Worcester County Public Schools officials and members of the School Improvement Advisory Committee are hosting a meeting about the budget later this month for parents of local students.
Public meeting at SDHS aims to inform parents
By Tara Fischer, Staff Writer
Worcester County Public Schools officials and the School Improvement Advisory Committee are hosting a meeting later this month for parents of students at Berlin Intermediate, and Stephen Decatur Middle and Stephen Decatur High schools.
Set 5:30 p.m., Feb. 26, at the SDHS cafeteria, the meeting will focus on school finances.
WCPS Public Relations Coordinator Carrie Sterrs said Superintendent Lou Taylor and Chief Financial Officer Vince Tolbert will present their Fiscal Year 2025 school system budget. Attendees can ask questions and hear information on educational needs and resources.
The system budget has been on the minds of school officials, as they anticipate a $500,000 drop from fiscal 2024. In a January board of education meeting, Tolbert confirmed that the county commissioners are likely to fund the school system through the maintenance of effort formula, or the minimum monetary support allowed by state law.
Changes to the education system are also expected to add to the county’s struggles. Tolbert said that the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, a plan to improve the state’s quality of learning, mandates that a teacher’s starting salary reaches $60,000 by 2027. School officials worries that similar stipulations and cost-of-living adjustments could dig the county into a $10 million hole.
The concerns are likely to be addressed at the Feb. 26 parent meeting. Officials are hopeful the event will provide parents with a deeper understanding of the budget, inform attendees of school needs and avenues of support, and offer a forum to ask questions.
Tolbert gave the same presentation to the Snow Hill area’s School Improvement Advisory Committee in January, and to a group on Feb. 12 at Pocomoke Middle School.