Board members and staff reviewed the superintendent's FY27 operating proposal, which shows a roughly $10.4 million gap between projected revenues and proposed expenditures. Trustees debated cutting 15 teacher positions, ending Outdoor School (about $1.4M), trimming device purchases (~$1M first‑year savings) and asking commissioners for about $5–5.6M more.
During public comment nine speakers asked trustees to avoid cuts to Outdoor School, music and athletics and to fully fund the recently ratified bargaining agreement; several urged the board to ask county commissioners for more funding rather than make deep program cuts.
Carroll County Public Schools staff told the Board of Education that FY27 faces a likely $10–15 million operating shortfall driven mainly by employee compensation and inflation, and presented a menu of potential ongoing savings including eliminating outdoor school ($1.1M), reducing bus capacity ($750k), trimming extracurriculars ($2.6M) and cutting elementary music ($1.2M). The board asked for more granular breakdowns and another meeting after the governors January budget.
District staff told the Board that removing 7–10 buses and shifting to a fourth bus tier could save about $750,000 annually but would require major start‑time shifts, expanded walking radii and increased crossing‑guard needs; board members and parents raised safety and equity concerns and asked staff to produce prior reports for review.
The board voted to raise the construction change-order approval limit from $50,000 to $200,000, approved monthly bid awards, confirmed two administrative appointments and routine personnel actions, and tabled the immigration-enforcement policy for markup following public comment.
Dozens of parents, educators and advocates urged the Carroll County Board of Education to require judicial warrants, remove "exigent circumstances" language and strengthen on-campus protections after staff presented a state-required immigration-enforcement policy. The board accepted sheriff and counsel edits and tabled the policy to publish a marked-up version for public comment.
A protracted election with repeated ties and multiple roll-call rounds ended Dec. 10 with Steve Whistler elected board president and Pat Dorsey vice president. The process included repeated nominations, abstentions, recesses, and a final roll call that produced a 3–2 outcome.
District staff told the Carroll County Board that the APA consultants' accounting-based 'base model' for blueprint should reduce severe staffing shifts anticipated last year but will still require some adjustments. The superintendent and CFO warned the district's unassigned fund balance is at a minimum and presented a menu of possible reductions to cover FY27 shortfalls.
School leaders recounted about $40 million in cuts over the past decade, said enrollment decline cost the district roughly $16 million in state aid, and presented early FY27 revenue and expenditure projections; staff said consultant accounting methods and a state waiver have reduced the scale of cuts under consideration.
Finance staff told the board that Sept. 30 enrollment fell about 437 students to just under 25,200, affecting FY27 state funding calculations; targeted per-pupil amounts under Marylands Blueprint shifted (pre-K up notably) and board members expressed concern about restricted program funding and overall budget growth.
