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Charles County Board unanimously approves $555M FY27 budget after cuts and use of fund balance
Summary
The Charles County Board of Education unanimously approved a $555 million FY2027 budget that relies on $10.2 million of assigned fund balance and reductions including 47 teaching positions and six central office roles, while officials said new county and state one-time funds and mandates leave limited flexibility.
The Board of Education of Charles County voted unanimously June 9 to adopt the fiscal year 2027 budget, approving a $555,000,005.32 plan that district officials said balances a 4.9% overall funding increase with difficult cuts and the use of assigned fund balance.
Karen Acton, identified in the meeting as Miss Acton and the district's chief financial officer, told the board the district will receive about $26 million in combined new funding — including $13.5 million in additional county funding (which includes a one-time county contribution for security upgrades) and roughly $12.5 million from the state. Acton said mandatory cost pressures for FY27 include a $4.3 million health-care increase, roughly $2 million for transportation and $5 million for special education.
"None of those mandatory cost increases are enough to plug the holes that we have in those budget lines," Acton said, describing planned reductions of six central office positions and 47 teaching positions, a $1 million reduction in tuition/proximity funding, and a 50% cut to the OPEB contribution as measures used to close the gap. She said the adopted budget allocates $10.2 million of fund balance to balance FY27 and noted the district's current unassigned fund balance sits around $16 million until year‑end closeout.
Board members pressed staff for context. Miss Butler Washington urged the district to submit a budget that fully reflects the costs of running Charles County Public Schools, saying "when you put everything in the bucket, what happens is if they come back with a decrease, we get what we want." Vice Chair Thomas and others highlighted falling enrollment as a structural revenue pressure and cited the state's Blueprint funding rules that constrain how state dollars may be used.
Acton said some of the county's additional funds are explicitly one‑time and will not count toward maintenance-of-effort (MOE). She told trustees the budget assumes salaries at 98% of the needed level and that much of the district's spending remains committed to staff, which makes reallocations constrained.
After discussion the board's motion to approve the FY27 budget was moved by Miss Butler Washington, seconded by Vice Chair Thomas, and approved unanimously.
What's next: Board and staff said fiscal subcommittee work and public outreach will continue through the summer and into the fall as the district makes implementation choices and prepares to close the FY26 year. Officials warned that if the district cannot replenish fund balance, further difficult decisions will be required for future years.
