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Baltimore County board approves budget reallocation, supplemental appropriation and adds ERP oversight steps
Summary
The Board approved a budget appropriation transfer (BAT) and a supplemental appropriation that reallocated funds to cover ERP project needs and special education; members pressed staff for ERP cost accounting and voted to add audit scope and projected hours to the FY27 internal audit work plan.
The Board of Education of Baltimore County voted Tuesday to approve an annual budget appropriation transfer and a supplemental appropriation that together reassign existing dollars across spending categories while keeping the total funding level unchanged.
Finance staff presented before the vote, saying the BAT moves funds among activities to cover post‑adoption compensation changes while minimizing impacts to instructional salaries. They said most of the supplemental dollars will now appear to pay for the ERP (enterprise resource planning) project and special education needs but emphasized the aggregate amount remained the same after the reallocation.
Board members pressed staff for clearer breakdowns. "So where are we with what was budgeted versus the actual amount for ERP?" asked Board Member (Miss Frempong), who requested a full accounting of ERP expenditures to date. Finance staff replied that roughly $5.5 million in the supplemental was in addition to previously budgeted ERP funds and that part of that amount reflected vendor changes and timing shifts; staff said they would follow up with a more detailed accounting.
Questions about other budget lines followed. A board member asked why field‑trip funds are transferred into private bus operations; staff explained that schools collect field‑trip funds and transportation contracts are used when district buses are unavailable.
After discussion the board approved the BAT by roll call and then approved the supplemental appropriation by roll call.
During related business the board considered the internal audit work plan for fiscal 2027. Internal audit director Ms. Barr explained the FY27 plan focuses on controls, data migration and payroll operations tied to the ERP implementation and added projects on payroll operations and benefits. Board members asked whether the planned audits would examine financial risks tied to ERP spending as well as operational performance.
The board voted to amend the internal audit work plan to (1) add an audit area to evaluate the process for identifying students who need special education services and (2) include projected/budgeted hours for each audit area so the board can assess resource allocation. The amended work plan was then approved.
The board will receive the requested ERP expenditure breakdown and the internal audit said it tracks hours by project and can provide projected and actual hours to the board.
Next steps: staff said the county council will receive the supplemental appropriation for its required approval and the internal audit team will return information on hours and ERP spending as requested.
