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College of Southern Maryland tells commissioners it faces $2.2M state funding gap, requests county support for new aviation program
Summary
CSM CFO Patrick Sheridan told commissioners a two-year state funding shortfall of about $2.2 million and asked St. Mary's County for maintenance-of-effort support and help with a $1.6M start-up for an aviation maintenance program.
Patrick Sheridan, chief financial officer of the College of Southern Maryland, told St. Mary's County commissioners that the college has seen multi-year state funding reductions that total roughly $2.2 million over two years and that the governor's proposed FY27 changes create an additional gap the college is asking counties to help close.
"State funding over the last few years has created tremendous stress on the CSM budget," Sheridan said. He outlined reductions of $787,000 in FY25 and $551,000 in FY26 and said the governor's FY27 proposal would add roughly $896,000 in new shortfalls, bringing the two-year total to about $2.2 million.
Sheridan described an aviation maintenance associate-degree program the college is planning for the region and said initial recruitment and enrollment for the fall 2027 cohort will require about $1.6 million to prepare facilities and recruit students. He said the college secured roughly $1 million in federal funds to help start the program but still needs local support for renovation and readiness while CSM pursues FAA approval.
Sheridan also explained the college's maintenance-of-effort calculations, which include programmatic growth and facility investments, and provided enrollment and dual-enrollment counts for St. Mary's County (about 2,086 credit students in FY25 and 402 dual-enrolled high school students). He told the board the college has $11.5 million in endowment and $17.7 million in foundation assets, but noted many donor funds are restricted to specific programs and cannot be used for general operating shortfalls.
Commissioners asked about tuition, which Sheridan said will remain flat at $140 per credit for in-county residents for the third consecutive year, and about how CSM uses fund balance and foundation funds to offset requests. Commissioners did not vote on county contributions at the session but directed staff to include the college's needs in upcoming recommended budgets and to evaluate maintenance-of-effort calculations as part of the budget model.
Sheridan's presentation and the board's questions will be part of the county administrator's recommended budget process ahead of formal public hearings.
