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Worcester County commissioners split over full funding for school system’s $11.1 million supplemental request
Summary
Worcester County commissioners failed to pass a motion to fully fund the Board of Education’s supplemental FY27 request (about $11.1 million), after hours of debate over pre-K seats, health‑insurance and retirement costs, and an ongoing forensic audit. The board will take the county’s questions to its Thursday meeting.
Worcester County commissioners ended a lengthy budget work session without approving the Board of Education’s supplemental FY27 funding request after several motions to add about $11.1 million failed on recorded votes.
The dispute centered on whether County funding should cover negotiated salary and contractor increases, health‑insurance and OPEB costs, and several program priorities including pre‑K expansions that rely on an $800,000 grant. Commissioners exchanged multiple motions and amendments; the largest funding motion did not carry during the session.
Superintendent (speaker 15) told the commissioners she would recommend that the board accept county funding “should the whole package of it be awarded,” and warned that cutting pre‑K seats could force the district to lose grant dollars and eliminate programs in Ocean City and Pocomoke. “I come to you as an expert in the field... I did not ask for anything that was frivolous or extra,” she said, asking commissioners to avoid purchasing decisions “because of a question mark.”
Commissioner Fiore (speaker 10) argued for preserving the superintendent’s priorities as essential to school safety and student supports, saying the elementary schools face “critical” staffing and behavioral challenges and urging colleagues to visit classrooms before making cuts. Other commissioners urged caution because of a pending forensic audit of the Board of Education’s finances; several said they wanted the audit results or a clear county offset before approving large additions to the county budget.
Board and county staff clarified the interaction between state aid and the county contribution: the Board’s $11.3 million request, they said, does not deduct the projected $1.4 million in state aid, which would reduce the county portion. Commissioners asked the Board to return a specific county number to its Thursday meeting so the Board could act with a firm figure.
After debate and a series of show-of‑hands votes, commissioners did not reach the majority needed to adopt the larger supplemental allocations; multiple attempts to pass amended figures failed in the session. The superintendent said the Board will meet Thursday to consider the county’s signal number and to finalize its own budget actions.
What’s next: commissioners have until June 2 to adopt the county budget and may reconvene for additional work sessions. The Board of Education will review the funding guidance the county provides at its upcoming Thursday meeting.
