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Caroline County schools present FY27 budget with $1.8'$1.9M gap if county support isn't added
Summary
Superintendent Dr. Sarah Calveric presented Caroline County Public Schools's FY2026'27 operational budget, seeking a 3% salary increase and $1.7M in special-education contracted services. State revenues rise ~ $2M, but the division reports a $1.8'$1.9 million budget gap without additional county funding.
Dr. Sarah Calveric, superintendent of Caroline County Public Schools, presented the division's adopted FY2026'27 operational budget to the Board of Supervisors on Feb. 10, outlining priorities and an estimated funding shortfall.
The proposed budget includes a 3% salary increase (inclusive of step increases) for all staff, an approximately $1.7 million increase for contracted special-education services, and new positions in literacy, career and technical education (CTE), behavior support and general education. School officials said projected state revenues are expected to increase by roughly $2 million, while the Local Composite Index decreased modestly to 0.3478.
School officials told the Board that, absent additional county support, the FY27 budget gap stands at about $1.8'$1.9 million. Board members asked for additional detail on how state compensation funding is applied, comparisons of support-staff pay to neighboring localities, and a breakdown of the projected $2 million in state revenue increases.
The budget presentation emphasized the district's staffing and service needs, particularly for special-education contracted services, which account for the largest single increase noted by school staff. The school division's Chief Operations Officer Marcia Stevens and School Board Chair Lydell Fortune joined Calveric in answering supervisory questions.
No formal county funding decision was made at the meeting. The presentation concludes that the Board will need to consider the budget gap during upcoming budget deliberations and public hearings on the county budget process.
The school division provided the adopted operational budget to the Board on Feb. 10; next procedural steps are county staff analysis and subsequent budget hearings before any appropriation or tax-rate decisions.
