School funding critical

Editor,

Since the past year when the county commissioners voted to fund the WCPS BOE at maintenance of effort (MOE), I’ve heard and seen a lot of statements that are often out of context, lack factual information, and often imply impropriety.  These statements have been made by several Worcester County Commissioners, as a way to defend their decision to fund only MOE for fiscal year 2024. And these inflammatory statements have often been successful in creating doubt over the spending of WCPS BOE. As we near another public hearing on the BOE budget for fiscal year 2025, I worry that we will once again, only receive MOE funding for WCPS.

I will lead by letting you know, I am an accountant, so I’ve worked to gather facts and figures to fully understand the current issue and I will try to keep my thoughts understandable for most non-accountants since it can be overwhelming.

Continually I hear that (some) of the commissioners are concerned with the preparation of the budget by the BOE, and the fact that there are variances between the budgeted figures and actual expenditures. Since a budget by definition is “an estimate of expenditures” and “proposals for financing them,” I am not surprised that there are changes between these figures. After all, I would expect our school system to have the ability to address the changing needs of the students, staff, and schools as the school year progresses. I would never think that the budgeted number of staff or any budgeted figures should be static. They must be fluid to allow for the school to address the ongoing and changing needs of students, staff and each school community, so it is reasonable to not only have changes between budget and actual, but also having a reasonable surplus is expected and good practice.

As such, when hearing the WCPS BOE had a 1.24% surplus totaling $1.5 million from fiscal year 2023, I’m not alarmed as that tells me the budget was within a reasonable level of the actual expenditures. However, if the budgeted figures were differing to the extent that the actual revenue was 112% more than the budgeted amount, and the net revenue was over 300% more than the budget, I would think there is a problem with the budget process not being accurate.

While this is not the case for WCPS BOE, this is the difference in the budgets versus actual for Worcester County Government.  Perhaps the commissioners that would like to question the legitimacy of the WCPS BOE budget should turn that attention inward and work to better prepare a budget that is a more accurate picture of expenditures.

I am not entirely sure of the reason behind the large discrepancy in budget to actual, but it seems that approving an understated operating budget would then lead the county to make underfunded decisions. I’m concerned that I see the county’s general fund balance growing since 2019, from approximately $51 million to $92 million at the end of fiscal year 2023. Last year alone, the net revenue for the county was $19 million more than the budgeted figure, without a change in property tax rates. The county had, and continues to have, the funds available to fully fund the BOE budget without compromising the funding of other county agencies.

WCPS BOE employs an experienced and knowledgeable finance team. In fact, the CFO of WCPS, Vince Tolbert, previously worked in the county commissioners’ office, so it tracks that he would not only have the skill set to be able to prepare a reasonable and sound WCPS BOE budget, but also has the history within our local government that proves his expertise and trustworthiness. No one is asking for blind trust. The expectation that experienced employees can be relied upon to prepare a prudent and fiscally sound budget and school system should be implicit.

While I understand our elected officials should be providing concise, factual information with context and, particularly in the case of our educational system, without political agenda, it has often been the opposite. I urge other constituents to take pause. Another year of maintenance of effort funding will be detrimental to our children’s education, our teachers’ livelihoods, and ultimately, our community.

The Maryland Accountability and Implementation Board (AIB) recently cautioned the county commissioners and BOE that the funding level determined by the Blueprint was not enough to meet all the needs and programs of a school district. The AIB said that additional funding would be needed to not only meet state mandated educational requirements, but all to fund the programs, services, and other aspects of the school that were priorities for the BOE, the commissioners, and our community.

Our community has spoken up to say that we value the small class sizes; that we must have a full and enriching summer academy and afterschool programs; that equity in programs is crucial so that all schools in the county can offer students access to the same opportunities; and that services for all students that are in need, whether that be mental, social, emotional, or other, are essential.

These priorities cannot be fulfilled at maintenance of effort funding. These priorities are a principal part of the WCPS. We must support our schools and we must ask our commissioners to fully fund the WCPS BOE budget.

Kate Hulme
Bishopville