SMCPS Budget Cuts
Add’l $1M in FY26, More Likely Next Year
Budget impacts at the local, state, and federal levels were reviewed during the Board of Education’s (BOE) April 9th meeting. This year’s outlook isn’t as bad as originally thought, but coming years may prove to be more difficult. Tammy McCourt, Deputy Superintendent of Fiscal and Supporting Services, provided the Board and Superintendent with refined estimates of state budget impacts. But McCourt began by explaining local effects of the Trump Administration’s push to downsize and eliminate the Department of Education (DOE).
McCourt noted direction received from Linda McMahon, Secretary of Education, and the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) “strongly encourag[ing] a pause to additional expenditures” funded through COVID Relief legislation. A memo issued by McMahon on March 28 stipulated any money spent after that date may not be reimbursed by the DOE. The Elementary and Secondary School Education Relief (ESSER) Funds from Congress were designated to address learning loss, social-emotional needs, and create safe learning environments post-pandemic. Maryland received over $2B, and still needs to spend $102M according to McCourt.
St. Mary’s County Public Schools received and fully expensed $34M in ESSER funds, and reimbursement has been requested–but not yet received–from MSDE. There is uncertainty about whether MSDE will be reimbursed by the federal government. McCourt told the BOE that bond raters recently met with the county government’s Chief Financial Officer and expressed concern over the impacts of federal actions. However, they believed St. Mary’s faced minimal risk of not being reimbursed.
Next, McCourt detailed changes made to the State’s budget. Some funding was restored to the Blueprint for Education’s “foundation” category. Originally, SMCPS expected to lose $2.55M in State funding but now that is only $1M. This is a one year change for just FY26 and foundation funding will be reduced in FY27 and FY28 until it meets the Governor’s original proposal. The school system will face significant State funding cuts in the years to come.
SMCPS is now looking at a $6.38M shortfall in FY26. Their initial ask was for $5.37M in additional county funding over FY25 but the County Commissioners decided to flat fund the schools for the time being, holding out for final information on the State budget. McCourt outlined additional budget cuts for FY26 that will realize a savings of $1M, as shown in the below slide. Going into the Commissioner’s budget public hearing on April 22, the school system will still need $5.3M.
from McCourt’s BOE presentation.
SMCPS will begin preparing this year to implement redistricting, cut positions, discontinue programmatic offerings, and increase fees in anticipation of limited State or local funding in the future. These changes will come because of State funding reductions over the next two years caused by a pause in implementation of Blueprint requirements.
from McCourt’s BOE presentation.
A quick review of COMAR (State law) requirements for extracurricular and programmatic offerings shows the following:
Comprehensive physical education programs to promote physical activity are required.
Fine arts programs in grades 9-12 are required.
Service-learning hours through a community based activity are required.
Interscholastic athletics are NOT required.
SMCPS’s portion of the county budget has slowly dwindled over the last decade. In 2017, SMCPS was approximately 47.7% of the county budget. This year, that has dropped to 41.4%. Last year, the school system received 43.4% of the county’s overall budget. If that percentage were maintained this year, McCourt pointed out, schools would receive $6.6M more in funding–higher than the $5.3M request. Interestingly, $6.6M is not far from the $7M more in revenue the Commissioners will realize from increasing the Income Tax rate last year–an action taken specifically to fund county schools.
from McCourt’s BOE presentation.
For now, the focus is on securing the additional funds needed for FY26. To that end, the Education Association of St. Mary’s County (EASMC) is engaging the community about showing up on April 22nd at the budget public forum to support education.
EASMC’s flyer
The public forum is April 22nd, 6PM, at Leonardtown High School. It’s the most important public forum of the year because taxpayers have a chance to provide feedback about how tax dollars are being spent.
