community college year-over-year increases at 3% that would reduce College of Southern Maryland funding by about $900,000 in FY27; and a proposal to shift 50% of statewide retirement-payment increases for teachers, community college faculty and librarians to local governments, collectively adding about $2.4 million in retirement costs for the three counties if enacted.
During follow-up, Senator Ellis asked whether state-allocated funds to the College of Southern Maryland are tracked to ensure county-specific benefit. Hiram Burch of DLS explained the state sends funds directly to the regional college and that DLS allocates a county-level proxy in its report based on student residency/enrollment, but confirmed the state money flows to the college and is not held separately by county governments.
Arju27s report and a six-page summary were distributed to delegation members for review and follow-up.
