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Residents, educators urge Cumberland supervisors to fully fund FY2027 school request at public hearing
Summary
At a lengthy public hearing on April 14, Cumberland County residents and educators urged the Board of Supervisors to fully fund the school division’s FY2027 budget request, warning that flat funding risks losing $1.1 million in state matching aid and would force cuts to programs, staff and transportation services.
The Cumberland County Board of Supervisors opened a public hearing on the recommended FY2027 budget and tax rates on April 14 and heard more than a dozen speakers pressing the board to provide the school division’s full local match to preserve state aid and avoid program cuts.
“Nate Lang, a teacher and parent, told the board, “The future of Cumberland County begins and ends in that school,” arguing that modest additional local investment would sustain career-and-technical programs that keep graduates working locally. Several speakers, including teachers and parents, warned that ‘flat funding’ operates as a cut because rising costs and reduced grants will shrink services; one school representative said the district faces a potential shortfall of about $1,100,000 if the local match is not provided.
Public commenters described pressing operational needs tied to transportation: multiple speakers said the bus maintenance facility is unsafe and inadequate for a modern fleet and urged the board to prioritize repairs or a new bus garage. Luke Fleischman, a retired educator who toured the garage, said mechanics work outdoors under a canopy, “It cannot even house a bus,” and called the condition a safety and recruitment problem for vehicle technicians.
County staff had presented a status-quo budget that keeps current tax rates and proposes a 2% across-the-board pay increase, full county-paid health insurance with a 7.2% premium rise, the use of $1.85 million in rollover funds and a capital item limited to the elementary school roof. The county administrator said the recommended general fund revenues and proposed total budget are intended to maintain services without changing the levy, but noted the recommended budget does not include requested increases for several departments (DSS, CSA, volunteer fire funding, animal control vehicle requests) and that some capital items will depend on grant funding.
Board members acknowledged the public testimony and asked staff to examine facility options, including potentially repurposing an existing county “shell” building for bus garage and CTE space. The board left the public hearing record open through April 21 and invited written comments to the deputy clerk.
