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Queen Anne’s County board adopts $172.4 million FY2027 budget, restores 19 positions
Summary
The Queen Anne’s County Board of Education on June 17 adopted a $172,417,713 fiscal year 2027 budget that adds 19 positions focused on student supports and mental/behavioral health, directs roughly $300,000 toward pre-K support, and raises several hourly staff wages.
The Queen Anne’s County Board of Education voted on June 17 to adopt a $172,417,713 fiscal year 2027 budget that board and district officials said restores personnel and preserves school services while adding targeted supports for students.
Chief Financial Officer Rob Watkins told the board the budget book bundles operations, restricted funds, capital projects and food service and reflects a recent $500,000 county allocation and other adjustments. "The budget book represents $172,417,713," Watkins said during his presentation. He said the additions allowed the district to add "19 positions back to our budget to support student achievement, mental health, and behavioral health." Watkins also said the district set aside roughly $300,000 for early-learning pre-K supports, with final staffing models to be decided before the start of school.
Board members discussed tradeoffs between reducing class sizes and targeted interventions. An administrator described the district’s calculation: the new funding — about $1.4–$1.5 million in net new money after insurance savings and county support — could fund roughly 13–14 additional classroom teachers but that the board and leadership chose to prioritize specialists and small-group supports to extend interventions across the district.
The approved budget also includes modest hourly-wage increases and other staff supports: the district raised the hourly wage for some part-time paraprofessionals and food-service and custodian positions to $18 per hour and increased certain para wages from $17.20 to $19.30 per hour, officials said. The package added $50,000 for course reimbursement, restored funds for a teacher-mentor program and procured a five-year contract for the Signs of Suicide program.
Board members voted to adopt the full FY27 budget (operations, restricted, capital improvements and food service) in a single vote. A board member praised the presentation: "Your budget books are easy to read. They're transparent," the member said to Watkins.
What’s next: district leaders said they will finalize staffing for the early-learning allocation in the coming weeks so positions are in place by the beginning of the school year. The board scheduled its next regular meeting for July 8, 2026, when other items on the calendar will be considered.
