Board approves $1.02M in school grant appropriations, including literacy and math awards

The Caroline County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved county appropriation of four education grants and a state SOQ bonus totaling $1,017,147, formalizing budget authority so the school division can match revenues and expenditures before the fiscal year end.

Marsha Stevens, chief operations officer for Caroline County Public Schools, presented details for the awards: a $219,604 comprehensive literacy grant for Bowling Green Elementary and Caroline Middle School focused on evidence‑based literacy instruction and professional learning; a $44,974 Bowling Green school improvement grant tied to Orton‑Gillingham instructional materials; a $251,952 math innovation implementation grant to support competency‑based learning in math; and a $36,172 math acceleration grant to expand secondary math credentialing. In addition, the state issued a FY26 SOQ bonus of $464,445 (with a required local match noted in the schools’ existing budget).

Stevens told the board the grants generally do not require new local dollars this year; where local funding was used earlier in the fiscal year and replaced by grant reimbursements, the local amounts revert to the division’s operating balance and would be reported in future budget documents.

A motion to appropriate the amounts into county accounts "as documented in the May 12 board packet" carried on a voice vote after board members discussed timing and the school division agreed to provide accounting updates and program reporting on request.

Supervisor Long moved the appropriation; Supervisor Black seconded. The motion carried by voice vote.