Work Session: 1/28/25

Work Session Date: January 28, 2025
Board Members Present: Guessford, Beachley, Burkett, Murray, Evans, McCusker, Zentmeyer
Student Representative: Wong
Board Members Absent: none

Agenda Item / Topic #1
FY2026 General Fund Budget
Presenter(s)
Dr. David Sovine, Superintendent of Schools; Jeffrey Proulx, Chief Operating Officer; Eric Sisler, Executive Director of Finance; and Kameron Shives, Budget and Financial Reporting Analyst

Summary
Under the direction of Superintendent Dr. Sovine, WPCS staff presented the FY26 Draft Budget that had been developed by the superintendent for the Board's consideration. The Board can make adjustments/revisions to this draft prior to adopting it as the Board's draft budget as part of the regular budget development and approval cycle that occurs each year.

Chief Operating Officer Jeff Proulx shared the anticipated changes in revenue from the State of Maryland based on the funding formula established under the Blueprint for Maryland's Future. Since the state legislature is in season, school district officials won't know the final number until the session is over in April. As of January, WCPS anticipates about $17 million in new revenue - this includes an increase of $8.49 million from the state and $8.3 million from Washington County. The anticipated changes from the state are due an enrollment increase (207 new students) and an increase in enrollment subgroups (free and reduced price meals, multi-lingual learners, special education student populations), revenue increase in all aid categories, and a revenue decrease in the Guaranteed Tax Base grant. The proposed budget asked for the county government to provide the minimum increase required under the law as per the "Local Share" of the Blueprint funding formula. (NOTE: This new language replaces "maintenance of effort" language of the past.)

Staff then outlined the recommended additions given priorities of the WCPS Strategic Plan and the recommended budget cuts to balance the budget. (For details, go the slides posted in BoardDocs)

Other budget documents shared at the meeting can be downloaded from BoardDocs.

General Board Member Comments /Questions Throughout the Work Session

Linda Murray
- concerned about the elimination of the deputy communications officer…we have a very small communications office and to eliminate the position removes the support to the legal department and the board that is needed. Whose responsibility would it be if Erin is out long term for whatever reason? Who would be there to handle a crisis?
- Evans response is that the position was created out of thin air and from that moment the position was overpaid - close to $200,000 (with benefits) on one position.
- Sovine - we do cross train, so when we consider the leanness of the communication department, we would return to that model.
- Proulx - we would have to pitch in - we would be more reactive in communications
- Linda - would we hire a lobbyist?
- Proulx - no, we will have to absorb the duties with existing staff; the legal department will also have to be tasked with monitoring legislation
- Sovine - Ramm and her assistant Jamie Brown will do additional monitoring as well.Linda Murray
- Also concerned about the elimination of the Supervisor of Equity and Excellence…isn't it spelled out in COMAR?
- Sovine - it is not required by COMAR to have a specific position but it is work that needs to be done. In some districts, it's a whole department; in other districts, it is done by multiple people; so we would have to have existing staff complete the necessary reports and do the work.

Darryl Evans
- Page 1, B5: The instructional subs - are they the school based subs? The answer is both. $400 increase seems a little high. Sisler: This brings historic numbers into the line item.
- B12 and B14: the ML subs? Do we have different subs? Proulx: We have subs throughout the budget in various departments so we can code the sub wages back to be part of the 75% rule
- On reworking the Engage program, Evans is not sure how that will look. Is there a way to create an ML program to create efficiencies there? Can we have special schools for ML kids in Clear Spring or Smithsburg to make the 75% rule easier to obtain? Proulx: We have to be careful not to relocate students to specific sites to receive these services as per legal requirements and guidelines. The numbers of students in each school are addressed through a staffing guideline. Willow: We look at the number of ML students per school and assign ML teachers accordingly. The goal of the ML program is to teach English to the students and then have then continue in their regular courses in English. Usually, a student exits the program within 3 years or so. We also have excellent exit rates, moving students into full English through our immersion work. ML work sometimes brings confusion - 4.5 years ago, we had less than 600 ML students…and we now have over 1200 ML students. So, we are catching up to the enrollment that has been growing. Because the of the Sept. 30 enrollment counts providing the data that supports the next year's budget, we are always in a state of catching up.
- Evans would like to see some additional positions removed. For example, the Cascade school does not need 12 month admin. Postage has increased, but the increase seems high. The special ed supervision and other travel expense increases. "I don't see a lot of new things, but I see more money to do more of the same."
-ABLE has not been brought back
-Antietam Academy is not addressed
-It just seems we are spending more to do what we are already doing
-Evans: What is the goal of the security assistants? And how are we measuring the success? Same for the BCBAs? What is the goal we task them with and how do we measure their success? "I personally have a difficult time…but by and large, I personally would like to see more data that would support the justification for the spending." "If we had to vote today, I'd be a no" on this budget. $15 million added to culture, safety, and wellness is a concern.

Ashley McCusker
-For the HS summer school salaries, that's down $95,000. Why? Proulx noted the level of services will be the same. Line 285 has a student intervention specialist at NHHS to use some of the funding from the Summer School line to provide that support to NHHS.
-If summer school is the same as last year, why is the transportation cost up? Proulx: We ran over in travel expenses last year. We were able to cover that from ESSER funds in prior years but that is not longer available.

Daphne Wong
-Safety is the most important things for schools right now. Shooting threats and bomb threats affect students' feelings of safety.
- As an ML student in a multi-lingual family, it is very important to not separate ML students from the cohesive, comprehensive school environment.
-Students do not need "equal" resources but equitable resources, and the elimination of the Supervisor of Equity and Excellence may impact that.

April Zentmeyer
-Are teachers assigned to Funkstown in this budget? Proulx: FTEs (i.e. Full Time Equivlent positions) are in the programs and not allocated to the building. The operational costs of Funkstown for cleaning, etc., are "baked into" the budget.

Linda Murray
-We have had multiple updates from the Innovat-ED program. Dr. Kane-Kirkpatrick and Dr. Webster have addressed the needs for student learning and eliminated the "hundreds" of students who were assigned there in the past whose learning was not improved by the experience. We need to let it play out for the rest of the year and see how student learning has improved.
-In terms of Safety and Security assistance, these employees are making a difference in the culture and climate. Parents and students appreciate the work and support. BCBAs are also helping teachers and paras learn necessary skills.

Charlie Burkett
-Who better to advocate for our needs at the state than those who are working in their areas?
- I think we need to learn to live within the amounts we are allocated.
-For ML learners, where are these people coming from? Why do we need to spend this kinds of money to support this increase of students?
-Proulx: We could provide the Board with a report of countries and languages where these students are coming from. The increase is based on the increase in revenue that is allocated from the Blueprint for ML learners as required by law.
- Willow: All LEAs have seen increases in ML population. Our percentage was lower than others but has caught up. At the last C&I report on this, students from over 50 different countries and 60 different languages. These are ballpark figures.
- On page 13 of 41, it’s showing an increase in NBCT - what's that? Proulx: We have increased our NBCT staff and the state is providing additional money to fund that as per the Blueprint law.
- What's the average pay for librarians? Proulx: Appropriately $75,000.
- What's the increase in library resource? It's for the management of inventory and the Follet system that also provides library resources.

Mike Guessford
- I'm not for reducing anything in the classroom or reduction in frontline workers
-How many positions were added to CES in the last 2 years? How many grant funded positions that then moved into the general fund budget in the last 2 years? How much have we spent on staff mileage since we have a large fleet of vehicles?
-On Section 3, line 54, for Facilities-Maintenance, what's the reduction? Proulx: This is part of 49-56, but it is really a shifting of funding between lines.
-Also, line 72 and 73, reductions of equipment?
- Also concerns about the Security Assistants. Some people are saying they are really more like babysitters. We need more of a bite to that position rather than a "consoling" person.
- Is OPED increased to pre FY 2025 budget levels? Sovine: My initial budget draft had that included, but that didn't make it into the recommendations due to reduction in state funding.

April Zentmeyer
- Is there a way to have a per pupil amount for programs like IB, CTE, or Tech, etc.? Proulx: Yes and no. Clearly defined program like at Tech would be easier, but it would be more complicated for programs like IB that are included in the overall school budget with employees having some duties/responsibilities related to IB and others not, for example.

Mike Guessford
- Asked about OPED.

Dr. Sovine
-Noted that he appreciates the Board's questions, feedback, and comments. This recommended budget is a starting point, and we have been taking your feedback and taking notes on your questions so we can respond during next week's work session. As we move through the process, we hope to arrive at a consensus of the Board.

Linda Murray
- In February, we will start having meetings earlier in the day and see a savings of $14,600 as a result. In her opinion, this will be a hardship on stakeholders. Further, that amount is about $1000 less than what we pay Board members each year. Where will that money be used? Would that go into OPED?

-Proulx reviewed the timeline for the next several months and the meeting was adjourned.