[00:00:01]
          OKAY. IT'S 5:00. IT IS JANUARY 2ND, 2025. THE BOARD OF EDUCATION OF CECIL COUNTY BUDGET
WORK SESSION. 
          [1.01 Call to Order]
AND I'M GOING TO CALL THIS MEETING TO ORDER. PLEASE STAND AS MR. DAVIS LEADS US IN THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE. 
          THANK YOU. WE'RE GOING TO START OFF WITH THE FY 26 BUDGET PRESENTATION,
DR. 
          [1.03 FY26 Budget Presentation]
LAWSON. THANK YOU, MISS HAWLEY. WELCOME, EVERYBODY. 
          FOR ME, THIS IS MY SEVENTH BUDGET AS SUPERINTENDENT AND 15TH AS A LEADERSHIP TEAM MEMBER. 
          AND I THINK EACH YEAR SOMETHING THAT EVERY YEAR FEELS A LITTLE DIFFERENT. 
          AND I THINK THAT'S CONSISTENT THIS YEAR. YOU KNOW,
BEFORE I BEFORE I GET STARTED, I WANT TO MAKE SURE I THANK NOT JUST NECESSARILY THE LEADERSHIP TEAM, BUT ALSO IN PARTICULAR, MISS SOPA AND HER ENTIRE BUSINESS SERVICES TEAM. 
          REBECCA ANDERSON, AARON SETO, BECKY WELLS. COUNTLESS,
COUNTLESS HOURS. 
          AND THE NUMBERS YOU SEE IN FRONT OF YOU, THERE IS A LEVEL OF DETAIL THAT'S THERE. 
          WE HOPE TO PROVIDE THE BOARD WITHIN THE NEXT WEEK OR SO,
THE LINE BY LINE DETAIL THAT SUPPORTS EACH OF THESE REQUESTS. 
          I THINK YOU'LL SEE THAT THE LEADERSHIP TEAM IS READY TO SPEAK TO THOSE IN PARTICULAR,
INCREASES AND DECREASES THAT YOU SEE IN DIFFERENT LINES WITH SOME LEVEL OF GRANULARITY. 
          SO THAT, YOU KNOW, PLEASE, WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO ASK QUESTIONS. 
          I THINK THIS IS A GREAT FORUM TO HAVE THOSE KINDS OF DISCUSSIONS. 
          WE WILL TAKE YOUR COMMENTS THIS EVENING, GO BACK MASSAGE,
AND THEN WE WILL GET TOGETHER AGAIN ON FEBRUARY 4TH AT 10:00 FOR THE PUBLIC'S AWARENESS, THE AUDIENCE. AND WE WILL REALLY GET INTO IT. 
          AND, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE OUR HAVE OUR SHARE OF CHALLENGES. I THINK PARTICULARLY SCHOOL
SYSTEMS ACROSS THE STATE ARE STRUGGLING TO IMPLEMENT THE MARYLAND'S BLUEPRINT FOR EXCELLENCE. MISS HAWLEY SPENT SOME TIME DOWN IN ANNAPOLIS TODAY,
AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, JUST THAT PROCESS RIGHT THERE REALLY HIGHLIGHTED SOME OF THE, I THINK, DISCONNECTS THAT ARE PROBABLY THERE AMONG THE MAIN CONSTITUENTS AND THE MAIN
INTERESTED PARTIES OF THE BLUEPRINT. 
          AND SO, I THINK LEGISLATION IN PARTICULAR STANDS TO BE A SIGNIFICANT MITIGATING FACTOR. 
          PROBABLY MORE SO MAYBE, THAN ANYTHING WE'VE DONE IN THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS. 
          YOU COULD LOOK AT A BUDGET NOW KNOWING THAT I THINK THIS YEAR IS APRIL 7TH,
SO WE COULD RUN ALL THE WAY UP TO APRIL 7TH WITH CHANGES BEING MADE. 
          WHAT WE ARE GOING TO SHOW YOU TONIGHT IS BASED ON CURRENT LAW. 
          AND SO WE YOU WILL HEAR A LOT. YOU WILL HEAR A LOT THROUGHOUT THE EVENING OF US QUALIFYING
CERTAIN NUMBERS, SAYING THAT IF THINGS CHANGE DUE TO LEGISLATION,
WE WILL CERTAINLY TELL YOU. 
          IF I MENTIONED SINE DIE, THAT'S THE DATE BY WHICH ALL LEGISLATION IS COMPLETED IN
ANNAPOLIS. 
          AND ASSUMING THE GOVERNOR SIGNS WHAT'S PASSED,
YOU KNOW, THAT'S ALWAYS HIS PREROGATIVE. THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE COULD HAVE ALREADY SUBMITTED HIS BUDGET, AND STATE LAW CHANGED IN SUCH A WAY THAT WOULD FORCE THIS GROUP TO AT SOME
POINT HAVE TO COME BACK AND ADJUST OUR BUDGET. 
          SO, WE REALLY WON'T KNOW UNTIL SOME OF THIS LEGISLATION PLAYS OUT. 
          AND, YOU KNOW, WE FEEL PRETTY WELL EQUIPPED TO ADDRESS ANY OF THE SPECIFIC QUESTIONS YOU
MAY HAVE, WHETHER IT'S COLLABORATIVE PLANNING, TIME, CHANGES IN CONCENTRATION OF POVERTY. 
          THERE'S AN EXPECTED PENSION SHIFT TO GO BACK TO THE COUNTIES. 
          WE'RE NOT SURE HOW OUR COUNTY LEADERSHIP WILL HANDLE THAT. BUT AGAIN,
THIS IS ALL BEING PROPOSED IN CURRENT LEGISLATION THAT WILL HAVE TO BE IRONED OUT IN ANNAPOLIS. AS THE BOARD KNOWS, GOING BACK TO FY 22 WE STARTED A DOWNWARD TREND,
IF YOU WILL, ON FUNDING, PARTICULARLY FROM THE COUNTY LEVEL,
WHICH SAW US GO TO THE BOTTOM IN THE STATE IN TERMS OF FUNDING FOR FY 23. 
          LAST YEAR WE MOVED FROM 24TH TO 23RD, SECOND TO THE BOTTOM. 
          AND THEN TODAY I LEARNED THAT WE ARE NOW 22ND. 
          SO, WE ARE NOW THIRD FROM THE BOTTOM IN THE STATE. 
          AND AFTER LITERALLY GENERATIONS OF US TYPICALLY BEING RIGHT AROUND 16TH OR 17TH IN
FUNDING, THAT'S WHERE THE COUNTY WEALTH IS. IT TENDS TO VACILLATE FROM 16TH TO 17TH,
AND THAT'S WHERE WE'RE ALWAYS FUNDED. 
          IF YOU LOOK AT OUR PER PUPIL SPENDING RIGHT NOW,
WE ARE $2,600 BELOW THE STATE AVERAGE. 
          $2,600 BELOW THE STATE AVERAGE. I THINK IT COMES TO 2598 BASED ON,
AGAIN, THE NUMBERS I JUST SAW TODAY. 
          AND IF YOU MULTIPLY THAT OUT BY THE 14,200 K TO 12 STUDENTS WE HAVE,
THAT'S UPWARDS OF 35, $36 MILLION. THAT IS A HUGE NUMBER THAT OUR STUDENTS SIMPLY AREN'T GETTING THE SAME LEVEL
OF SERVICE AS STUDENTS WHO ARE MAYBE 5060 MILES DOWN I-95. SO IT'S SOMETHING THAT CERTAINLY WE WANT TO KEEP OUR EYE ON. 
          [00:05:02]
AND I THINK SPECIFICALLY WHAT IT HAS BEEN, YOU KNOW,
ONE OF THE REAL STRONG THINGS I GIVE DOCTOR BUCKLEY AND HIS TEAM CREDIT. 
          MISS RENKO'S HERE WITH US. YOU KNOW, WE BELIEVE WE ARE GOING TO HAVE AT SOME POINT A
RATIFIED COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT. 
          WE HAVE HONORED THE BLUEPRINT. WE EXPECT TO HAVE OUR STARTING SALARY AT $60,000 FOR A
STARTING TEACHER BY JULY 1ST OF 27. 
          WE'RE ON PACE TO DO THAT. AND SO THAT'S A GOOD THING,
I THINK, FOR THE FOR THE HEALTH OF THE PROFESSION, IT'S A GOOD THING. AND WE'RE ON PACE TO DO THAT. 
          BUT IT'S BEEN HARD. IT'S BEEN HARD. SO THAT'S BEEN A REAL WIN IF YOU WILL. 
          WE'RE BRINGING IN A RECORD NUMBER OF EARLY EDUCATION KIDS AT THREE-
AND FOUR-YEAR-OLDS . 
          THAT'S A GOOD THING FOR THE COMMUNITY, FOR THE SYSTEM. 
          BUT WE HAVE OUR CHALLENGES. AND WHAT'S HAPPENED IS WE HAVE SEEN OUR CLASS SIZE JUST GROW. 
          I'VE GOT SOME SPECIFIC NUMBERS FOR YOU, AND YOU WILL SEE A SLIDE ON THIS LATER. 
          SPECIFICALLY, OUR SECONDARY CLASS SIZES HAVE SWOLLEN FROM 418 CLASSES,
WITH MORE THAN 25 STUDENTS IN THE SCHOOL YEAR 21-22 TO 526 THIS YEAR IN 2021. GRADES THREE THROUGH FIVE. 
          THERE WERE TWO CLASSES THAT HAD MORE THAN 25. 
          THIS YEAR WE HAVE 39 AND SO THIS KIND OF GROWTH CANNOT CONTINUE. 
          THERE IS A TIPPING POINT. AND SO, YOU KNOW, AS A PARENT OF THREE CHILDREN,
YOU KNOW, MANY OF OUR I WOULD SAY MID TO UPPER PERFORMING KIDS, THEY CAN LIVE I THINK SOMETIMES WITH A LARGER CLASS SIZE,
WHAT HAPPENS IS ANY STUDENT WHO'S HAVING ANY LEVEL OF STRUGGLES TO YOUR POOR PERFORMERS, THEY REALLY, REALLY SUFFER IN THESE LARGE CLASSES BECAUSE THE ATTENTION JUST DOESN'T GET
PAID TO THEM. 
          AND ESPECIALLY IF YOU HAVE A CHILD WHO'S MORE,
YOU KNOW, MEEK, NOT ACTING OUT IN TERMS OF BEHAVIOR, THEY'RE JUST GOING TO KIND OF KIND OF LAY LOW AND THEY DON'T LEARN VERY WELL. THAT STUDENT
CAN JUST COMPLETELY GET LOST. 
          AND SO, THERE ARE A LOT OF CONCERNS ABOUT THESE GROWING CLASS SIZES. AND THAT'S A THEME
I'M HEARING ACROSS THE STATE FROM OTHER SUPERINTENDENTS. 
          SECOND THING I WOULD ASK IS THAT CONSIDERATION BE GIVEN FROM OUR COUNTY GOVERNMENT TO
COMMIT TO IMPROVING THE FACILITIES IN OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM. 
          WHEN I SAY THAT, I MEAN SMALL CAP REQUESTS SPECIFICALLY,
I'M TALKING ABOUT SIDEWALKS, PARKING LOTS, DRIVEWAYS, HVAC SYSTEMS. THESE ARE NOT THE SEXY KIND OF GLAMOR SORT OF EXPENDITURES THAT
HAPPEN ON PART OF A PUBLIC INSTITUTION, BUT IT'S CRITICAL. IF YOU GO THROUGH KENMORE,
IF YOU GO THROUGH CHARLESTOWN, RISING SUN MIDDLE SCHOOL. 
          IT'S GLARING, THE POOR CONDITION OF SOME OF THE ROADS AND THE BUILDINGS THEMSELVES. 
          AND THAT, TO ME HAS BEEN SOMETHING THAT'S BEEN NEGLECTED FOR THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS. 
          AND SO HOPEFULLY, YOU KNOW, I THINK RIGHT NOW WE'RE IN A GOOD POSITION WITH OUR NEW COUNTY
ADMINISTRATION, NEW COUNTY LEADERSHIP TO REALLY START TO FOCUS ON SOME OF THESE THINGS BECAUSE TO BE
HONEST WITH YOU, THE SCHOOL SYSTEM BUILDINGS ARE PROBABLY THE SINGLE BIGGEST ASSET THE COUNTY HAS. 
          THERE ARE 31 BUILDINGS, I THINK, AND IF YOU ADD IT ALL TOGETHER IN TERMS OF WEALTH,
THAT IS AN ASSET THAT NEEDS TO BE TAKEN CARE OF. 
          SO, WITH THAT, AGAIN, I WILL ASK THE BOARD, PLEASE INTERRUPT ANYTHING. 
          YOU SEE, YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND. WE JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE WE'RE BEING CLEAR. AND ON BEHALF
OF OUR 15,000 STUDENTS AND OUR 11,000 FAMILIES, YOU KNOW, WE THINK WE'RE DOING THE RIGHT THING. AND HOPEFULLY YOU'LL SEE THAT IN THIS
EVENING'S BUDGET. 
          SO, WITH THAT, YOU KNOW, AS IS MOST THINGS, WE START WITH OUR STRATEGIC PLAN. 
          IT IS NICE ONCE IN A WHILE TO GO BACK AND JUST REFLECT. 
          DO WE DO THE KINDS OF THINGS HERE THAT WE'VE ALWAYS INTENDED TO DO? AND I WOULD ARGUE WE DO. I THINK SOMETIMES THE ISSUE OF EQUITY HAS GOTTEN SIDETRACKED OFF
THE RAILS A LITTLE BIT. 
          WHAT DOES EQUITY MEAN FOR ME? IT MEANS IF A STUDENT IS GOING TO RISING SUN HIGH IN HIGH
SCHOOL AND ANOTHER STUDENT GOING TO ELKTON HIGH SCHOOL. 
          THEY BOTH HAD THE SAME OPPORTUNITY. THEY CAN TAKE THE SAME CLASSES,
HAVE ACCESS TO THE SAME PROGRAMS, AND THAT WE TRY TO PROVIDE AN EQUAL FOOTING FOR ALL OF OUR STUDENTS. 
          AND I THINK WE DO A PRETTY DARN GOOD JOB OF THAT. 
          OKAY, SO AND YOU'VE SEEN THIS BEFORE. YOU KNOW,
THIS IS THE OLD MASLOW'S HIERARCHY OF NEEDS. 
          WE WANT TO MAKE SURE OUR KIDS ARE TAKEN CARE OF. 
          THEY'RE SAFE. WE WANT THEM TO PERFORM. WE WANT THEM TO EXCEL. 
          AND WE BELIEVE THAT HAPPENS BEST WITH SMALL CLASS SIZES. 
          AND ME, THESE ARE JUST SOME OF THE CHALLENGES WE SEE. 
          I'M NOT GOING TO READ THOSE TO YOU, BUT YOU KNOW,
OBVIOUSLY SAFETY IS IMPORTANT TO US ALL THE WAY AROUND, ALL THE WAY DOWN TO STAFF RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION. 
          THE BOARD'S HEARD ME BEFORE TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW,
WE HAVE A VERY STRONG RETENTION RATE AMONG OUR STAFF. 
          WE'RE ABLE TO KEEP THE PEOPLE THAT WE HIRE. AND I THINK THAT'S BECAUSE WE HAVE A GOOD
CULTURE. 
          THERE'S A GOOD BALANCE BETWEEN TRYING TO HONOR OUR EMPLOYEES,
DOING WHAT'S RIGHT FOR KIDS, AND AT THE SAME TIME, MAKING SURE YOU BRING A TEACHER,
AND YOU WANT THEM TO STAY FOR 30, 35, 40 YEARS. OKAY. AND WITH THAT, I WILL TURN IT OVER TO DR. 
          HAMMER AND AGAIN, ENCOURAGE THE BOARD TO ASK ANY QUESTIONS ALONG THE WAY THAT YOU MAY
HAVE. 
          [00:10:04]
GOOD EVENING, EVERYONE. AT THIS TIME, I WOULD LIKE TO HIGHLIGHT THE TRENDS IN STAFFING AND
STUDENT DEMOGRAPHICS OVER THE LAST TEN YEARS THAT YOU'LL SEE ON THE FOLLOWING CHARTS. 
          AND THIS GRAPH SHOWS A TOTAL OF 210.8 EMPLOYEES THAT WERE IN THE APPROVED BUDGET POSITIONS
FOR FY 25, BOTH OUT OF UNRESTRICTED AND RESTRICTED FUNDS. 
          01,512.8 OF THEM ARE TEACHERS RELATED SERVICE PROVIDERS AND PARAPROFESSIONALS WHO WORK
DIRECTLY WITH STUDENTS, AND THEY'RE INDICATED IN BLUE THAT YOU SEE THERE. 
          OKAY. THE REMAINING 498 EMPLOYEES THAT ARE IN RED INCLUDE OUR PRINCIPALS,
ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS, MAINTENANCE, SECRETARIAL, FOOD SERVICE WHO WORK IN OUR 29 SCHOOLS,
AS WELL AS ADMINISTRATORS IN OPERATIONS, SECRETARIAL AND CUSTODIAL STAFF IN OUR OTHER BUILDINGS. 
          THIS DOES NOT. I WANT TO POINT OUT TO YOU, THIS DOES NOT INCLUDE THE 83 POSITIONS THAT
WERE ADDED TO THE UNRESTRICTED BUDGET BECAUSE OF THIS, FROM THIS YEAR'S FUND BALANCE. OKAY. DUE TO THE REDUCTION IN THE FUND DUE TO THE IN THIS
YEAR'S FUND BALANCE OR DUE TO THE REDUCTIONS IN RESTRICTED FUNDING. OKAY. SO THAT DOES NOT INCLUDE THOSE 83 POSITIONS. 
          SO, THE NEXT SLIDE, YOU'LL SEE OUR STUDENT ENROLLMENT TRENDS OVER THE LAST TEN YEARS. 
          AND OUR PER PUPIL ALLOCATION IS FUNDED USING THE SEPTEMBER 30TH COUNT. 
          THAT'S THE OFFICIAL COUNT THAT WE HAVE WHICH THIS YEAR WAS 14,853. 
          WE HAVE SHOWN A 5% DECLINE IN STUDENT POPULATION OVER THE LAST TEN YEARS,
BUT THAT DOES ALIGN WITH A DECLINE IN BIRTH RATES NATIONALLY, WHICH IS AT AN 8% NATIONAL WIDE NATIONWIDE AND A DECLINE IN BIRTH RATES. 
          SO THE THING WITH THIS DECLINE IN ENROLLMENT,
IT DOESN'T NECESSARILY ALLOW US TO ELIMINATE TEACHING POSITIONS, AS THESE STUDENTS ARE SPREAD ACROSS 29 SCHOOLS AND GRADE LEVELS. 
          SO IT'S NOTEWORTHY TO SHOW THAT WE HAVE ADDED OVER 100 POSITIONS. 
          WE'VE TRIED TO GET CURRENT ENROLLMENT HERE AS WELL,
SO YOU CAN SEE HOW IT COMPARES TO OUR OFFICIAL ENROLLMENT. 
          AND WE CURRENTLY ARE SUPPORTING 14,966 STUDENTS. 
          THE NEXT FEW SLIDES ARE GOING TO SHOW HOW OUR STUDENTS CONTINUE TO BECOME MORE DIVERSE IN
OUR SPECIAL POPULATIONS. 
          OKAY. SO, THIS ONE OVERLAYS NOT ONLY WHAT YOU SEE WITH THE WITH THE TEACHERS,
RELATED SERVICE PROVIDERS AND PARAPROFESSIONALS WHO PROVIDE THE DIRECT SERVICES TO THOSE 14,853 STUDENTS. 
          THIS SHOWS. THIS CHART SHOWS OUR FARM STUDENTS,
WHICH ARE STUDENTS RECEIVING FREE AND REDUCED MEALS. 
          OKAY. SO THIS SHOWS AN INCREASE OF 662 STUDENTS WHO HAVE QUALIFIED FOR FARMS IN THE. 
          OVER THE LAST TEN YEAR PERIOD, WHICH IS AN 11% INCREASE. 
          IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE. YOU CAN SEE THERE WAS A LITTLE BIT OF A DECLINE IN 2022,
AND THAT'S HOW FARMS WAS DETERMINED THROUGH DIRECT CERTIFICATION. 
          SO THAT'S WHY YOU SEE THAT LITTLE BLIP IN THAT IN THAT DATE IN THOSE DATA THERE. 
          OKAY. THE NEXT SLIDE YOU'RE GOING TO SEE ARE STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES AS WELL AS THE
SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS, RELATED SERVICE PROVIDERS, PARAPROFESSIONALS WHO SUPPORT STUDENTS IN OUR INFANT TODDLER
PROGRAM, OUR CHILD FIND PROGRAM, THE NONPUBLIC, AS WELL AS OUR AS OUR PRESCHOOL THROUGH 21 AGE
STUDENTS IN SPECIAL EDUCATION PROGRAMING, THERE HAS BEEN AN INCREASE OF 571 STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES ATTENDING OUR SCHOOLS OVER
THE LAST TEN YEARS. 
          THAT'S A 25% INCREASE. OUR STUDENTS ARE BECOMING MORE NEEDY AND MORE DIVERSE. 
          OUR OFFICIAL COUNT IS 2883. HOWEVER, WE ARE CURRENTLY SERVING,
AS YOU CAN SEE HERE, 2921 STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES. MANY OF THESE STUDENTS HAVE DISABILITIES THAT ARE
SIGNIFICANT AND REQUIRE ADDITIONAL RESOURCES TO SUPPORT THEM. OUR MULTILINGUAL LEARNERS ARE ALSO BECOMING MORE DIVERSE IN CECIL COUNTY,
AND THIS CHART ILLUSTRATES THE SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN THOSE. 
          WE HAVE INCREASED BY OVER 263 STUDENTS IN THE LAST TEN YEARS,
WHICH IS 164% INCREASE. 
          OKAY. THERE'S ONLY 15 STAFF MEMBERS WHO YOU SEE WHO WORK TO SUPPORT THOSE NEEDS ACROSS 29
SCHOOLS, WHICH CREATES QUITE THE CHALLENGE NOT ONLY FOR OUR MULTILINGUAL LEARNER TEACHERS,
BUT ALSO FOR OUR GENERAL EDUCATION TEACHERS TO HELP SUPPORT THOSE STUDENTS. 
          FINALLY, LOOKING AT OUR DEMOGRAPHICS, WE'VE SEEN A WONDERFUL INCREASE IN ENROLLMENT IN OUR
EARLY YEARS FOR OUR PRESCHOOL AND PRE-K PROGRAM. 
          [00:15:03]
WE CURRENTLY ARE SERVING, AS YOU CAN SEE HERE,
836 STUDENTS AS OF LAST WEEK IN THIS PRE-K PROGRAM AND EIGHT OF JUST IMPORTANT TO NOTE, EIGHT OF THESE FUND BALANCE POSITIONS THAT WE ADDED WENT TO FOUR PRE-K PROGRAMS IN THE
EXPANSION OF THOSE TO GET THOSE STUDENTS IN PRESCHOOL FOUR YEAR OLDS AND PRE-K FIVE PRESCHOOL IS THREE YEAR OLDS,
THREE YEAR OLDS, AND YET PRESCHOOL IS THREE YEAR OLDS AND PRE-K IS FIVE IS FOUR. 
          YEP. THREES AND FOURS. DR. LAWSON REFERENCED THE CLASS SIZE SITUATION. 
          AND AS WE ALL KNOW, RESEARCH HAS FOUND THAT SMALL CLASS SIZES HAVE A DIRECT EFFECT ON
STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT. 
          TEACHERS ARE BETTER ABLE TO MEET THE DIVERSE NEEDS THAT I JUST ILLUSTRATED TO YOU. 
          WHEN THERE ARE LESS STUDENTS IN THE ROOM WITH THEM. SO THE INCREASE OF CLASS SIZES IS
GOING TO HAVE A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE ON MEETING THOSE NEEDS AND SUPPORTING STUDENTS ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT. WE HAVE OVER 662 CLASSROOMS IN THIS DISTRICT. 
          OUT OF 1915 THAT ARE OVERPOPULATED, WHICH IS 35% OF OUR CLASSROOMS ARE OVERPOPULATED. 
          BASED ON THE RATIOS THAT ARE RECOMMENDED FOR CLASS SIZES IN PRE-K,
IT'S A 10 TO 1 RATIO. 
          K TO TWO IS A 20 TO 1 AND 3 TO 5. THREE THROUGH 12 REALLY IS A 1 TO 25 RATIO. 
          AND I WOULD ARGUE THE INTERMEDIATE GRADES PROBABLY NEED LESS KIDS IN THEM. 
          SO, THIS HAS CREATED A SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGE. 
          AND THIS IS ALL CLASSROOMS WITH 25 OR MORE. WE HAVE SEVERAL CLASSROOMS THAT ARE SITTING AT
30 PLUS, WHICH IS CREATING QUITE THE CHALLENGE IN WORKLOAD AND SUPPORT FOR STUDENT NEEDS ACROSS OUR
DISTRICT. 
          DR. HAMMER, YOU SAID 662 CLASSROOMS. THAT'S CORRECT. 
          AND WHAT PERCENTAGE WAS THAT? 35%. THANK YOU. 
          SO THE NEXT SLIDE IS A LITTLE TIMELINE OF OUR BUDGET TO SHOW HOW IT PROGRESSES. 
          WE ACTUALLY START IN OCTOBER WHERE WE PREPARE BUDGET DOCUMENTS,
AND WE EMAIL THEM TO ALL THE PRINCIPALS AND THE HEADS OF DEPARTMENTS. 
          AND AFTER TWO WEEKS, PRINCIPALS HAVE THEIR BUDGET DOCUMENTS COMPLETED,
AND THEIR REQUESTS SUBMITTED. 
          THAT HELPS DEPARTMENT HEADS TO COMPLETE THEIR REQUESTS IF THERE ARE SPECIFIC THINGS THAT
SCHOOLS ARE ASKING FOR. 
          TWO WEEKS LATER, THE DEPARTMENTS AND INSTRUCTIONAL COORDINATORS HAVE THEIR HAVE THEIR
BUDGETS ENTERED. DR. 
          LAWSON HAD THE DISCUSSION WITH THE BOARD OF ED ABOUT PARAMETERS BACK IN OUR NOVEMBER
CLOSED SESSION. 
          AND THEN WE SCHEDULE BUDGET MEETINGS. AND I THINK THIS IS SOMETHING REALLY IMPORTANT TO
HIGHLIGHT HERE. THROUGH NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER, THE LEADERSHIP TEAM MEETS WITH EVERY INSTRUCTIONAL COORDINATOR DEPARTMENT HEAD FOR A MEETING AN HOUR OR TWO HOURS. 
          IT DEPENDS ON THE DEPARTMENT, AND WE GO ACCOUNT THROUGH ACCOUNT EVERY LINE OF THEIR
BUDGET. 
          COMPARING IT TO THE YEAR BEFORE, TALKING ABOUT INCREASES,
TALKING ABOUT DECREASES, MAKING SURE THAT THE THINGS THAT ARE IN THE BUDGET ARE JUSTIFIED, AND MAKING SURE THAT WE UNDERSTAND WHAT'S IN THE BUDGET AND WHAT THEY'RE ASKING FOR. 
          THEN YOU CAN SEE WE HAVE THIS WORK SESSION TONIGHT. 
          NEXT ON FEBRUARY 4TH, WE HAVE OUR WORK SESSION WHERE WE'LL GO ACCOUNT THROUGH ACCOUNT
WHERE YOU'LL BE ABLE TO SEE AND YOU'LL RECEIVE THAT BEFORE THAT MEETING. 
          SO WE CAN DO LIKE WE DID LAST YEAR AND GO ACCOUNT BY ACCOUNT. SO YOU CAN SEE SOME
SPECIFICS AND ASK SOME SPECIFIC QUESTIONS. 
          WE'LL HAVE OUR BUDGET HEARING ON FEBRUARY 26TH,
AND THEN WE MUST SUBMIT OUR BUDGET REQUEST TO THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE BY FEBRUARY 28TH. 
          THEN THE COUNTY TAKES THEIR ACTION BY APRIL 1ST. 
          THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE PROPOSES A BUDGET TO COUNTY COUNCIL. 
          WE WILL PRESENT OUR BUDGET TO COUNTY COUNCIL AT THE COUNTY ADMINISTRATION BUILDING. 
          THERE'S NOT A DATE AND A TIME YET, BUT THAT WILL BE IN THE SPRING. 
          THE COUNTY WILL HAVE A PUBLIC HEARING ON THEIR ANNUAL BUDGET,
WHICH WE'RE HEARING WILL BE AT THE COUNTY ADMINISTRATION BUILDING ON MAY 22ND. 
          COUNCIL WILL APPROVE THEIR BUDGET ON JUNE 3RD,
WHICH WILL LEAD TO OUR BOARD MEETING AND BUDGET APPROVAL ON JUNE 11TH. 
          AND AS DR. LAWSON SAID, THIS TIMELINE IS VERY CHALLENGING GIVEN THE FACT THAT LEGISLATION
IS IN PROGRESS AT THE STATE LEVEL. 
          AND SO, AFTER WE SUBMIT A BUDGET REQUEST TO THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE,
THERE COULD OR WILL BE CHANGES IN LEGISLATION THAT WILL REQUIRE US TO GO BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD WITH OUR BUDGET AS WELL AS THE COUNTY AS WELL AS THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE COULD. 
          IT'S ALMOST LIKELY THAT HE'S GOING TO HAVE TO MAKE CHANGES TO HIS BUDGET AFTER THE
LEGISLATIVE SESSION CLOSES AND THE GOVERNOR SIGNS WHATEVER BILLS ARE PASSED. 
          SO JUST A LITTLE REVIEW. WE HAD THESE ITEMS IN THE PRESENTATION LAST YEAR. 
          BUT JUST TO REVIEW WHEN WE SAY REQUEST, THAT'S NOT US MAKING A REQUEST. 
          IT'S A PROJECTION FOR WHAT WE ARE ANTICIPATING WE WILL BE RECEIVING. 
          AS FAR AS REVENUE AND OUR PROJECTION FOR WHAT OUR EXPENSES WILL BE,
OH, SORRY, REVENUE IS THE MONEY THAT COMES IN, 
          [00:20:03]
THE MONEY WE RECEIVE UNRESTRICTED AND RESTRICTED. 
          THOSE ARE THE TWO PARTS OF OUR BUDGET. UNRESTRICTED IN THE PAST WAS OUR STATE FUNDING,
OUR LOCAL FUNDING. 
          IT DOESN'T HAVE STIPULATIONS ATTACHED TO IT THAT YOU SEE WITH GRANT MONEY AND THOSE TYPES
OF FUNDS. 
          HOWEVER, BLUEPRINT FUNDS HAVE CHANGED THAT A LITTLE BIT. 
          BLUEPRINT FUNDS. THE STATE FUNDING IS PART OF OUR UNRESTRICTED BUDGET,
BUT IT IS VERY SPECIFIC AS FAR AS THE PILLARS, THE AMOUNT OF AMOUNT OF MONEY FOR EACH PILLAR AND HOW WE CAN SPEND THAT MONEY. 
          SO WHILE IT'S PART OF THE UNRESTRICTED BUDGET,
THERE ARE LIMITATIONS FOR HOW WE USE EACH POT OF MONEY. 
          RESTRICTED REFERS TO THOSE GRANTS, WHETHER THEY'RE LOCAL GRANTS,
STATE GRANTS, OR FEDERAL GRANTS. 
          EXPENDITURES IS THE MONEY WE SPEND. AND THE FUND BALANCE IS BASICALLY OUR SURPLUS FROM ONE
YEAR TO THE NEXT. 
          SO, IF WE SPEND HAVE FEWER EXPENDITURES THAN OUR REVENUE,
THEN WE ADD TO THE FUND BALANCE. 
          AND IF THE REVERSE HAPPENS THEN WE DECREASE THE FUND BALANCE. 
          THESE ARE THE STATE CATEGORIES. YOU WILL NOT SEE FOOD AND NUTRITION IN THIS PRESENTATION
BECAUSE THE FOOD AND NUTRITION BUDGET IS A SEPARATE BUDGET. 
          AND JUST SOME REMINDERS ABOUT THESE DEFINITIONS. 
          A LOT OF TIMES WHEN PEOPLE SEE ADMINISTRATION,
THEY THINK LEADERSHIP. 
          THEY THINK PRINCIPALS. AND THAT'S NOT WHAT THE STATE CATEGORY REFERS TO. 
          IT REFERS TO REFERS TO THINGS LIKE THE OFFICE OF THE BOARD,
THE SUPERINTENDENT, ASSOCIATE SUPERINTENDENT AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES, PUBLIC INFORMATION, BUSINESS SERVICES,
HUMAN RESOURCES, SAFE SCHOOLS, ASSESSMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY, AND A LOT OF OUR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY. SO WHEN YOU SEE ADMINISTRATION,
IT'S TAKING ALL OF THOSE CATEGORIES INTO ACCOUNT. 
          INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERSHIP AND SUPPORT. THERE YOU WOULD HAVE YOUR PRINCIPALS,
ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS, OFFICE STAFF FOR SCHOOLS, DR. HAMMER'S DEPARTMENT,
THE DIVISION OF EDUCATION SERVICES, INSTRUCTIONAL COORDINATORS, ALL OF THE SECRETARIES WHO SUPPORT THOSE INSTRUCTIONAL COORDINATORS AND EVERYTHING
INVOLVED IN THAT. 
          SO AGAIN, JUST TO DEFINE THOSE TWO INSTRUCTIONAL SALARIES AND WAGES IS EXACTLY WHAT IT
SOUNDS LIKE. 
          SO ANYTHING THAT'S PAID TO EMPLOYEES TO WORK DIRECTLY WITH CHILDREN IN INSTRUCTION
MATERIALS AND SUPPLIES FOR INSTRUCTION, INSTRUCTION, OTHER COSTS. WE USUALLY RECEIVE SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS. 
          SO, THINK OF EVERYTHING THAT GOES ALONG WITH TEACHING. THAT'S NOT A SALARY;
THAT'S NOT A SUPPLY OR MATERIAL. 
          SO, YOU'RE LOOKING AT CONFERENCE ATTENDANCE. YOU'RE LOOKING AT CONTRACTED SERVICES,
LOOKING AT SOME OF OUR INTERNET LICENSES, SOME EQUIPMENT THAT DOESN'T FALL INTO SOME OF THESE OTHER CATEGORIES. 
          SPECIAL EDUCATION IS EXACTLY WHAT YOU WOULD THINK. 
          STUDENTS WHO HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED AS HAVING A DISABILITY,
STUDENT PERSONNEL SERVICES. 
          THOSE ARE PROGRAMS DESIGNED TO IMPROVE STUDENT ATTENDANCE OR TO ASSIST WITH ISSUES AT
HOME. 
          SO WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT OUR PUPIL PERSONNEL,
WORKERS OR STUDENT RESOURCE TEACHERS WHO WORK WITH FAMILIES, STUDENT HEALTH SERVICES WOULD BE OUR NURSES AND ANYTHING THAT DEALS WITH THE PHYSICAL AND
MENTAL HEALTH ACTIVITIES OF STUDENTS, BUT THINGS THAT ARE SO NOT INSTRUCTIONAL. WHEN WE TALK ABOUT HEALTH AND THE TEACHING OF
HEALTH, THAT FALLS UNDER DOCTOR HAMMER'S DEPARTMENT. BUT THIS WOULD BE THE SCHOOL NURSING. 
          TRANSPORTATION. OPERATION OF PLANT IS THINK ABOUT ANYTHING THAT IS USED TO KEEP THE
BUILDING CLEAN AND OPERATIONAL. 
          SO, ANYTHING RELATED TO OUR CUSTODIANS AND WHAT THEY ARE DOING ON A DAILY BASIS TO KEEP
THE SCHOOL RUNNING. 
          AND THEN MAINTENANCE OF PLANTS, THOSE ARE THINGS WHERE YOU'RE MAINTAINING THE GROUND
CARPENTRY, ELECTRIC WINDOWS AND DOORS, THOSE TYPES OF THINGS THAT AREN'T YOUR NORMAL CLEANING AND DAILY OPERATION OF A BUILDING. 
          FIXED CHARGES. SO, WHENEVER WE TALK ABOUT OUR SALARIES INCREASING OR DECREASING,
THE FIXED CHARGES FOLLOW. 
          BECAUSE YOU LOOK AT THINGS SUCH AS HEALTH CARE,
TERM LIFE INSURANCE, WORKER'S COMPENSATION, LEAVE ACCRUAL, SOCIAL SECURITY, PENSION, LIABILITY INSURANCE,
ALL OF THOSE ARE PART OF FIXED CHARGES. 
          AND THEY'RE A BIG PRICE TAG IN THIS BUDGET, AS YOU'LL SEE LATER. 
          COMMUNITY SERVICES ACTIVITIES THAT ARE PROVIDED FOR THE COMMUNITY. 
          SO, OUR CONCENTRATION OF POVERTY SCHOOLS, THE FUNDING IS SPENT ON WRAPAROUND SERVICES. 
          SO THAT'S WHERE YOU SEE A LOT OF COMMUNITY SERVICES THAT ARE PROVIDED FOR STUDENTS AND
THEIR FAMILIES. 
          AND CAPITAL OUTLAY. THOSE ARE THE THINGS THAT ARE ASSOCIATED,
THE COSTS THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH OUR CONSTRUCTION. 
          SO NOT THE ACTUAL CONSTRUCTION OF THE BUILDING,
BUT COSTS FOR THAT DEPARTMENT RELATED TO THE MANAGING OF THE CONSTRUCTION. 
          THIS EDUCATION DOLLAR SHOWS US THE BREAKDOWN OF HOW WE ACTUALLY SPENT THE FY 24 BUDGET. 
          SO WHEN ALL WAS SAID AND DONE AND THE AQUIFER WAS COMPLETED THIS SUMMER,
IF YOU LOOK AT DIRECT INSTRUCTION, $0.73 ON THE DOLLAR OR 73% OF OUR BUDGET WAS SPENT ON DIRECT INSTRUCTION,
THAT'S INSTRUCTIONAL SALARIES, MATERIALS, SERVICES, FIXED CHARGES, STUDENT PERSONNEL AND HEALTH SALARIES AND THEIR FIXED
CHARGES. 
          [00:25:06]
THIS INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPORT, WHICH WAS $0.09 ON THE DOLLAR OR 9%,
WAS SCHOOL AND DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION OFFICE STAFF SALARIES, FIXED CHARGES AND SUPPLIES. SO WHEN YOU PUT THOSE TWO NUMBERS TOGETHER,
82% OF THE OF THE TOTAL BUDGET IS RELATED DIRECTLY TO INSTRUCTION. 
          BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS. $0.09 ON THE DOLLAR OR 9%. 
          TRANSPORTATION 6% AND ADMINISTRATION 3%. AND REMEMBER ADMINISTRATION. 
          THINK OF ALL THE THINGS LIKE HUMAN RESOURCES,
BUSINESS SERVICES, TECHNOLOGY, SAFE SCHOOLS. 
          THERE'S A LOT THAT GOES INTO ADMINISTRATION. $0.03 ON THE DOLLAR FOR OUR ACTUAL FY 24
SPENDING. 
          WE RECEIVED A STATE WORKBOOK LAST WEEK THAT HAS OUR PRELIMINARY AS FAR AS THE CURRENT
LEGISLATION GOES. 
          STATE BLUEPRINT FUNDING. THIS IS JUST THE STATE PORTION OF THE FUNDING THAT WE'RE SHOWING
ON THIS SLIDE. 
          AND YOU CAN SEE SOME OF OUR ACTUALS. BUT WHAT WE'RE GOING TO BE COMPARING IS WHAT WAS
APPROVED FOR FISCAL 25, WHAT WE'RE OPERATING WITH RIGHT NOW FOR EACH BLUEPRINT AREA FROM THE STATE VERSUS FISCAL
26. 
          AND WHAT WE ARE ANTICIPATING ACCORDING TO THE INFORMATION WE RECEIVED FROM THE STATE LAST
WEEK. 
          KEEPING IN MIND THAT WITH THE LEGISLATION THAT COULD HAPPEN,
THAT THIS MAY OR WILL CHANGE. 
          AND I THINK THIS IS PROBABLY A GOOD PLACE TO INTRODUCE. 
          THE FIRST POTENTIAL REAL DISRUPTOR IS IF YOU LOOK AT THE VERY TOP LINE,
THE 33.04 $1 MILLION FOR A FOUNDATION THAT INCLUDES $163 PER STUDENT FOR WHAT'S CALLED THE COLLABORATIVE PLANNING TIME INITIATIVE. 
          THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THE GOVERNOR IS RECOMMENDING THAT THE BLUEPRINT PAUSE. SO,
YOU KNOW, THE PROBLEM WITH THAT IS, IS THAT FOR US, IT'S UPWARDS OF 2.3,
$2.4 MILLION REDUCTION IN THAT LINE. 
          SO AT THE BOTTOM, WHEN YOU SEE WHAT LOOKS TO BE A $7.1 MILLION INCREASE,
WELL, YOU CAN PULL 2.3 OFF THAT RIGHT NOW. 
          AND SO WHAT HAPPENS IS THAT'S JUST ONE EXAMPLE OF A POTENTIAL LEGISLATIVE CHANGE,
REALLY HAVING AN EFFECT ON HOW WE'RE ABLE TO IMPLEMENT THIS FY 26 BUDGET. SO I THINK LOOKING AT THE PILLARS,
A LOT OF THESE ARE SELF-EXPLANATORY AS FAR AS THE PILLAR AND THE INCREASE. BUT TO DRAW YOUR ATTENTION TO, AS DR. 
          LAWSON STATED, THAT FOUNDATION NUMBER, THE OTHER ONE I'D LIKE TO DRAW YOUR ATTENTION TO IS
CONCENTRATION OF POVERTY. 
          YOU CAN SEE HERE THAT OF THE $7.1 MILLION INCREASE,
1.9 MILLION, ALMOST 2 MILLION OF THIS IS CONCENTRATION OF POVERTY. 
          BUT THAT MEANS THAT THAT MONEY GOES DIRECTLY TO CONCENTRATION OF POVERTY SCHOOLS FOR
WRAPAROUND SERVICES. 
          AND SO HAVING THIS MONEY REQUIRES US TO DIRECT ALL OF THOSE FUNDS TO THOSE SCHOOLS ONLY
FOR COMMUNITY SCHOOL ADVISORS, NURSES AND WRAPAROUND SERVICES IT DOES NOT ADDRESS. 
          IT WILL HAVE NO IMPACT ON CLASS SIZES OR INSTRUCTION. 
          SO, THINK I JUST TALKED ABOUT THE $2.3 MILLION FOR COLLABORATIVE PLANNING TIME. 
          THERE'S ANOTHER 1.9. SO NOW WE ARE UP TO 4.2 MILLION OF THE 7.1. 
          SO, AND THEN THE FINAL PIECE OF THIS AND I DON'T THINK IT'S SHOWN YET,
BUT IT'LL BE THE POTENTIAL FOR UPWARDS OF A MILLION AND A HALF DOLLARS OF PENSION COSTS TO BE DEFERRED. NO, I SHOULD SAY TO BE COVERED,
IF YOU WILL, BY THE SCHOOL SYSTEM. 
          SO, IF THAT ENDS UP COMING OFF OF OUR BOTTOM LINE,
THAT'S ANOTHER MILLION FIVE. 
          I MEAN, THE WAY THIS WHOLE THING SHAKES OUT OF THAT $7.1 MILLION INCREASE,
WE COULD EASILY ONLY SEE ABOUT $1 MILLION OF IT AT A TIME WHEN OUR SALARIES AND FIXED CHARGES INCREASE ALONE WILL BE $8 MILLION,
GIVE OR TAKE. 
          SO, YOU CAN SEE HOW RIGHT, RIGHT FROM THE START HERE WE ARE REALLY,
REALLY BEHIND THE EIGHT BALL AND WHAT IT'S GOING TO DO. 
          IT'S GOING TO PUT TREMENDOUS PRESSURE ON COUNTY GOVERNMENTS TO FILL IN FROM THE OTHER END
BECAUSE OF WHAT'S HAPPENING AT THE STATE LEVEL. 
          AND AGAIN, THIS IS ALL PENDING LEGISLATION. THIS ISN'T DONE YET,
BUT IT'S POWERFUL LEGISLATION COMING FROM POWERFUL PEOPLE. 
          AND I THINK THERE'S A VERY STRONG LIKELIHOOD IT COULD HAPPEN. SO WE WILL BE WE WILL HAVE
OUR ANTENNAS UP QUITE A BIT FOR THIS. 
          I HAVE A QUICK QUESTION, DR. LAWSON. SO SINCE THIS IS THE FIRST YEAR FOR THE COUNTY
EXECUTIVE, DO YOU ANTICIPATE HAVING TO EXPLAIN MORE LIKE LAST YEAR? IS THAT A ONE OFF THE WAY YOU HAD TO PRODUCE,
WHERE MISS SOPA TEAM HAD TO PRODUCE SO MANY OTHER DOCUMENTS TO EXPLAIN THE BUDGET AND THE PROCESS? DO YOU ANTICIPATE THAT AGAIN THIS YEAR? WELL,
I MEAN, SO LET ME BREAK THAT DOWN INTO TWO PARTS. 
          I WELCOME THE DIALOG, AND WE'VE HAD PRELIMINARY CONVERSATIONS WITH COUNTY LEADERSHIP,
AND IT'S BEEN PRODUCTIVE. 
          AND I'M OPTIMISTIC. IN TERMS OF PROVIDING DOCUMENTATION FOR THEM,
IF IT HELPS THEM BETTER UNDERSTAND WHAT WE'RE DEALING WITH, THEN WE'RE ALL FOR IT. YOU KNOW, WE HOPE TO HAVE MORE INFORMATION LINE BY LINE FOR YOU ALL
EARLY NEXT WEEK. 
          [00:30:04]
AND SO, I THINK YES IS THE ANSWER TO BOTH PIECES OF THAT QUESTION. 
          I DO EXPECT TO PRODUCE AS MUCH FOR THEM HOPEFULLY,
AND I AM OPTIMISTIC ABOUT THE POTENTIAL FOR GOOD COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE TWO PARTIES. 
          THANK YOU. THE OTHER ITEM LINE I WOULD LIKE TO DRAW YOUR ATTENTION TO IS TRANSITIONAL
SUPPLEMENTAL INSTRUCTION. 
          YOU CAN SEE THAT'S DOWN $243,000. THAT IS PHASING OUT. 
          SO AFTER THIS YEAR THERE WILL BE NO MORE FUNDING FOR TRANSITIONAL SUPPLEMENTAL
INSTRUCTION, WHICH IS THE TUTORING THAT'S PROVIDED DURING THE SCHOOL DAY. SO THOSE ARE SOME OF THE BIG
NUGGETS FOR THE STATE BLUEPRINT FUNDING. 
          IT'S JUST OUR REVIEW OF MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT VERSUS LOCAL SHARE,
KEEPING IN MIND THAT WHAT MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT MEANS IS THAT WHATEVER THE COUNTY GAVE US FOR THIS CURRENT FISCAL YEAR PER STUDENT, THE AMOUNT PER STUDENT THAT THEY MUST PROVIDE,
AT LEAST THAT AMOUNT PER STUDENT FOR THE FOLLOWING FISCAL YEAR. 
          IF WE HAVE MORE STUDENTS, IT RESULTS IN MORE MONEY. 
          IF WE HAVE FEWER STUDENTS, IT RESULTS IN LESS MONEY. 
          BUT NOW, WITH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF BLUEPRINT,
THERE'S ALSO A LOCAL SHARE DOLLAR AMOUNT. 
          AND THAT'S A STATE CALCULATION THAT TAKES COUNTY WEALTH DATA AND SCHOOL SYSTEM ENROLLMENT
DATA TO DETERMINE THE LOCAL SCHOOL SYSTEM OR THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT'S FUNDING RESPONSIBILITY VERSUS THE STATE SHARE. AND ONCE THE STATE DETERMINES THE LOCAL SHARE,
WE HAVE AN MOE NUMBER. 
          AS YOU CAN SEE FOR FY 26 AND A LOCAL SHARE NUMBER,
AS YOU CAN SEE FOR FY 26. 
          SO BASED ON THE CURRENT FUNDING, COUNTY GOVERNMENT WOULD BE REQUIRED TO PROVIDE THE LOCAL
SHARE DOLLAR AMOUNT, WHICH IS LARGER THAN MO. EVERYBODY SEES THAT. 
          RIGHT? SO THAT'S THE AMOUNT THAT THE COUNTY WILL BE REQUIRED TO GIVE US. 
          THAT'S THE MINIMUM. IS THE 99 TWO RIGHT NOW. YEP. 
          SO, THIS IS ANTICIPATED REVENUE. AND THIS IS NOT JUST UNRESTRICTED. 
          THIS ALSO INCLUDES THE RESTRICTED BUDGET. KEEPING IN MIND THAT ESPECIALLY THE FEDERAL
GRANTS, WE DON'T HEAR ABOUT THOSE UNTIL THE UNTIL THE END OF THE SUMMER,
BECAUSE THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OPERATES ON AN OCTOBER THROUGH SEPTEMBER TIMELINE. 
          SO WHEN WE'RE PROVIDING RESTRICTED DOLLARS FOR YOU,
WE'RE REALLY LOOKING AT WHAT WE HAVE RIGHT NOW THAT WE OUR BEST GUESS IS THAT IT'S CONTINUING FOR NEXT YEAR. SO, FOR EXAMPLE, OUR TITLE ONE,
TITLE TWO, TITLE FOUR, THOSE ARE ANNUAL GRANTS. 
          SO, THE THINGS THAT WE KNOW THAT WE THAT WILL BE CONTINUING,
BUT THE DOLLAR AMOUNT WE'RE USING, THE DOLLAR AMOUNT THAT WE HAVE RIGHT NOW BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE ANYTHING ELSE TO GO ON AT
THIS POINT IN TIME. 
          SO AGAIN, WE HAVE OUR FY 25 APPROVED NUMBERS. 
          SO, IF YOU LOOK AT LOCAL REVENUES. SO, THIS IS THE REVENUE COMING FROM COUNTY GOVERNMENT,
YOU CAN SEE THAT THEY GAVE US 4 MILLION OVER LOCAL SHARE FOR FY 25. 
          THIS IS WHAT AT THIS POINT IN TIME THEY WOULD BE REQUIRED TO GIVE FOR LOCAL SHARE FOR 26,
WHICH IS A $1.6 MILLION INCREASE. 
          IF YOU LOOK AT OUR STATE REVENUE, I ADDED UNRESTRICTED AND RESTRICTED REVENUE TOGETHER FOR
THE STATE REVENUE TO SHOW YOU THIS NUMBER FROM FY 25. 
          THIS NUMBER FROM FY 26. AN INCREASE OF $5.4 MILLION. 
          SO, FOR THOSE OF YOU THINKING ABOUT THE LAST SLIDE WHERE IT WAS A $7.1 MILLION INCREASE,
THIS IS BECAUSE I'VE COMBINED RESTRICTED AND UNRESTRICTED, AND THE RESTRICTED STATE BUDGET IS DOWN. DID YOU INCLUDE THE REDUCTION IN LIKE FOR
COLLABORATIVE TIME AND THINGS LIKE THAT? NO, THIS IS BASED ON. NO. OKAY. THIS IS BASED ON CURRENT DOLLAR AMOUNTS. 
          FEDERAL REVENUE AS I JUST EXPLAINED. THIS IS WHAT WAS APPROVED FOR FY 25. 
          THIS IS WHAT WE'RE ANTICIPATING FOR FY 26. OTHER I'VE PUT TOGETHER HERE MISCELLANEOUS
REVENUE AND INTEREST REVENUE AND ONE COLUMN. SO INTEREST THE PAST FEW YEARS FOR ANYBODY WHO HAS MONEY INVESTED,
THE INTEREST RATES HAVE BEEN GOOD FOR YOU. 
          IF YOU OWE MONEY, THE INTEREST RATES HAVE BEEN BAD FOR YOU,
BUT THE INTEREST RATES HAVE BEEN WORKING IN OUR FAVOR FOR OUR INVESTMENTS. 
          SO BUDGETING ABOUT $1 MILLION FOR INTEREST AND ABOUT $400,000 FOR MISCELLANEOUS REVENUE. 
          IT'S A LITTLE REDUCED FROM FY 25, BECAUSE THIS $34,000 NUMBER WAS TO DONATE THE REBATE. 
          WE RECEIVED THAT MONEY IN FY 24 AND USED IT FOR THE BUDGET IN FY 25,
WHICH IS WHY YOU SEE THAT REDUCTION THERE. 
          KEEP IN MIND THAT FOR THE FY 25 BUDGET TO BALANCE,
WE HAD TO USE OUR ENTIRE UNASSIGNED FUND BALANCE TO BALANCE THE BUDGET. 
          SO THIS ASSUMES USING ABOUT THE SAME NUMBER. AND WE ROUNDED IT TO 6.1 MILLION TO MAKE THE
NUMBER A LITTLE EASIER TO WORK WITH. 
          SO THIS ASSUMES USING THE SAME AMOUNT FROM THE FUND BALANCE AS WE DID LAST YEAR,
WHICH GIVES YOU TOTAL REVENUE FOR FY 25. 
          OUR ANTICIPATED TOTAL REVENUE FOR FY 26, WHICH IS A $6.1 MILLION,
ALMOST $6.2 MILLION INCREASE. 
          [00:35:03]
THINKING ABOUT THAT INCREASE AS WE MOVE THROUGH MOVE THROUGH THE PRESENTATION. AGAIN,
THAT BEFORE ANYTHING GETS BACKED OUT AND AFTER, WE USE $6.1 MILLION OF OUR FUND BALANCE. IF YOU TAKE THIS AWAY,
YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT BASICALLY BEING FLAT AND NOT RECEIVING ANY NEW REVENUE. WE MENTIONED CONCENTRATION OF POVERTY AND THE INCREASE IN CONCENTRATION
OF POVERTY. 
          TWO SCHOOLS FOR FY 26 ARE BEING PROPOSED. THAT'S PERRYVILLE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AND ELKTON
HIGH SCHOOL. 
          AND SO ALL OF THE SCHOOLS THAT WERE CONCENTRATION OF POVERTY SCHOOLS LAST YEAR ARE THE
ONES THAT WERE ONLY IN THEIR FIRST YEAR, WERE ONLY PERSONNEL SCHOOLS THAT RECEIVED THIS POT OF MONEY AND SCHOOLS THAT WERE IN THEIR
SECOND OR THIRD YEAR WERE ALSO PER PUPIL SCHOOLS, WHICH RECEIVED AN ADDITIONAL POT OF MONEY. SO ALL OF THE SCHOOLS FROM LAST YEAR HAVE NOW
BECOME PER PUPIL SCHOOLS. 
          AND NOW WE'VE ADDED PERRYVILLE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AND ELKTON HIGH. 
          KEEPING IN MIND THAT THOSE COP FUNDS PAY FOR A COMMUNITY SCHOOL ADVISOR AND A NURSE IN
EACH SCHOOL, AS WELL AS THE WRAPAROUND SERVICES, SO YOU CAN SEE WHAT THE REVENUE FOR COP. 
          WHAT'S HAPPENED TO THAT OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS? AND KEEP IN MIND THAT THIS IS WHAT WE CAN DO WITH THOSE FUNDS. 
          AND AGAIN, THAT'S WITH THE PROPOSED THE CURRENT LEGISLATION AND THE CURRENT STATE WORKBOOK
THAT WE'VE JUST RECEIVED. 
          JUST A REMINDER OF OUR FUND BALANCE. SO, AT THE END OF FY 24,
WHEN WE LOOKED AT THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN OUR REVENUE AND EXPENSES HOW WE HAVE ASSIGNED THE FUND BALANCE. SO, WE HAD OUR PREPAID EXPENDITURES. 
          THOSE WERE THINGS LIKE HEALTHCARE OR SUMMER CAMP,
THINGS THAT WERE PREPAID THAT CARRIED INTO FY 25, OUR SUBSEQUENT YEAR'S EXPENDITURES. HERE'S THAT 6 MILLION THAT WE USED TO BALANCE THE FY
25 BUDGET. 
          THIS 5.1 MILLION IS THE BUDGET CONTINGENCY. IT'S THE 2% RULE THAT WE HAVE TO HOLD AS AN AS
AN EMERGENCY FOR THE FOLLOWING YEAR. 
          AND THEN THESE WERE THE AREAS WHERE WE ASSIGNED. 
          AND YOU CAN SEE WE'VE COME TO YOU WITH A LOT OF BUDGET AMENDMENTS THIS YEAR WHERE WE HAVE
USED FUND BALANCE TO DO THESE THINGS. 
          SO TRANSITIONAL SUPPLEMENTAL INSTRUCTION. THIS IS HOW WE FUNDED KINDERGARTEN
PARAPROFESSIONALS IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS TO HELP ASSIST WITH CLASS SIZE ISSUES PER PUPIL ALLOTMENT FOR SCHOOLS. SO WHEN THE SCHOOLS DON'T COMPLETELY SPEND THEIR
PTA BUDGET, THEIR PER PUPIL ALLOTMENT FROM ONE YEAR, WE ARE ALLOWING THEM TO CARRY THE BALANCE INTO
THE NEXT YEAR TO SAVE FOR SOME LARGER TICKET ITEMS, WHETHER IT'S A SOUND SYSTEM, SOME MORE EXPENSIVE EQUIPMENT OR FURNITURE. 
          REINSTATING THE STUDENT SUPPORT TECHNICIANS. THEY WERE REMOVED FROM THE BUDGET AS WE WENT
INTO FY 25, AND IT WAS DETERMINED THAT, ESPECIALLY WITH CLASS SIZES,
THAT THAT WAS A HIGH PRIORITY TO REINSTATE THEM. 
          WE ALLOTTED 1.9 MILLION FOR POSITIONS TO ADDRESS CLASS SIZE. 
          THEY CAN TELL YOU ONE OF THE PLACES WHERE THIS CAME INTO PLAY,
AND DR. 
          HAMMER MENTIONED IT MENTIONED IT EARLIER WAS THE PRE-K EXPANSION GRANTS WE HAD APPLIED
FOR, AND WE WERE TOLD THAT WE RECEIVED THEM WAS ABOUT $1.7 MILLION AND 22 POSITIONS. 
          AND WE OPENED UP PRE-K AND WE ENROLLED STUDENTS,
AND THEN WE WERE NOT AWARDED THOSE GRANTS. 
          SO WE ADDED FOUR PRE-K CLASSROOMS USING FUND BALANCE FUNDS. 
          SO THAT WAS FOUR TEACHERS AND FOUR PARAPROFESSIONALS. 
          ROBOTICS IN THE MIDDLE SCHOOLS, THE WEAPON DETECTION SYSTEMS FOR THE HIGH SCHOOLS,
TECHNOLOGY AND CYBERSECURITY. 
          THIS WAS A BIG ONE AS A RESULT OF OUR LEGISLATIVE AUDIT RESULTS. 
          AND THIS IS ACTUALLY SOME OF THE POSITIONS THAT WE PUT HERE HAVE BEEN HELPFUL WITH THE
POWER SCHOOL BREACH THAT HAPPENED THAT WAS NOT OUR BREACH, BUT IT HAS AFFECTED US. AND SO OUR TECHNOLOGY TEAM HAS BEEN WORKING TO MITIGATE THIS. 
          STUDENT ACTIVITIES FUNDS, THOSE ARE THE FUNDS THAT ARE HELD IN SCHOOL. CHECKING ACCOUNTS
RAISED BY STUDENTS FOR STUDENTS CAN'T BE USED TO BALANCE THE BUDGET, BUT THEY'RE REPORTED HERE. CAPITAL PROJECTS. YOU'VE BEEN APPROVING THOSE BECAUSE,
AS DR. 
          LAWSON MENTIONED, WE HAVE PROJECTS THAT ARE IN SCHOOLS THAT ARE IN DIRE NEED OF SOME HELP. 
          AND THIS IS OUR HEALTHCARE RESERVE, KNOWING THAT HEALTH CARE IS FLUID AND VOLATILE,
AND WE DON'T KNOW AT ANY TIME IF WE COULD EXCEED WHAT HAS BEEN BUDGETED FOR HEALTH CARE. AND SO, OUR CONSULTANT ALWAYS RECOMMENDS BASED ON THE DATA. 
          SHE USES ACTUARIAL DATA TO DETERMINE WHAT OUR RESERVES SHOULD BE IN THE EVENT THAT WE HAVE
NOT BUDGETED ENOUGH FOR HEALTH CARE. 
          SO THIS IS JUST A REMINDER GOING FORWARD WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT USING $6 MILLION TO
BUDGET BALANCE THE BUDGET NEXT YEAR, WHAT WE'VE ALREADY COMMITTED TO THIS YEAR AT THIS TIME,
I'M GOING TO JUMP INTO THE EDUCATION SERVICES BUDGET LINES. AND DUES, AS YOU KNOW,
ENCOMPASSES ALL THINGS TEACHING AND LEARNING IN OUR DISTRICT. 
          AND THE DEPARTMENT HEADS, AS MRS . SOPA SHARED,
CAME TOGETHER, SPENT HOURS AND HOURS REVIEWING THEIR NEEDS AFTER THEY'VE ASSESSED WHAT THEY NEED FOR THEIR SCHOOLS AND THEIR PROGRAMS TO HELP MOVE STUDENT PERFORMANCE ALONG. 
          [00:40:05]
AND SADLY, WHAT MUCH OF WHAT THEY RECOMMENDED ARE NOT GOING TO BE CONSIDERED IN THIS
BUDGET BECAUSE WE SEE THE FORECAST OF WHAT WE HAVE. 
          SO, WE HAVE HAD TO MAKE SEVERAL REDUCTIONS FROM THEIR PROPOSALS,
BUT YOU CAN SEE ALL OF THE CONTENT AREAS THAT ARE COVERED IN EDUCATION SERVICES. 
          SO, THESE ARE REALLY WHERE YOU'RE GOING TO SEE THE AREAS OF INCREASE AND DECREASE. 
          SO, YOU'RE GOING TO SEE AN INCREASE IN OUR CYBERSECURITY. 
          SO, THIS IS NOT ONLY SOFTWARE BUT POSITIONS TO HELP SUPPORT THE SAFETY OF OUR STUDENT
INFORMATION AND DATA. 
          YOU'RE ALSO GOING TO SEE INCREASES IN A COUPLE OF INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS THAT WERE AT ONE
POINT FUNDED BY ESSER. 
          I'LL EXPLAIN THAT IN A MOMENT. CONTRACTED SERVICES,
SUBSTITUTES IN CLASSROOM COVERAGE ARE SOMETHING THAT WE ARE IN DIRE NEED OF WHEN OUR TEACHERS ARE OUT OF THE BUILDINGS. REDUCTIONS OCCUR IN THE AREAS OF PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT. 
          MUCH NEEDED CURRICULUM RATING HAS BEEN REDUCED AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITIES. 
          FUNDS HAVE BEEN REDUCED AS WELL AS INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPLIES. 
          SO THESE ARE ALL THINGS THAT, AS WE HAD TO MAKE DECISIONS TO PRESENT A BUDGET TO YOU THAT
WE HAVE HAD TO MAKE REDUCTIONS IN, EVEN THOUGH THEY WERE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM OUR DEPARTMENTS. 
          SO, WE'RE GOING TO WE'RE GOING TO PRESENT THIS TO YOU FROM A DEPARTMENT LEVEL. 
          AND I'M JUST GOING TO POINT OUT A COUPLE OF THEM TO YOU. 
          AS YOU CAN SEE, HERE WE GO ALL THE WAY BACK TO FY 22-23. 
          AND THESE WERE THE ACTUAL EXPENSES IN THOSE YEARS. 
          SO, IT'S WORTH IT WHEN YOU'RE DOING A DEEP DIVE TO TAKE A COMPARISON LOOK AT ACROSS THE
YEARS. 
          SO THE APPROVED FY 25 BUDGET YOU SEE HERE, AND THIS IS WHAT WE ARE REQUESTING OVER HERE IN
THIS LINE, YOU'RE GOING TO SEE WHAT THAT INCREASE, OR DECREASE IS IN PARENTHESES. 
          OKAY. SO, I'M GOING TO POINT OUT A COUPLE OF THEM TO YOU. 
          BUT IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ON CERTAIN ONES,
PLEASE. 
          CERTAINLY. CERTAINLY ASK. SO, THE FIRST ONE I WANT TO POINT OUT TO YOU IS AS HIGHLIGHTED
IS INFOTECH, AND YOU'RE GOING TO SEE A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE THERE. AND THAT IS WHERE WE SAID ABOUT
CYBERSECURITY SOFTWARE LICENSES OCCUR HERE AS WELL AS LAPTOP REFRESHES AND CHROMEBOOK REFRESHES. WE'VE BEEN KICKING IT DOWN THE ROAD BECAUSE OF OUR
FUNDING SITUATION, AND WE'RE NOW TO THE POINT WHERE COMPUTERS ARE BECOMING OUTDATED AND WE'RE NOT ABLE TO USE
THE TECHNOLOGY THAT IS MUCH NEEDED THAT MUCH OF OUR CURRICULUM IS BASED UPON. 
          THE NEXT ONE I WANT TO POINT OUT TO YOU IS THE DIVISION OF ED SERVICES LINE. 
          AND IN THAT BUDGET IS WHERE YOU SEE SUBSTITUTE TEACHERS,
WHICH HAS SHOWN A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN CLASSROOM COVERAGE. 
          THIS IS ALSO WHERE THE NATIONAL BOARD TEACHING STIPEND. 
          NOW, IF YOU'RE A NATIONAL BOARD TEACHER, THIS IS WHERE THE STIPENDS LIVE. 
          AND WE CURRENTLY HAVE INCREASED THAT TO 47 NATIONAL BOARD TEACHERS IN OUR DISTRICT. 
          AND I'LL REMIND YOU, EACH ONE OF THEM RECEIVES A $10,000 STIPEND FOR HAVING THAT
CERTIFICATION. 
          OKAY. AND IF THERE TO CLARIFY WE DON'T RECEIVE THE SAME AMOUNT FROM THE STATE TO COVER ALL
OF THE MBC COSTS; CORRECT? CORRECT. IT'S PART FROM THE PART FROM THE COUNTY,
PART FROM THE STATE. 
          BUT IT'S BUDGETED HERE. AND THE INCREASE FROM ONE YEAR TO THE NEXT JUST IN THAT IS
$182,000. 
          BUT WE'RE MANDATED TO DO IT BECAUSE OF BLUEPRINT. 
          CORRECT? CORRECT. PART OF BLUEPRINT LEGISLATION. 
          NEXT ONE I WANT TO POINT OUT TO YOU IS SPECIAL EDUCATION. YOU'RE GOING TO SEE AN ALMOST $1
MILLION INCREASE THERE. 
          AND THAT REALLY IS FOR OUR CONTRACTED SERVICES. 
          WE CONTRACT WITH DEVEREUX TO HELP SUPPORT STUDENT BEHAVIOR NEEDS INTERPRETING
TRANSLATIONS. 
          YOU'RE GOING TO SEE AN INCREASE IN THOSE RELATED SERVICES,
WHICH IS WHERE OUR CONTRACTED RELATED SERVICE PROVIDERS LIVE. 
          WE ARE NOT ABLE TO HIRE NECESSARILY CONTRACTED OR RELATED SERVICE PROVIDERS BECAUSE
THEY'RE JUST NOT OUT THERE. 
          MANY OF THEM ARE HIRED BY CONTRACTED, CONTRACTED AGENCIES THAT WE HAVE TO INSTEAD OF
SPENDING FUNDS ON FTS. 
          WE HAVE TO GO TO THE CONTRACTING AGENCY. SO THAT'S WHY THOSE POSITIONS LIVE IN CONTRACT
CONTRACTED SERVICES. 
          I WANT TO POINT OUT STUDENT PERSONNEL SERVICES,
AND THAT IS REALLY WHERE WE HAVE OUR CONTINUUM OF SERVICES FOR OUR STUDENTS. 
          THAT'S OUR ALTERNATIVE PROGRAM OR CAP FUNDS THERE. 
          AND THOSE INCREASES ARE HAPPENING IN THOSE DEPARTMENTS. 
          SO IF YOU TAKE A LOOK AT THE STUDENT PERSONNEL SERVICES,
$3.1 MILLION AND THE NON-PUBLICS $4.2 MILLION, THAT'S UPWARDS OF $7 MILLION, INCLUDING THE ALTERNATIVE ED,
THAT DR. 
          HAMMER JUST HIGHLIGHTED FOR ANOTHER 440,000. SO I MEAN,
WE'RE LOOKING AT UPWARDS 7 TO $8 MILLION ON SUPPORTING SCHOOLS FOR STUDENTS WHO THE TYPICAL CLASSROOM ISN'T THE APPROPRIATE SETTING. 
          AND SO, WE REALLY HAVE BEEN AGGRESSIVE TRYING TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF RESOURCES WE HAVE. 
          WE KNOW THAT'S A CONCERN WITH CONCERN WITH TEACHERS. IT'S A CONCERN FOR OUR
ADMINISTRATORS. AND WE ARE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN TO PROVIDE DIFFERENT OPTIONS AROUND THE COUNTY. I
ALSO WANTED TO DRAW YOUR ATTENTION TO THE EARLY CHILDHOOD REDUCTION OF 
          [00:45:01]
$325,000. THAT'S BECAUSE THE MONEY FOR PRIVATE PRE-K USED TO COME THROUGH THE SCHOOL
SYSTEM TO GO BACK TO THE STATE FOR THE PRIVATE PROVIDER, AND NOW IT'S GOING TO GO DIRECTLY FROM THE COUNTY TO AND THE STATE TO THE
PRIVATE PROVIDER. 
          WE'RE NO LONGER THE MIDDLEMAN. SO IT'S REALLY JUST THAT WAS MONEY THAT WAS PART OF IS PART
OF OUR BUDGET FOR FY 25. 
          THAT IS NOT FOR OUR USE FOR THE STUDENTS IN OUR BUILDINGS. 
          AND WE JUST HAVE ONE WE STILL CURRENTLY ONLY HAVE WE HAVE ONE AT MOUNT AVIAT. 
          WE HAVE; THERE'S TRINITY AS WELL. IN CHESAPEAKE CITY WE HAVE TWO. 
          YEP. SORRY. THAT'S OKAY. THAT'S NOT YOUR DEPARTMENT. 
          DIDN'T KNOW THAT. AND WE'RE SERVING A TOTAL OF 28 STUDENTS IN THE TWO PROGRAMS COMBINED. 
          YEAH. THANK YOU. I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO LIKE TO POINT OUT TO YOU. 
          SO, WE'RE WAITING ON MANY OF OUR GRANTS AND THAT ONE THING YOU'LL SEE HERE UNDER OUR
ALTERNATIVE, AND THAT IS OUR TWILIGHT PROGRAM. WE HAVE TYPICALLY BUDGETED THAT'S THE TYPICAL BUDGET
LAST YEAR, HALF OF THAT BECAUSE WE USED GRANT FUNDING TO PAY FOR THE TWILIGHT PROGRAM,
WHICH IS AN INTERVENTION PROGRAM FOR OUR SECONDARY STUDENTS. 
          WE ARE NOW GOING TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE FULL AMOUNT OF THAT PROGRAM IF IT WERE TO
CONTINUE. CAN I JUST YOU MAY HAVE SAID THIS, AND I MISSED IT, BUT UNDER IT, DOES THAT INCLUDE SMART BOARD REFRESHES? ABSOLUTELY. YES, IT DOES. OKAY. WELL, SMART BOARD PROJECTORS. 
          BUT THERE WAS SOME OF THAT. SO, THEY HAD A LARGER BUDGET. SO AS DR. 
          HAMER MENTIONED AT THE BEGINNING, THEIR INCREASE WAS MUCH BIGGER THAN THAT. 
          WE ASKED THEM TO REDUCE IT, TO SCALE IT BACK BECAUSE OF ALL THE OTHER THINGS THAT ARE
COMPETING PRIORITIES. 
          SO, A LOT OF THOSE THINGS THEY'VE, THEY'VE TAKEN AND AGAIN,
LIKE IT WAS MENTIONED, YOU HAVE TECHNOLOGY THAT WE JUST KEEP KICKING THE CAN DOWN THE ROAD. AND A GOOD EXAMPLE WOULD BE MY LAPTOP. WE'RE TRYING TO WORK ON THE BUDGET. 
          LAST WEEK IT KEPT CRASHING BECAUSE IT WAS SIX YEARS OLD. 
          AND SO WHEN WE'RE PUTTING OFF ADMINISTRATOR LAPTOPS BECAUSE WE'RE TRYING TO GET TEACHERS
LAPTOPS AND WE'RE TRYING TO GET STUDENTS CHROMEBOOKS, AND THEN YOU END UP WITH THAT KIND OF A SITUATION. 
          AND THAT'S WHERE WE'RE BACKING OURSELVES INTO A CORNER WITH A LOT OF THINGS,
WHETHER IT'S DEFERRED MAINTENANCE, WHETHER IT'S TECHNOLOGY. WE'RE PUTTING OFF ALL THOSE THINGS BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT THE
HIGHEST PRIORITY COMPARED TO OTHER THINGS. 
          AND IT'S NOT SO MUCH THAT THE TECHNOLOGY, IT'S NOT THAT FOLKS DON'T WANT TO USE OLDER
TECHNOLOGY. 
          WHAT HAPPENS IS THE SOFTWARE STOPS THE UPDATES AND THE PATCHES. 
          THEY'LL STOP PUSHING THEM OUT. SO, YOUR CHROMEBOOK MIGHT BE FIVE YEARS OLD AND YOU'RE
THINKING, WELL, THIS IS GOING TO WORK. AND WELL, NEXT YEAR THEY STOP UPDATES. 
          AND SO THEN THE THING JUST BECOMES A DINOSAUR,
AND YOU'RE FORCED TO GET RID OF IT. 
          SO YOU'RE REALLY FORCED. EVEN THOUGH A MACHINE IS OLD,
YOU'RE STILL FORCED SOMETIMES TO GET RID OF IT, EVEN THOUGH IT'S FUNCTIONAL, WHICH IS FRUSTRATING. 
          CAN I ASK A QUICK QUESTION ABOUT THE LATEST DATA BREACH? DID THAT FORCE US TO LOOK AT
THINGS A LITTLE DIFFERENTLY WHEN BASED ON HARDENING OF OUR SYSTEM? SO THAT ONE. NOT NECESSARILY, BUT THERE HAVE BEEN A COUPLE OF OTHERS AROUND THE STATE THAT
ABSOLUTELY HAVE. 
          AND THAT'S WHY YOU'VE SEEN AN INCREASE IN TERMS OF RESOURCES WE'VE PULLED. 
          I THINK IT WAS TWO POSITIONS OUT OF OUR FUND BALANCE TO INCREASE THE TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT
FOR DATA SECURITY. 
          THE ONE MOST RECENT WE'VE BEEN DEALING WITH THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS,
A COUPLE WEEKS HAS BEEN POWER SCHOOL, AND THAT'S THE THIRD PARTY VENDOR. THEY WERE HACKED. 
          AND THEY HAVE THERE'S REALLY NOTHING WE COULD HAVE DONE TO PREVENT THAT. 
          BUT MORE DIRECTLY TO YOUR POINT, THAT'S SOMETHING WE'RE LOOKING VERY CLOSELY AT. 
          WE'RE PROVIDING RESOURCES, AND WE'VE BEEN CITED THE LAST COUPLE LEGISLATIVE AUDITS WITH
TECHNOLOGY BEING VULNERABLE. 
          SO WE HAVE PUSHED RESOURCES IN TERMS OF SOFTWARE UPGRADES AS WELL AS STAFF MANPOWER. 
          THANK YOU. THAT'S IT'S REALLY BEEN THE ONLY MANPOWER WE HAVE HIRED OUTSIDE OF DIRECT
SUPPORT TO CLASSROOMS. THIS IS THE LAST PAGE I PROMISE OF ED SERVICES. 
          WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO SEE HERE IT'S A COUPLE OF THINGS TO HIGHLIGHT. 
          FIRST OF ALL, I SPOKE TO WANING GRANTS. SO LAST YEAR,
WE USED FUNDS THAT WERE REMAINING FUNDS OF OUR ESSER GRANT THAT WAS STILL LINGERING. 
          WE HAD EXTRA FUNDS AT THE END OF THAT GRANT,
AND WE'RE ABLE TO FUND BOTH OUR ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY MATH PROGRAM WITH THOSE FUNDS. 
          SO THAT'S WHY YOU SEE A VERY MINIMAL BUDGET FROM LAST YEAR. 
          WELL, THOSE FUNDS THAT EXPENSE IS NOW BACK. AND WE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR FUNDING BOTH THE
ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY SOFTWARE AND MATERIALS FOR THOSE MATH PROGRAMS. NEXT THING YOU'RE GOING TO I WOULD LIKE TO HIGHLIGHT THE SAME KIND OF A SITUATION FOR
MUSIC. QUAVER IS OUR MUSIC PROGRAM. 
          WE ARE IN A FIVE YEAR CONTRACT WITH QUAVER, AND WE PAY FOR THE FIRST TWO YEARS OF THAT
NOW. 
          SO THAT'S WHY YOU SEE THAT INCREASE IN THE AREA OF OF MUSIC. 
          YOU'LL SEE SCIENCE HERE. AN INCREASE OF 55,000. 
          THAT IS AN INCREASE TO FAIR HILL NATURE CENTER. 
          ORIGINAL FUNDING FOR FAIR HILL NATURE CENTER,
WHICH ARE TRIPS FOR OUR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS, ARE AT 1992 FUNDING LEVELS. I SAID THAT RIGHT 1992. 
          THINK OF WHERE YOU WERE IN 1992. AND THAT'S HOW MUCH CECIL COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS BUDGETED
TO SUPPORT FAIR HILL NATURE CENTER. 
          [00:50:04]
WE NEED AN INCREASE IN THAT AREA. SO FAIR HILL NATURE CENTER,
JUST TO CLARIFY, IS FOR ALL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS EACH GRADE LEVEL EACH YEAR. 
          YES. EACH YEAR. SO IT COVERS A LOT OF STUDENTS K-5,
I BELIEVE. 
          YES. THAT'S CORRECT. THAT'S CORRECT. I'D LIKE TO POINT OUT ATHLETICS INCREASING EXPENSES
IN THE AREA OF ATHLETICS, ESPECIALLY FOR THE COVERAGE OF OUR CECIL COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPUTIES. 
          IN ADDITION TO ATI, WHICH IS OUR ATHLETIC TRAINING. 
          AND SO THAT'S CONTRIBUTED TO THAT INCREASE IN THAT AREA. 
          I'D LIKE TO ALSO POINT OUT TO YOU AN INCREASE IN THIS AREA,
AND I KNOW THE BOARD IS INTERESTED IN HAVING A CONVERSATION AROUND THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL. WE HAVE PUT INTO THE BUDGET THE NORTH BAY FUNDING. 
          AND I KNOW THE BOARD IS INTERESTED IN HAVING A CONVERSATION AROUND THAT AREA. 
          SO CAN I ASK THIS QUESTION NOW? SURE. THE AMOUNT THAT YOU PUT IN FOR NORTH BAY FUNDING IS
FOR A FIVE DAY PROGRAM FOR SIXTH GRADERS IN SIX MIDDLE SCHOOLS. 
          THAT IS CORRECT. FOR ONE WEEK. OKAY. THAT'S THE ATTENDANCE AT NORTH BAY,
THE TRANSPORTATION AND THE PAYMENT FOR AFTER HOURS FOR TEACHERS. 
          AND THAT IS SO THAT WHOLE NUMBER, $373,000, IS JUST NORTH BAY. 
          YES. JUST WANTED TO CLARIFY. I DON'T KNOW IF THE BOARD HAS ANY OTHER COMMENTS. 
          IF YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT THAT NOW OR. I'D LIKE TO KEEP GOING ON THE THING. 
          OKAY, BACK TO THAT. THAT'S OKAY. SO, AT THAT TIME,
THAT'S THE CONCLUSION OF ED SERVICES PROPOSAL. 
          GOOD EVENING. JUST AS DR. HAMMER EXPLAINED THAT EVERYTHING PREVIOUS TO THIS HAS BEEN
DIRECT INSTRUCTION AND TIED TO CLASSROOMS AND THE ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES SIDE OF THE ORGANIZATION WERE ALL THINGS THAT SUPPORT THAT DIRECT INSTRUCTION. 
          WHETHER IT'S GETTING OUR STUDENTS TO SCHOOL ON TIME,
IT'S PROVIDING, YOU KNOW, CLEAN, WELL-KEPT BUILDINGS FOR ALL OF OUR STAFF, ALL OF OUR MAINTENANCE PROJECTS OUR HEALTHCARE AS WELL. 
          THAT ALL COMES THROUGH ON THE ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES SIDE OF THE ORGANIZATION. 
          OUR PRIORITIES THIS YEAR, AGAIN, CONTINUE TO BE RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION AS WE CONTINUE
TO IMPLEMENT THE BLUEPRINT. 
          AND WITH THE STAFFING SHORTAGE THAT WE'RE FACING,
WE'RE IN A POSITION WHERE WE'RE COMPETING WITH EVERY OTHER AREA IN THE STATE OF MARYLAND, AS WELL AS SURROUNDING STATES FOR OUR TEACHERS. 
          AS THE BOARD IS WELL AWARE, WE HIRED 36 PROVISIONAL TEACHERS THIS YEAR. 
          THAT PUTS OUR NUMBER AT OVER 100 WITHIN OUR TEACHING. 
          OUR TEACHING RANKS OVERALL THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CAREER LADDER. 
          WE HAVE IMPLEMENTED THE FIRST THREE TIERS OF OUR CAREER LADDER. WE WILL BE IMPLEMENTING
THE FOURTH LEVEL THIS YEAR AGAIN PENDING LEGISLATION. 
          WE WORK COLLABORATIVELY AND THROUGH NEGOTIATION PROCESS WITH OUR TEACHER ASSOCIATION VERY
POSITIVELY TO CONSTRUCT AND BUILD THAT LADDER TO SUPPORT OUR TEACHERS AND THEIR GROWTH CAPITAL PROJECTS AND DEFERRED MAINTENANCE. THE CAPITAL PROJECT NUMBER ONE PRIORITY
CONTINUES TO BE NORTHEAST, MIDDLE AND NORTHEAST HIGH SCHOOL. OUR DEFERRED MAINTENANCE CONTINUE TO MOUNT IN TERMS OF
OUR AGING BUILDINGS AND FACILITIES. 
          AS DOCTOR LAWSON REFERRED TO EARLIER, ALL OF OUR PAVING PROJECTS,
OUR SIDEWALKS. 
          DR. BOYER WILL BE SPEAKING TO OUR LARGE CAP AND SMALL CAP PROJECTS A LITTLE BIT LATER. 
          MAINTAINING OUR HEALTHCARE COSTS. OUR BENEFITS ADVISORY COMMITTEE WORKS YEARLY WITH OUR
CONSULTANTS AND MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE MAINTAINING COMPETITIVE RATES FOR ALL OF OUR EMPLOYEES. AND THEN WE'RE LOOKING AT REPLACEMENT OF BUSSES. 
          SO JUST AS IN THE SERVICES SIDE, A FEW AREAS THAT I'D LIKE TO JUST HIGHLIGHT FOR THE BOARD
AS WE WORK THROUGH, THEN ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE. THE FIRST IS YOU WILL SEE AN INCREASE IN THE BOARD
LINE. 
          PRIMARILY THAT IS DUE TO INCREASED AUDITING COSTS,
MEMBERSHIP FEES AND LEGAL FEES. 
          WE'VE SEEN AN UPTICK IN THOSE AREAS. THE NEXT TWO AREAS,
THE NEXT AREA IS IN SAFE SCHOOLS. 
          YOU'LL SEE A REDUCTION HERE OF $100,000 IN SAFE SCHOOLS. 
          LAST YEAR, IF YOU REMEMBER, WE HAD INCREASED THAT NUMBER BY ABOUT 750,000. 
          ENDED UP REDUCING IT BY ABOUT 630,000. THOSE WERE DESIGNATED FOR SCHOOL CAMERAS. 
          SO WE MAINTAIN APPROXIMATELY $120,000 IN THAT LINE ITEM. 
          AND THAT WAS FOR THAT WAS TO UPGRADE OUR SERVERS THAT WOULD SUPPORT OUR EXISTING CAMERAS. 
          AND THEN THE HOPE AND THE GOAL WOULD HAVE BEEN TO COME BACK AND REPLACE THOSE CAMERAS. 
          SO, THE REDUCTION OF 100,000 IS WE DID THE SERVERS LAST YEAR,
AND THE CAMERAS ARE STILL ON HOLD AS WE MOVE INTO NEXT YEAR. 
          SO JUST A CLARIFYING QUESTION. THE CAMERAS CAN'T BE CONSIDERED SMALL CAP BECAUSE THEY ARE
NOT NEW, RIGHT? THE STIPULATIONS TO BE SMALL CAP ARE NEW PROGRAMS AND NEW EQUIPMENT. 
          YOU MEAN NON-RECURRING? CAMERAS COULD BE CLASSIFIED AS NON-RECURRING BECAUSE THEY'RE
SAFETY. 
          SO THAT IF WE WERE TO REQUEST THAT FROM THE COUNTY,
WE WOULD HAVE TO REQUEST IT INDEPENDENT OF THE OPERATING BUDGET. 
          [00:55:03]
RIGHT. SO, LIKE RIGHT NOW THEY'RE IN OPERATING,
BUT THEY COULD BE POTENTIALLY A SMALL CAP ASSET. 
          RIGHT NOW, THEY'RE NOT THERE. RIGHT. CORRECT. YES. OKAY. 
          THEY'RE NOT IN THE BUDGET. SO, THEY COULD BE THE WAY YOU ASK THE QUESTION. 
          YOU KNOW WHAT? I'M IN A SEPARATE REQUEST. YES. 
          THANK YOU. YES. ANYTHING WITH SAFETY AND NEW PROGRAM COULD QUALIFY AS A NON-RECURRING
REQUEST FROM THE COUNTY TO THE STATE. 
          AND IT WOULD NOT COUNT TOWARDS MOE. CORRECT. THE NEXT AREA IS THE OFFICE OF FINANCE,
AND YOU'LL SEE AN INCREASE HERE OF 128,000. THAT IS DUE TO INCREASE IN INSURANCE COSTS. 
          THE NEXT AREA I WOULD LIKE TO DRAW YOUR ATTENTION TO IS A DECREASE IN PURCHASING. 
          WHAT WE DID IS WE REDUCED OUR LEASE LIABILITY,
OUR LEASE EXPOSURE WITH VEHICLES AND COPIERS FROM LAST YEAR TO THIS YEAR. 
          SO, YOU'LL SEE A REDUCTION THERE OF $153,000. 
          AND THEN THE FINAL AREA THAT I'D LIKE TO POINT OUT IS AN INCREASE IN STUDENT
TRANSPORTATION. 
          THAT IS REPLACEMENT COSTS FOR BUSSES. THEY GO AT $160,000 PER BUS,
IS ABOUT THE RUNNING COST FOR A REPLACEMENT BUS, ALONG WITH MAINTAINING OUR TABLE OF RATES FOR OUR CONTRACTORS. 
          BUCKLEY HOW MANY BUSSES ARE IN THAT LINE RIGHT NOW? WE'VE GOT ONE THAT'S DESIGNATED FOR THAT LINE. 
          WE'LL WORK WITH OUR CONTRACTORS TO SEE WHAT THEIR NEED IS. 
          BUT THANK YOU. YES. BEFORE WE MOVE ON TO THE TO THE NEXT SLIDE,
I WANT TO DRAW YOUR ATTENTION TO UTILITIES AS WELL. 
          OUR ORIGINAL PLAN WAS TO REDUCE UTILITIES, AS YOU CAN SEE HERE,
BECAUSE OF HOW WE'VE BEEN TRENDING. 
          BUT AFTER SOME RECENT INFORMATION FROM [INAUDIBLE] AND OUR ENERGY CONSORTIUM,
THERE WILL BE A 22% INCREASE IN ELECTRIC DELIVERY FEES STARTING IN CALENDAR YEAR 26. SO WE THOUGHT THAT THE INCREASE WOULD HAPPEN IN FY 27,
BUT IT WILL ACTUALLY START IN CALENDAR YEAR. 
          SO, WE WILL HAVE TO GO BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD ON OUR UTILITY AMOUNT. 
          SO, THIS SLIDE SHOWS YOU UNRESTRICTED SALARIES AND FIXED CHARGES AND SOMETHING THAT'S
IMPORTANT TO NOTE ABOUT THIS LINE. 
          SO, THE SALARIES SO THESE NUMBERS TOTAL UP. SO THE INCREASE IN SALARIES JUST SALARIES FROM
APPROVED FY 25 TO REQUESTED FY 26 IS 9.5 MILLION. NOW THAT INCLUDES THE POSITIONS THAT WE'VE ADDED SINCE WE STRUCK THE FY
25 BUDGET. 
          SO THOSE ADDITIONAL POSITIONS PLUS STEPS AND RAISES FOR ALL OF THE NEGOTIATING GROUPS. 
          SO THAT INCLUDES EVERYTHING. SO, THE REASON IT'S HIGHER THAN OUR NORMAL WITH THE BLUEPRINT
REQUIREMENT OF GETTING TEACHERS TO THE 60,000 STARTING MARK. 
          IT'S BEEN ABOUT SEVEN AND CHANGE A YEAR FOR THE INCREASE. 
          AND THE REASON IT'S 9.5 IS BECAUSE WE'VE ALSO GOT THESE ADDITIONAL POSITIONS THAT WE ADDED
TO THE BUDGET THIS YEAR. 
          AND YOU CAN SEE THE INCREASE IN FIXED CHARGES. 
          SO THE TOTAL INCREASE JUST IN SALARIES AND FIXED CHARGES FOR THE UNRESTRICTED BUDGET IS
13.4 MILLION. 
          DR. LAWSON MENTIONED EARLIER ABOUT POSSIBLE SHIFTING IN THE PENSION. 
          THIS IS WHERE THAT WOULD OCCUR. SO BAKED INTO THIS $54 MILLION FOR FIXED CHARGES. 
          WE PAY ABOUT $6.6 MILLION FOR TEACHER PENSION EACH YEAR ALREADY. 
          WE PAY A LITTLE OVER A MILLION MORE FOR THE ADMINISTRATIVE FEES FOR THE TEACHER PENSION,
AND THEN ABOUT ANOTHER MILLION FOR EMPLOYEE PENSION. 
          SO, ALL OF THAT IS PART OF THIS BUDGET HERE AND NOW,
NOT KNOWING WHERE THE LEGISLATION IS HEADED, WE COULD BE ON THE HOOK FOR ANOTHER 1.5 MILLION IN PENSIONS. 
          THAT'S NOT REFLECTED HERE. SO SO AS I UNDERSTAND,
THE PROPOSED LEGISLATION IS THE INTENT IS TO PUSH THAT $1.5 MILLION COST BACK TO THE COUNTY LEVEL. THE QUESTION THEN BECOMES WILL THE COUNTY ADMINISTRATION PAY FOR IT
THEMSELVES ON OUR BEHALF, OR WILL THEY PULL THAT FROM WHATEVER NUMBER,
OR WILL THEY GIVE US A NUMBER AND EXPECT THAT WE. 
          IN OTHER WORDS, WE SAID THE 99 MILLION IS THE NEW LOCAL SHARE. 
          THEY COULD JUST GIVE US THE 99 MILLION AND SAY,
OKAY, MAKE THAT 1.5 WORK. 
          SO, THEN YOU CAN SEE HOW THAT WOULD JUST BE A THAT'S DE FACTO A CUT. 
          SO, THE 1.5 MILLION WILL DEFINITELY BE PART OF OPERATING AND PART OF MOE WEIGHT. 
          THE WAY I UNDERSTOOD IT IS THAT IF IT IF THE RESPONSIBILITY GOES BACK TO THE COUNTY,
THAT IT WOULD BE IN ADDITION TO LOCAL SHARES. 
          SO, THEY WOULD BE REQUIRED TO GIVE US LOCAL SHARE BECAUSE THAT'S THE BLUEPRINT
CALCULATION. 
          THEN THEY WOULD BE REQUIRED TO GIVE US THAT PENSION AMOUNT. 
          SO, I THINK WHAT THE QUESTION WOULD BE IS IF THEY WERE ALREADY GOING TO GIVE US OVER LOCAL
SHARE, ARE THEY GOING TO GIVE US WHAT THEY WERE GOING TO GIVE US AND THE PENSION CONTRIBUTION? OR ARE THEY GOING TO SAY, WELL, WE WERE GOING TO GIVE YOU THIS MUCH OVER LOCAL SHARE,
NOW MAKE THE PENSION WORK OUT OF THAT. 
          LAST YEAR, THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE INCREASED OUR FUNDING $4.5 MILLION ABOVE LOCAL SHARE IN
THIS PENSION SCENARIO. 
          [01:00:03]
SHE COULD HAVE SAID, I'M GIVING YOU 4.5 MILLION ABOVE LOCAL SHARE,
AND OF THAT YOU'VE GOT TO TAKE 1.5 MILLION AND PAY THAT PENSION. 
          SO, IT THEN JUST SIMPLY BECOMES $3 MILLION. SO THAT WOULD BE AT THE PREROGATIVE OF THE
COUNTY EXECUTIVE ASSUMING THEY WENT ABOVE LOCAL SHARE. 
          DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? YEAH. WE'RE REALLY OKAY. 
          GOOD, GOOD. THANK YOU. THIS SHOWS YOU A BREAKDOWN OF POSITIONS IN THE UNRESTRICTED BUDGET. 
          SO, THEY'RE IDENTIFIED BY STATE CATEGORY ACROSS THE TOP. 
          AND THEN WE USE THE OBJECT CODES DOWN THE SIDE,
WHICH GIVES YOU A LITTLE BETTER IDEA OF WHAT THESE POSITIONS ARE. 
          AND THESE NUMBERS WILL MAKE A LITTLE MORE SENSE IN A FEW SLIDES DOWN THE ROAD WHEN WE
START COMPARING THEM TO CURRENT POSITIONS. 
          SO, THIS GIVES US A TOTAL UNRESTRICTED BUDGET SUMMARY WHERE WE INCLUDE. 
          SO, WE SHOW IT HERE BY STATE CATEGORY. SO, THE SALARIES ARE BAKED INTO EACH OF THESE STATE
CATEGORIES. 
          FIXED CHARGES STANDALONE. SO, THE TOTAL INCREASE FROM FY 25 APPROVED TO FY 26 REQUESTED IS
AN $18 MILLION INCREASE. 
          RESTRICTED REVENUE, AS WE MENTIONED BEFORE, IS OUR BEST GUESSTIMATE AT THIS TIME. 
          BUT I WANT TO DRAW YOUR ATTENTION TO WHEN WE APPROVE THE FY 25 BUDGET,
THE NUMBER OF POSITIONS THAT WE HAD APPROVED, AND THEN HOW MANY POSITIONS HAVE DECREASED EITHER DURING THE YEAR,
THIS YEAR, BEFORE THE YEAR STARTED, OR IN PREPARATION FOR FY 26. WE FOUND OUT LAST SUMMER THAT OUR TITLE ONE FUNDING WAS
REDUCED, SO POSITIONS THAT WE HAD BUDGETED FOR. WHEN THE TITLE ONE FUNDING WAS REDUCED,
WE WERE NOT ABLE TO FUND THOSE POSITIONS. 
          SO THOSE POSITIONS WERE CUT AT THAT TIME. YOU CAN SEE ALL OF OUR SPECIAL ED FUNDING HERE,
AND YOU CAN SEE POSITIONS THAT WERE APPROVED AND THEN POSITIONS MOVING INTO FY 26. 
          SO, YOU CAN SEE REDUCTIONS IN POSITIONS THERE. 
          AND THESE ARE OUR DUTY CENTER GRANTS. SO AGAIN,
YOU CAN SEE THE CHANGE FROM FY 25 TO FY 26. 
          SO, THE TOTAL CHANGE IS 40.8. SOME OF THESE POSITIONS. 
          SO, AS GRANTS EXPIRE SO I CAN THERE ARE AT LEAST TWO POSITIONS. 
          I COULD TELL YOU RIGHT OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD DURING THIS YEAR,
AS THE GRANT EXPIRED IN DECEMBER, AND WE KNEW IT WOULD. THESE TWO PEOPLE WERE PAID THROUGH A GRANT AND THEN AFTER DECEMBER, THEY BECOME PART OF OUR LOCAL FUNDING. 
          SO THAT'S WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE PLAN FOR SOMETHING. 
          WE HAVE SOMEBODY EMPLOYED, AND THEN THE GRANT EXPIRES,
OR WE DON'T RECEIVE THE GRANT THAT WE WERE GOING TO RECEIVE, AND THEN WE ABSORB THAT INTO OUR OPERATING BUDGET. 
          SO, 2.6 MILLION LESS THAN OUR FY 25 APPROVED RESTRICTED BUDGET. 
          SO, REMEMBER WHAT WE WERE WITH ESSER. AND NOW WE'RE $2.6 MILLION LESS IN RESTRICTED. 
          SO THOSE POSITIONS THAT WERE GRANT EXPIRED AND BECOME PART OF OUR OPERATING. 
          ARE THEY INCLUDED IN THAT NUMBER ON THE PREVIOUS SLIDE. 
          YES, AND I'M AND I'LL GET TO THAT WHEN WE DO SOME COMPARISONS,
AND I'LL EXPLAIN IT A LITTLE MORE. 
          BUT GOOD QUESTION. THANK YOU. SO, THIS SHOWS THE TOTAL FOR RESTRICTED SALARIES AND FIXED
CHARGES. 
          SO AGAIN, THE SALARIES COMPARING 25 TO 26 AND THE FIXED CHARGES. 
          SO, THERE'S A REDUCTION IN $2.4 MILLION THERE. 
          THIS IS A SUMMARY OF THE RESTRICTED POSITIONS IN THE BUDGET FOR NEXT YEAR AGAIN BY STATE
CATEGORY AND BY POSITION. 
          AND THEN THIS IS A TOTAL RESTRICTED BUDGET SUMMARY. 
          AND AGAIN NEXT WEEK OR THE FOLLOWING WEEK WHEN WE GET TOGETHER NEXT WEEK YOU'LL HAVE A
MORE SPECIFIC LINE BY LINE. 
          WE'VE HAD SOME TECHNOLOGY CHALLENGES, BUT WE WILL GET YOU THE MORE DETAIL SO THAT YOU HAVE
TIME TO LOOK AT IT BEFORE WE MEET ON THE FOURTH TO ASK SOME QUESTIONS. 
          SO, THIS SHOWS YOU OUR TOTAL OPERATING BUDGET POSITION. 
          SO, THIS INCLUDES RESTRICTED AND UNRESTRICTED ON ONE PAGE AGAIN BY STATE CATEGORY AND BY
OBJECT CODE TO EXPLAIN BUT I THINK THE NEXT SLIDE IS WHAT WILL REALLY HELP YOU REALLY PROCESS. 
          THIS IS WE'RE COMPARING FY 25 NUMBERS TO FY 26 NUMBERS. 
          AND JUST FOR THE BOARD'S AWARENESS, IF YOU NOTICE COMPARING FY 25 TO FY 26,
YOU'LL SEE OUR REQUEST TO GO FROM 28 PRINCIPLES TO 29. 
          MY RECOMMENDATION OUR RECOMMENDATION IS GOING TO BE TO PUT A MIDDLE SCHOOL PRINCIPAL BACK
AT BOHEMIA MANOR. 
          THAT WILL NOT RESULT IN AN INCREASE OF A WHOLE ADMINISTRATIVE POSITION. 
          WHAT WE WILL DO IS WE WILL FLIP AN ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL FOR A PRINCIPAL. 
          SO, THE INCREASE WOULD BE JUST SIMPLY THE DIFFERENCE IN PAY. 
          WE WOULD GO WITH A PRINCIPAL IN THAT BUILDING WITH A DEAN OF STUDENTS OR SOME POSITION
SIMILAR TO THAT AS A IT'S A FAIRLY SMALL MIDDLE SCHOOL, 
          [01:05:04]
SO WOULD HAVE A PRINCIPAL AND THEN AN ASSISTANT,
NOT AN ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL, SOMEBODY TO HELP THEM. 
          HOW'S THAT? THAT'S THE SOMEBODY TO HELP THEM CERTIFICATE THAT WE'RE ALSO FOLLOW ME ON THAT
OKAY. 
          BECAUSE YOU'LL SEE THE INCREASE OF PRINCIPAL BY ONE,
AND THEN A SUBSEQUENT DECREASE OF AN ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL BY ONE. 
          IT'S PROBABLY THE EASIER WAY TO SAY THAT IF I DRAW YOUR ATTENTION TO THE BOTTOM,
YOU CAN SEE THE INCREASE IN THE RESTRICTED BUDGET IS 82.4 AND THE UNRESTRICTED BUDGET IS 82.4 POSITIONS. 73 OF THEM HAVE BEEN ADDED SINCE WE BEGAN THE
SCHOOL YEAR. 
          SO, THE STUDENT SUPPORT TECHNICIANS, THE KINDERGARTEN PARAS,
YOU CAN SEE THESE ARE THE POSITIONS HERE. 
          SO 18 TEACHERS, THE JROTC POSITION AT ELKTON HIGH SCHOOL,
27 PARAS. 
          THAT INCLUDES KINDERGARTEN PARIS, SPECIAL ED PARIS. 
          IT INCLUDES 23 ASSISTS. AND IT INCLUDES FOUR TECHNOLOGY POSITIONS TO ADDRESS CYBERSECURITY
AND SOME RESTRUCTURING OF THE DEPARTMENT TO ADDRESS SOME OF THOSE SITUATIONS. SO, THIS INCREASE IN 82.4 IS THESE 73 POSITIONS,
ALONG WITH ANOTHER OR SEVEN NINE POSITIONS OR SO THAT WERE IN THE RESTRICTED BUDGET THAT HAVE MOVED TO THE UNRESTRICTED BUDGET. 
          SO THAT'S WHERE YOU SEE THE INCREASE. SO, THE OTHER 9.4 ARE POSITIONS THAT HAVE EITHER
ALREADY MOVED THIS YEAR, OR WE ARE PROJECTING WE'LL BE MOVING TO THE UNRESTRICTED BUDGET FOR FY 26. 
          SO, MRS. SOPA. CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG HERE,
BUT JUST FOR THE BOARD'S CLARIFICATION, WHEN YOU THINK BACK A FEW SLIDES AGO WHEN MRS. SOPA POINTED OUT AN OVER $9 MILLION SALARY INCREASE YEAR OVER YEAR THAT INCLUDED THE STEPS
AND THE COLAS AND THE 73 POSITIONS THAT YOU PULLED FROM FUND BALANCE. OKAY. SO THAT'S WHY THAT NUMBER IS SO BIG. 
          CORRECT? YES. AND THE MAJORITY OF THEM ARE SUPPORT STAFF,
WHICH IS WHY YOU WOULD EXPECT IT TO BE EVEN HIGHER. 
          BUT I ALSO WANTED TO DRAW YOUR ATTENTION TO HISTORICAL STAFFING. SO,
WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE FACT THAT OUR REQUEST FOR FY 26 IS 2052 STAFF MEMBERS, IF YOU GO BACK TO FY 19, WE WERE AT 2055. 2057 WE REALLY DIPPED IN 21. 
          WE WERE BACK DOWN AGAIN IN 25. SO, IT'S REALLY GETTING US CLOSER TO WHERE WE'VE BEEN. 
          IT DOESN'T IT DOESN'T TAKE US BACK TO LAST YEAR WHEN WE HAD THE REQUEST FROM THE BOARD TO
ADD 64 POSITIONS TO REALLY ADDRESS CLASS SIZE. 
          THIS IS REALLY JUST TRYING TO GET US BACK CLOSE TO WHERE WE'VE BEEN HISTORICALLY. 
          AND YOU COULD AND I THINK WE WOULD BE EXPOSED TO THE CRITICISM THAT,
YOU KNOW, YOU'VE LOST UPWARDS OF 900 STUDENTS IN THE LAST DECADE OR SO. 
          BUT WHAT WE'VE SEEN IS THAT WE ARE SEEING AN INCREASE IN THE NEEDIER POPULATIONS. 
          OUR SPECIAL EDUCATION STUDENT ENROLLMENT IS UP SIGNIFICANTLY. OUR STUDENTS FROM POVERTY AS
WELL AS OUR ENGLISH LEARNERS, OUR ML COMMUNITY. SO THOSE STUDENTS TYPICALLY COME WITH MORE CHALLENGES,
AND IT'S COSTLIER TO SERVE THOSE STUDENTS. 
          AND I THINK SOME OF THAT GETS REFLECTED IN THE DISPROPORTIONATE NUMBER OF STAFF THAT HAVE
BEEN ADDED THAT ARE SUPPORT STAFF AS COMPARED TO CLASSROOM TEACHERS, YOUR PARAPROFESSIONALS, YOUR SSTS, AND THOSE KINDS OF THINGS. 
          THE PARAPROFESSIONALS INCLUDE THE KINDERGARTEN AND PARAPROFESSIONALS,
THE FOUR PRE-K PARAPROFESSIONALS THAT WERE ADDED FOR THE FOUR PRE-K CLASSROOMS, AS WELL AS SPECIAL ED PARAPROFESSIONALS TO ADDRESS STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES AND THEIR
NEEDS, AND THE SSTS. IT WAS FELT REALLY STRONGLY AFTER THE SCHOOL YEAR,
OR AS THE SCHOOL YEAR WAS BEGINNING, THAT THOSE POSITIONS NEEDED TO BE RETURNED. THIS BRINGS US TO OUR TOTAL OPERATING BUDGET
SUMMARY, WHERE OUR SALARIES AND FIXED CHARGES ARE IN HERE. 
          FIXED CHARGES ARE ALWAYS CALLED OUT SEPARATELY BY STATE CATEGORY. 
          SO, THE TOTAL INCREASE TO OUR OPERATING BUDGET IS 15.4 MILLION. 
          SO, KEEPING IN MIND THAT FIRST SLIDE WHERE WE SAID OUR INCREASE IN REVENUE AFTER USING
FUND BALANCE WAS PROJECTED TO BE AROUND 6 MILLION. 
          THIS IS THE INCREASE IN OUR EXPENSE BUDGET. WELL,
WHAT'S THAT? THAT DOESN'T MATTER. I KNOW. OKAY. AS YOU CAN SEE HERE,
WE HAVE OUR LARGE CAP REQUEST. 
          AND AS DR. LAWSON SAID EARLIER, WE HAVE A LOT OF BUILDINGS THAT NEED SOME UPGRADES AND
REPAIRS. 
          SO THIS YEAR WE HAVE TWO PROJECTS THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE REQUESTING. 
          ONE IS OUR CURRENT NORTHEAST MIDDLE HIGH SCHOOL PROJECT. 
          THAT'S GOING WELL SO FAR. AND WE'RE ON SCHEDULE. 
          AND THE SECOND ONE IS GOING TO BE THE CECIL MANOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL HVAC REPLACEMENT. 
          AND THAT IS A DEFINITE NEED. AND I JUST WANT TO SAY BEFORE I GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE. 
          IN YEARS PAST FOR OUR LARGE CAP, WE HAVE LIKE A LOT OF BUILDINGS IN TERMS OF REPLACEMENT
BUILDINGS. 
          BUT THIS RIGHT NOW, YOU KNOW, THE CECIL MANOR IS LIKE A NUMBER ONE PRIORITY IN TERMS OF
THINGS THAT NEED TO BE UPDATED RIGHT NOW. 
          [01:10:03]
SO, I JUST WANTED TO PUT THAT OUT THERE AND MAKE EVERYBODY AWARE OF THAT. FOR OUR SMALL
CAP, WE HAVE 30 ITEMS ON HERE IN TERMS OF REPAIRS AND REPLACEMENTS. 
          THIS LIST IS A LOT LONGER THAN YEARS PAST. AND LIKE I SAID EARLIER,
THERE HAS BEEN A LOT OF THINGS THAT HAVE BEEN NEGLECTED OR PUT OFF BECAUSE OF FUNDING. 
          AND THIS LIST HAS BEEN PUT IN PRIORITY BY OUR FACILITIES DEPARTMENT IN TERMS OF NEED. 
          AND YOU CAN SEE, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WE HAVE THE REPLACEMENT OF THE ACA AND THE ASC ROOF. 
          THERE'S PLAYGROUND UPGRADES. THERE'S GOING TO BE PARKING LOT UPDATES AND SOME HVAC
REPAIRS. 
          SO, THE THINGS THAT ARE ON THIS LIST ARE THINGS THAT DEFINITELY NEED TO BE DONE. 
          AND IF YOU EVER HAD A CONVERSATION WITH PEOPLE FROM OUR FACILITIES DEPARTMENT,
THEY WOULD, YOU KNOW, WOULD SAY THAT YOU HAVE MORE THINGS TO THIS LIST. 
          SO RIGHT NOW, I MEAN, THIS IS A PRIORITY FOR US AND ALSO FOR THE BOARD'S AWARENESS. 
          THIS IS A PRIORITY LIST. THE TOP IS THE MOST IMPORTANT. 
          AND IT GOES RIGHT ON DOWN. YOU CAN MAKE THE CASE THAT,
IF YOU GO BACK AND LOOK AT THE LAST 4 OR 5 YEARS OF SMALL CAP, EVEN AS RECENTLY AS TWO YEARS AGO, WHERE THE SAFE AND SECURE ENTRANCE AS WELL THE BOARD
PAID FOR HALF OF THOSE OUT OF THE FUND BALANCE. 
          THE PERRYVILLE FIELD HOUSE. IF YOU WERE TO AGGREGATE THE LAST 3 TO 4 YEARS OF SMALL CAP
INVESTMENT AND THEN BACK OUT SOME OF THESE UNIQUE PROJECTS, THERE WAS NOT A GREAT DEAL OF INVESTMENT DONE IN THE SCHOOL SYSTEM FOR TYPICAL
STUFF, WHETHER IT'S A SIDEWALK OR A DRIVEWAY. AND, YOU KNOW,
I'M MAKING THIS VERY CLEAR TO COUNCIL. 
          AND, YOU KNOW, WE'RE HOPING FOR A SENSE OF INTEREST ON THESE KINDS OF PROJECTS,
BUT THESE KINDS OF PROJECTS MATTER. 
          AND, YOU KNOW, THE BUILDINGS IN THIS SCHOOL SYSTEM ARE ASSETS,
AND WE NEED TO TAKE CARE OF THEM AND THEIR COUNTY BUILDINGS. 
          YES. SO, YES, I THINK THAT'S AN IMPORTANT POINT TO MAKE. 
          ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD REGARDING SMALL CAP OR THE SIP? IF I COULD I'M GOING TO TRY TO GET THIS STRAIGHT. 
          AND IF I GET IT WRONG, THERE WAS A PROPOSITION PUT FORWARD BY THE IAC. 
          AS YOU KNOW, IN THE FY 25 BUDGET, THE ELK NECK ROOF IS THEY'RE PAID FOR READY TO GO. 
          WE WOULD EXPECT TO GET IT DONE THIS COMING SPRING SUMMER. 
          THE SUGGESTION FROM THE IAC WAS THAT THE INTER AGENCY FOR CONSTRUCTION THERE,
THE CONSTRUCTION GURUS THEIR SUGGESTION WAS THAT THE COUNTY REASSIGN THE MONEY FROM THE ELK NECK ROOF TO THE CECIL
MANOR HVAC PROJECT AND THEN TURN AROUND AND APPLY FOR A HEALTHY SCHOOLS GRANT THAT WOULD COVER THE
ELK NECK ROOF. 
          SO, IT'S A LITTLE BIT OF A MONEY MOVEMENT THAT'S GOING TO ALLOW US TO GET THE CECIL MANOR
HVAC AND THE ELK NECK ROOF. 
          NOW, THE GRANT APPLICATION DOESN'T OPEN, I BELIEVE,
UNTIL APRIL, MARCH, APRIL, BUT WE'RE OPTIMISTIC THAT IT WOULD HAPPEN. 
          SO THAT'S SOMETHING TO KIND OF STAY TUNED. WE'VE INFORMED THE COUNTY THAT THIS MIGHT BE A
REQUEST ON OUR PART TO REALLOCATE MONEY. 
          SO, IT'S NOT NEW MONEY. IT'S MONEY THEY'VE SET ASIDE. 
          WE'RE JUST SAYING INSTEAD OF SPENDING IT HERE,
SPEND IT THERE AND WE'LL APPLY FOR A GRANT THAT WILL COVER THE ROOF. 
          OKAY. SO JUST AS A HEADS UP, THAT COULD PROBABLY COME IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS. 
          SO THE NEXT PART. OH, I'M SORRY. GO AHEAD. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON SMALL CAP? TIERNEY. THANK YOU. THE NEXT PART IS THE DEBT SERVICE BUDGET. 
          SO IN THE STATE OF MARYLAND, THE SCHOOL SYSTEM,
WE CANNOT INCUR DEBT OR LEVY TAXES. 
          AND SO, THE COUNTY SELLS BONDS TO FUND CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS ON OUR BEHALF. 
          AND SO, WE HAVE TO REPORT THE PRINCIPAL AND INTEREST THAT THEY PAY ON THOSE BONDS FOR US
AS PART OF OUR FINANCIALS. 
          AND SO, AS YOU'LL SEE WHEN YOU DO YOUR APPROVALS IN FEBRUARY AND AGAIN IN JUNE,
YOU APPROVE AN OPERATING BUDGET, YOU APPROVE A CAPITAL BUDGET, AND YOU APPROVE A DEBT SERVICE BUDGET. 
          BUT THESE ARE PRINCIPLE AND INTEREST PAYMENTS MADE ON OUR BEHALF BY COUNTY GOVERNMENT FOR
THE BONDS THAT THEY SELL TO FUND OUR CONSTRUCTION. 
          SO YOU CAN SEE FOR FY 26, THE TOTAL DEBT SERVICE PRINCIPAL AND INTEREST IS 8.5 MILLION. 
          6 MILLION OF IT BEING PRINCIPAL. 2.4 MILLION OF IT BEING INTEREST PAYMENTS. 
          THIS IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE IF THEY GO BACK OUT TO THE BOND MARKET. 
          SO, IF THEY GO BACK OUT TO THE BOND MARKET TO FUND NORTHEAST MIDDLE AND NORTHEAST HIGH OR
THE CECIL MANOR HVAC, THEN THIS WOULD CHANGE. BUT THESE ARE THE NUMBERS THAT WE'VE RECEIVED FROM THEM AT THIS
TIME. 
          THIS COMES FROM THEM AND IS REPORTED ON OUR BEHALF. 
          I GUESS HITTING THAT'S NOT GOING TO ADJUST THE SLIDE. 
          SO THIS IS THE BUDGET DISTRIBUTION. SO AGAIN,
WHEN WE TALK ABOUT, AND THIS WAS THE STRUGGLE THAT WE'VE HAD OVER THE PAST FEW WEEKS IS REALLY LOOKING AT OUR PRIORITIES IN THE BUDGET. 
          THE TOTAL OPERATING BUDGET REQUEST IS JUST 275 MILLION. 
          [01:15:03]
AND SO OUT OF THAT 220.7 MILLION. 80% IS SALARIES AND FIXED CHARGES. 
          AND SO WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT HAVING TO MAKE BIG REDUCTIONS THE MAJORITY OF WHAT WE DO IS
WORKING WITH PEOPLE, EMPLOYING PEOPLE TO WORK WITH STUDENTS. AND SO IT'S JUST REALLY SHOWING YOU THE BREAKDOWN
OF OUR BUDGET AND HOW MUCH OF IT IS PEOPLE. 
          THE LAST IS JUST UPCOMING BUDGET MEETINGS. SO I SHARED AT THE BEGINNING THAT WE'LL HAVE A
BUDGET WORK SESSION ON THE FOURTH, WHERE WE'LL GO LINE BY LINE, AND ANY QUESTIONS YOU HAVE IN THOSE ACCOUNTS. 
          AT THE FEBRUARY 12TH MEETING, IF WE NEED TO HAVE AN UPDATE,
WE'LL PROVIDE AN UPDATE AT THAT MEETING. 
          THE BUDGET HEARING IS ON FEBRUARY 26TH. ON THE 28TH,
OUR BUDGET REQUEST IS DUE TO COUNTY COUNCIL, AND ON JUNE 11TH, WE'LL HAVE OUR FINAL BOARD APPROVAL FOR THE FY 26 BUDGET. 
          COUNTY GOVERNMENT WILL RECEIVE OUR BUDGET ON FEBRUARY 28TH. 
          ON APRIL 1ST, THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE WILL PROPOSE HIS BUDGET TO COUNCIL AT SOME POINT. 
          IT'S USUALLY IN APRIL. COULD BE IN MAY THAT WE WILL PRESENT TO COUNCIL OUR BUDGET REQUEST. 
          MAY 22ND WILL BE THE COUNCIL HEARING FOR THE COUNTY ANNUAL BUDGET,
AND ON JUNE 3RD WILL BE THE COUNCIL ADOPTION OF THE COUNTY BUDGET. 
          AND WE WILL KEEP THIS UPDATED AND SHARE THIS INFORMATION AT EACH OF OUR UPCOMING MEETINGS. 
          THANK YOU, MISS SOPA. DOES THE BOARD HAVE ANY QUESTIONS BEFORE WE PROCEED? A LOT TO DIGEST. OKAY, WE'LL JUST MOVE ON THEN. 
          ONE THING IF I COULD ADD THIS, MISS HAWLEY, IS THAT,
YOU KNOW, WE HAVE NOT PREPARED A PRESENTATION FOR YOU ALL FOR FEBRUARY 4TH. 
          AND SO I THINK THE FEEDBACK I MEAN, MY INCLINATION RIGHT NOW,
THE DIRECTION I WOULD, YOU KNOW, SUGGEST TO MISS SOPA AND HER TEAM WOULD BE TO START TO TAKE SOME OF THESE BIGGER TICKET
ITEMS. IN TERMS OF INCREASES, AND TO SHOW YOU LINE BY LINE,
BECAUSE BEHIND EVERY $230,000 REQUEST FOR AN INCREASE ARE A SERIES OF SUPPLIES, WORKSHOPS, MATERIALS, THE WHOLE THING TO REALLY GIVE YOU A CHANCE TO PARSE
THROUGH AND ASK QUESTIONS. AND SO, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TIME. WE HAVE A COUPLE OF WEEKS. 
          AND SO PLEASE GIVE IT SOME THOUGHT. AND IF YOU THINK THERE'S DIFFERENT WAYS YOU'D LIKE TO
SEE SOME OF THIS INFORMATION OR DIFFERENT AREAS OF FOCUS, WE CAN CERTAINLY DO THAT FOR YOU. CAN I ASK ONE QUICK QUESTION,
DR. 
          LAWSON? HAS THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE GIVEN YOU ANY INDICATION? IS THERE ANY AREAS THAT HE'S CONCERNED ABOUT SPECIFICALLY OR THAT MIGHT DRAW HIS ATTENTION
MORE? YEAH. SAFETY, SCHOOL SAFETY. I THINK COUNTY EXECUTIVE STRAIT HAS INDICATED THAT TO US A
NUMBER OF TIMES. 
          HE CAMPAIGNED AND HE WAS CLEAR THROUGHOUT HIS YOU KNOW,
ELECTION THAT HE SUPPORTS PUBLIC EDUCATION, PUBLIC SAFETY. HE HAS INDICATED TO US THAT HE IS GOING TO DO THE BEST,
BEST HE CAN. 
          I TAKE HIM AT HIS WORD ON THAT. I THINK AND I'VE BEEN SAYING THIS INDEPENDENT OF WHOEVER
COUNTY EXECUTIVE WAS, IT'S TAKEN US A FEW YEARS TO GET TO THIS PLACE. 
          IT'S NOT GOING TO GET BETTER IN ONE FISCAL YEAR. 
          YOU KNOW, SO. AND HE HAS SAID THAT, TOO. AND,
YOU KNOW, I FULLY UNDERSTAND THAT. 
          BUT FOR US, YOU KNOW, WE FEEL LIKE, YOU KNOW,
ESPECIALLY WHEN THESE STATE RANKINGS COME OUT AGAIN TODAY TO SHOW THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE 22ND NOW IN THE STATE THAT WE'RE EVERY BIT OF $2,600 PER KID BEHIND THE
AVERAGE. 
          IT'S JUST TO ME; IT'S AN INEQUITY THAT A STUDENT IN CECIL COUNTY DOESN'T GET THE SAME
BENEFITS THAT IN BALTIMORE COUNTY OR THOSE KINDS OF THINGS. 
          AND SO BUT I THINK HE SEES THAT, AND HE'S JUST ASKING THAT WE UNDERSTAND THAT HE'S GOING
TO DO THE BEST HE CAN WHILE BEING FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE TO THE TO THE COUNTY. 
          JUST A QUICK FOLLOW UP ON THAT. WHEN YOU WHEN YOU SAY SAFETY. SCHOOL SAFETY,
THAT'S KIND OF A BROAD. I MEAN, WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? YOU KNOW, I MEAN, YOU CAN SAY I DON'T YOU KNOW, I THINK HIS BACKGROUND IS A RETIRED COUNTY DEPUTY. 
          HE WOULD LIKE TO SEE INCREASED PRESENCE WITH SROS. 
          I THINK THAT'S A PRIORITY FOR HIM. HE WOULD LIKE TO SEE MORE DIRECT SERVICE TO STUDENTS. 
          YOU KNOW, HE HAS THREE CHILDREN HIMSELF. THAT ALL WENT THROUGH OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM. AND I
THINK HE FEELS VERY FAVORABLY ON THE WORK WE DO. SO. 
          BUT WE HAVEN'T GOTTEN INTO ANY LEVEL OF DETAIL. 
          I WAS KIND OF GOING, LIKE, YOU KNOW, SOME SPECIFICS AROUND THAT. 
          YEAH, YEAH. SO. BUT I DO THINK AND HE HEARD THROUGHOUT HIS CAMPAIGN THAT,
YOU KNOW, WHAT THE, OUR CONCERN WITH CLASS SIZES, OUR CONCERN WITH OUR KIDS GETTING THE SAME LEVEL OF SERVICE
AS EVERYBODY ELSE. 
          SO HE KNOWS AND I WOULD EXPECT IN THE NEXT COMING WEEKS THAT HE'S GOING TO START TO GET
MORE CLEAR WITH, WITH WHAT HE INTENDS TO DO. YOU KNOW, WE SAW THE LOCAL SHARES 99.4 I THINK IT WAS. 
          SO THERE'S GOING TO BE AN EXPECTATION THAT THEY INCREASE FUNDING. YOU KNOW,
WE WANT HIM TO GO ABOVE THAT. 
          AND SO HOW MUCH HE GOES ABOVE THAT STILL REMAINS TO BE SEEN. 
          [01:20:02]
THANK YOU. I THINK ALSO SPEAKING FOR ME, WE SEE THIS. 
          WE'LL GET THE LINE BY LINE NEXT TIME. I THINK,
YOU KNOW, THIS BUDGET DOESN'T INCLUDE ADDING POSITIONS BEYOND THE ONES THAT WE ALREADY ADDED WITH THIS. SO WE'RE SUSTAINING WHERE WE ARE. 
          I THINK WE REALLY NEED TO TAKE A LOOK AT SOME OF THE LINE ITEMS,
KNOWING IT'S NOT ADDING POSITIONS. 
          SOME OF THE PROGRAMS DO WE DO. I MEAN, SUCH AS NORTH BAY. 
          I SAY THAT NOT TO PICK ON NORTH BAY, BUT THAT'S A BIG LINE ITEM. 
          AND YOU KNOW, I KNOW AND I'M GOING TO SPEAK FOR JOE FERDINANDO. 
          HE WASN'T ABLE TO BE HERE TONIGHT, BUT ANYTIME SOME PEOPLE SEE THINGS LIKE THAT,
AND THEY SAY, WELL THAT EQUATES TO HOW MANY POSITIONS. RIGHT. 
          LIKE AND WHAT'S BETTER. WHAT'S THE BIGGER NEED THERE. 
          RIGHT? AND I THINK THOSE ARE THINGS THAT WE NEED TO KIND OF TAKE A LOOK AT AND TALK ABOUT
MAYBE IN OUR FEBRUARY 4TH SESSION. 
          SO, HE'S HERE AS WELL TO BE ABLE TO TALK ABOUT THAT. 
          I HAVE CONCERNS WITH REDUCTION OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT,
ESPECIALLY WHEN THE PERCENTAGE OF OUR TEACHERS DON'T HAVE THE COLLEGE TRAINING CERTIFICATIONS AS TEACHERS. 
          THAT'S NOT TO SAY THEY'RE NOT GREAT IN THE CLASSROOM,
BUT THEY STILL NEED A DIFFERENT LEVEL OF SUPPORT AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND TRAINING IN ORDER TO SERVE OUR KIDS. AND WE WANT STUDENT OUTCOMES. 
          WE LOOK AT TEST SCORES. AND, YOU KNOW, IN ORDER TO DO THAT,
I THINK PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IS A BIG PIECE OF THAT. 
          AND, YOU KNOW, THOSE ARE JUST SOME OF MY THOUGHTS INITIALLY. 
          I KNOW I'M KIND OF WE HAVE A DISCUSSION LATER IN THE AGENDA,
BUT THIS IS, I THINK, SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO THINK ABOUT AND TALK ABOUT WHEN WE GET TO THAT AGENDA ITEM. DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? I ALSO THINK SOMETHING WORTH CONSIDERING ON THE
BOARD'S PART IS I THINK YOU'RE GOING TO SEE A REAL PUSH ON THE PART OF THE STATE DEPARTMENT TO INSERT THEMSELVES INTO THE THINGS SUCH AS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT TEACHER
RECRUITMENT, ADMINISTRATIVE PIPELINES INSTRUCTIONAL COACHING. 
          YOU'RE GOING TO SEE, I THINK A SENSE OF THE STATE WILL DRIVE COACHING MODELS ACROSS THE
STATE. 
          MSDE WILL DRIVE COACHING ACROSS THE STATE. AND,
YOU KNOW, THAT'S GOING TO BE A LITTLE BIT OF A SHIFT IN TERMS OF PRACTICE IN THE STATE OF MARYLAND. BUT I THINK THEY SEE SOME OF WHAT'S HAPPENING ACROSS THE LEAS AS IT RELATES TO
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT. 
          AND THEY'RE SAYING, YOU KNOW, THE OLD NATURE ABHORS A VACUUM. 
          IF THEY'RE NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO, WE WILL,
YOU KNOW, AND SO IT'S A MORE CENTRALIZED APPROACH, I THINK. AND AS USUAL, I THINK THE DEVIL'S IN THE DETAILS TO ME. 
          YOU KNOW, HOW GOOD IS WHAT HOW GOOD IS WHAT THE STATE IS PUSHING OUT. 
          I WANT TO SEE. AND THEN I'LL MAKE A JUDGMENT. 
          I MEAN, I'M NOT THE KIND TO JUST BLANKET SAY. OR IF IT'S COMING FROM THE STATE,
IT'S NOT GOOD BECAUSE THAT'S NOT FAIR TO THEM. 
          BUT, YOU KNOW, I WOULD WANT TO SEE. TYPICALLY,
I THINK DR. 
          HAMMER WOULD AGREE. WHAT WE'VE SEEN SO FAR IS VALIDATING IN THE SENSE THAT WE'VE IT'S
WHERE WE'VE BEEN FOCUSING IN TERMS OF A GRANULAR LEVEL OF STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT, THOSE KINDS OF DATA. BUT I REALLY DO THINK YOU'RE GOING TO SEE MORE OF A
CENTRALIZED PUSH AS IT RELATES TO COACHING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FROM THE STATE. 
          THANK YOU. I THINK I'M GOING TO MOVE ON NOW TO WAIT A MINUTE BEFORE YOU MOVE ON,
MISS SOPA. 
          HELM, I DID NOT WRITE DOWN HOW MUCH NORTH BAY IS. 
          HOW MUCH IS NORTH BAY? IT'S IN THE 372,000. THANK YOU. 
          OKAY. AT THIS POINT, I'M GOING TO MOVE ON TO THE PUBLIC COMMENTS ON THE FY 26 BUDGET
REQUEST. 
          [1.04 Public Comments on the Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request]
MISS OLSON, DO YOU WANT TO TAKE IT FROM HERE RIGHT NOW? OKAY. THANK YOU. SO, THIS EVENING FOR THE SPECIAL FY 26 BUDGET MEETING THE BOARD HAS ESTABLISHED GUIDELINES FOR PUBLIC INPUT DURING THIS MEETING. 
          AT THIS TIME, IN GENERAL, THREE MINUTES WILL BE ALLOTTED TO INDIVIDUALS REMARKS THIS
EVENING MUST BE IN REGARD TO THE FISCAL YEAR FY 26 BUDGET. 
          ONLY THE BOARD PRESIDENT MAY INTERRUPT OR TERMINATE AN INDIVIDUAL STATEMENT IF IT IS TOO
LENGTHY. 
          AND THE BOARD ENCOURAGES SPEAKERS TO SUBMIT A WRITTEN COPY OF THEIR REMARKS. 
          TONIGHT, THE SPEAKERS WILL USE THE PODIUM UP IN THE FRONT,
AND THE BOX FOR COMMENTS IS ON THE TABLE RIGHT NEXT TO THE PODIUM. 
          ALSO COMMENTS FOR OTHERS HERE. IF YOU'RE NOT SIGNED UP TO SPEAK,
COMMENTS REGARDING THE FY 26 BUDGET MAY ALSO BE EMAILED TO BOARD MEMBERS. SO THIS EVENING WE HAVE TWO PEOPLE,
MR. BRIM AND MISS RENKO. MR. BRIM IS OBVIOUSLY FIRST ON THE LIST,
FOLLOWED BY MISS RENKO. 
          I'M SEAN BRIM OF NORTHEAST. AT LAST NIGHT'S COUNTY COUNCIL MEETING,
COUNCILOR HAMILTON MADE AN EXTRAORDINARY GESTURE. 
          [01:25:05]
UNDER NORMAL CIRCUMSTANCES, COUNCIL RESOLUTION 09-2025 WOULD GET AN EXTRA SESSION BEFORE
THE COUNCIL, KNOWN AS A PUBLIC HEARING, IN WHICH MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC ARE INVITED WITHOUT A PARTICULAR
LENGTH LIMIT ON TIME, TO GIVE COMMENTS EITHER FOR OR AGAINST A PARTICULAR BILL AT ISSUE. 
          RESOLUTION 09-2025 DOES NOT HAVE AN EXTRA TWO WEEKS TO SPARE,
FOR TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE. 
          THIS RESOLUTION ASKS THE COUNTY FOR AN APPROPRIATION OF $1.7 MILLION FOR SMALL CAP
PROJECTS FOR VARIOUS CECIL SCHOOLS, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO PARKING LOT PAVING,
REPLACEMENT, CHILLER AND BOILER REPLACEMENT AT RISING SUN, HIGH ROOF REPLACEMENT AND MUCH MORE. MRS. SOPA HAS BEEN INVITED BY THE COUNCIL TO ATTEND
NEXT WEEK'S WORK SESSION TO GIVE MORE DETAILS ON THESE DEFERRED PROJECTS. CECIL COUNTY GOVERNMENT. SINCE MY YOUTH HAS DEFAULTED TO THE POSITION
OF DEFERRING NEEDED REPAIRS, REPLACEMENT, UPKEEP AND MAINTENANCE FOR ANOTHER DAY,
IT HAS BECOME AN ENTRENCHED BEHAVIOR THAT LEAVES THE SCHOOLS VULNERABLE TO THE POSSIBILITY THAT BUILDINGS THEMSELVES EDGE INTO DISREPAIR. 
          LAST NIGHT, BECAUSE THE COUNCIL RECOGNIZES THAT THE HOUR GROWS LATE,
THEY VOTED TO SKIP A PUBLIC HEARING ON THE BILL, AND I AM ENTIRELY IN AGREEMENT THAT WE DO NOT HAVE TWO WEEKS TO WASTE TO GET CONTRACTS
SIGNED IN TIME FOR THE NEXT SCHOOL YEAR. 
          PUBLIC COMMENTS MAY STILL BE MADE, HOWEVER, AT THE NEXT COUNTY COUNCIL LEGISLATIVE SESSION
ON FEBRUARY 4TH. 
          AND YES, THAT MEANS A POSSIBLE TEN HOUR OPEN MEETINGS PALOOZA FOR ME. 
          I ENCOURAGE MY FELLOW RESIDENTS TO COME TO THAT MEETING. 
          COUNCILOR HAMILTON, AFTER HEARING MY HASTILY CHANGED PUBLIC COMMENTS,
STRONGLY IN STRONGLY IN FAVOR OF RESOLUTION 09-2025, EXPRESSED REGRET TO THE PUBLIC, TO THE PUBLIC ABOUT THE EXPEDITED NATURE OF THE
LEGISLATION WITHOUT A PUBLIC HEARING, NOTING THAT I HAD INSERTED MY OWN APPROVAL IN,
AMONG OTHER THINGS, I HAD TALKED ABOUT, I WISH HERE TO ACKNOWLEDGE WHAT SHE DID BECAUSE I GIVE CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE. THE ITEMS IN RESOLUTION 09-2025 ARE THINGS THAT HAVE BEEN
LEFT ON THE TABLE FOR YEARS, AND IT'S HIGH TIME THAT OLD BUSINESS BE CONCLUDED. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU, MR. BRIM AND MISS RENKO. 
          GOOD EVENING. THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO ADDRESS YOU TONIGHT. 
          I'M REQUESTING THAT YOU MAKE THE TOUGH DECISIONS NECESSARY FOR THE FY 26 BUDGET. 
          THAT YOU FOCUS ON HELPING US TO RIGHT SERIOUS AREAS OF CONCERN. 
          LARGER CLASS SIZES ARE A DETRIMENT TO STUDENT LEARNING,
AS TEACHERS HAVE LESS TIME TO SUPPORT AND FOCUS ON INDIVIDUAL STUDENTS AND THEIR NEEDS. 
          STUDENT AND STAFF SAFETY AND SEVERE STUDENT NEEDS AND BEHAVIORS ARE A DAILY CONCERN,
ESPECIALLY IN OUR YOUNGER GRADES. 
          MANY STUDENTS NEED MORE SUPPORT TO REGULATE THEIR BEHAVIOR,
REACH ACADEMIC GOALS, AND LEARN STRUCTURES AND ROUTINES THAT WILL HELP THEM TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN A SCHOOL SETTING. ADDITIONAL TEACHERS,
PARAPROFESSIONALS, AND SPECIAL EDUCATORS ARE NEEDED TO BEST MEET THE NEEDS OF OUR STUDENTS. AS WE FOCUS ON THE ACADEMIC NEEDS OF OUR STUDENTS AND HELPING THEM TO REACH OR
EXCEED STANDARDS, OUR TEACHERS NEED THE RESOURCES, MATERIALS, AND TRAINING TO IMPLEMENT PROGRAMS OR
CURRICULUM TO PROVIDE THE NECESSARY REMEDIATION AND INTERVENTION THAT WILL HELP ALL OF OUR STUDENTS REACH THEIR GOALS. THIS IS TRUE FOR OUR EXPERIENCED TEACHERS,
OUR MANY PROVISIONALLY CERTIFICATED TEACHERS, AND ALSO OUR TEACHERS WHO ARE NEW TO THEIR SUBJECT AREA OR GRADE LEVELS. 
          IN ADDITION, FUNDING ARE NEGOTIATED AGREEMENTS THAT PROVIDE COMPETITIVE SALARIES AND
BENEFITS ARE NECESSARY TO RECRUIT AND RETAIN A DEDICATED WORKFORCE. 
          IT IS OUR JOB AS EDUCATORS TO TAKE CARE OF AND EDUCATE ALL OF OUR COUNTY'S CHILDREN,
AND I ASK YOU TO TAKE CARE OF THE STAFF AND HELP US SO WE CAN TAKE CARE OF OUR KIDS. 
          THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MISS RENKO. I'M ALSO GOING TO. 
          THERE MAY HAVE BEEN SOME PEOPLE WHO WEREN'T ABLE TO PRE-REGISTER BY THE DEADLINE,
GIVEN THAT MONDAY WAS A HOLIDAY. 
          AND A COUPLE YEARS AGO, I KNOW WE DIDN'T HAVE TO PRE-REGISTER FOR BUDGET HEARING,
SO I JUST WANT WE DO HAVE ADDITIONAL TIME RESERVED. 
          I JUST WANT TO EXTEND THE OPPORTUNITY IF THERE'S ANY PERSONS IN THIS ROOM THAT WANT THREE
MINUTES TO SPEAK ON THE BUDGET, YOU CAN NOW DO SO. ANYBODY? ALL RIGHT. 
          DON'T SHOUT IT ONCE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU BOTH FOR YOUR COMMENTS I APPRECIATE IT. 
          NEXT, WE HAVE GENERAL BUDGET DISCUSSION BOARD MEMBERS,
WHICH I KIND OF DID EARLIER A LITTLE BIT, 
          [1.05 General Budget Discussion - Board Members]
BUT I JUST WANT ANY BOARD MEMBERS IF THEY AGAIN,
I KNOW THIS IS OUR FIRST BUDGET MEETING. 
          THIS IS OUR INITIAL BUDGET MEETING. IT'S A LOT OF INFORMATION TO DIGEST. 
          AND I KNOW ON DECEMBER, GOSH, FEBRUARY 4TH, WE WILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO REALLY DIG
DEEP INTO A LINE BY LINE BUDGET. 
          [01:30:06]
SO, I JUST WANT TO EXTEND ANY OPPORTUNITY FOR BOARD MEMBERS. 
          IF YOU HAVE ANYTHING YOU WANT TO SAY AT THIS POINT,
CAN I ASK ONE RABBIT HOLE TYPE QUESTION? IT MAY NOT AFFECT CECIL COUNTY, BUT I JUST FIGURED I'D ASK IT ANYWAY. HAS THERE BEEN ANY
DISCUSSION OR THOUGHT ON WHETHER THIS UPCOMING MASS DEPORTATION, HOW THAT MIGHT AFFECT CECIL COUNTY IF IN ANY WAY AT ALL OUR STUDENT POPULATION AND THOSE
KINDS OF THINGS ? SO, I JUST I DID NOT MR. ROUSH JUST SENT OUT INFORMATION TO ALL OF OUR PRINCIPLES
REGARDING THAT ISSUE AND I WILL NOT SPEAK FOR MR. ROUSH, BUT MY UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT HE PUT OUT WAS THAT
WE HAVE BEEN MADE AWARE OF POTENTIAL CHANGES IN HOW THIS WILL BE PROCESSED, BUT IN THE STATE OF MARYLAND,
IN TERMS OF ICE, WHAT I WOULD SAY COMING INTO BUILDINGS, HOWEVER, THE STATE OF MARYLAND RIGHT NOW IS DOING WHAT WE'VE DONE UNTIL WE ARE DIRECTED
OTHERWISE. 
          AND THAT WOULD BE GENERALLY SPEAKING, IT'S NOT UNLIKE WHAT HAPPENS IF THE STATE POLICE OR
THE COUNTY DEPUTY, THEY WANT TO COME IN AND APPROACH A STUDENT WHILE THEY'RE IN SCHOOL. 
          THERE'S SOME PRETTY SERIOUS, STRICT PROTOCOLS THAT HAVE TO HAPPEN. 
          THEY TRY TO AVOID IT AT ALL COSTS. AND SO, MISS HAWLEY,
DO YOU WANT TO GIVE MR. ROUSH THE MICROPHONE SO HE CAN SPEAK MORE TO THAT FOR THOSE LISTENING AT HOME? HIS EMAIL. OH, WELL, THAT'S I MEAN, WE CAN CERTAINLY FORWARD THE EMAIL FROM MR. ROUSH TO YOU, MR. DAVIS, AND IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS,
YOU CAN GIVE ME A CALL TOMORROW AND WE'LL BUT YEAH, IT'S DEFINITELY BEEN ON OUR RADAR. WE HAD CHECKED WITH MSDE TWO WEEKS AGO AND GOT AN
UNDERSTANDING. 
          AND AGAIN, MR. ROUSH FOLLOWED UP AS RECENTLY AS TODAY,
AND WE PROVIDED THAT GUIDANCE TO THE SCHOOLS. 
          AND SO, WE WILL SEND THAT TO YOU TO THE BOARD RIGHT NOW. 
          AND IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, JUST ASK. OKAY. 
          THANK YOU. DR. LAWSON COULD YOU JUST QUICKLY GO QUICKLY GO THROUGH AGAIN THE MOST
CONCERNING THINGS FOR YOU WITH THE LEGISLATION THAT COULD AFFECT US LIKE THE PUSHBACK ON PENSION, YOU KNOW, THOSE TYPES OF. 
          YEAH. I THINK ANYTHING THAT STARTS TO JEOPARDIZE THE EXPECTED REVENUE THAT WE BELIEVE
WE'RE GOING TO GET UNDER CURRENT STATE LAW. SO, ANYTIME YOU HEAR THAT A LAW OR A LEGISLATION HAS BEEN INTRODUCED THAT WOULD HAVE
A REDUCING EFFECT ON CURRENT LAW, THAT WOULD GET OUR RADAR UP BECAUSE I THINK WITH THE COUNCIL,
WITH THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE SEEMINGLY INTERESTED IN SUPPORTING US AS BEST HE CAN AND UPWARDS OF A $7 MILLION INCREASE, IF YOU HAD ASKED ME SIX WEEKS AGO,
WE HAVE A SHOT AT MAKING THIS WORK WITH PROBABLY AS LITTLE DRAMA IN THE LAST TEN YEARS. 
          BUT NOW WHAT I'M HEARING WITH SOME OF THIS LEGISLATION DEFERRING. 
          YOU KNOW, YOU'RE HEARING THE WORD PAUSE, THAT THE BLUEPRINT WILL BE PAUSED. 
          WELL, PAUSE IS A $2.5 MILLION REDUCTION, YOU KNOW,
AND WHAT DOESN'T GET TALKED ABOUT ENOUGH IS THE SALARY INCREASES THAT WE'VE REALIZED FOR THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS. AND WE HAVE FY 26 AND FY 27 TO GO. 
          AND THEN IT'S PROBABLY GOING TO SETTLE INTO WHERE IT'S,
YOU KNOW, WHAT WE'RE MORE ACCUSTOMED TO. 
          SO YEAH, BUT THE PENSION REASSIGNMENT BACK TO COUNTIES HAS ME CONCERNED. 
          THE COLLABORATIVE PLANNING TIME BEING TAKEN OUT OF CURRENT LAW HAS ME CONCERNED BECAUSE
THAT WAS AN INCREASE IN OUR IN OUR FOUNDATION. 
          THEY'RE THE TWO BIG THINGS. AND THEN THE INCREASE IN COP. 
          I MEAN, I COMPLETELY BELIEVE IN SUPPORTING OUR STUDENTS IN POVERTY AND OUR NEEDY SCHOOLS. 
          BUT THAT'S $1.9 MILLION OF THE SEVEN. SO THE TYPICAL PERSON IN THE COMMUNITY THINKS THAT A
$7 MILLION INCREASE. 
          WELL, HONESTLY, IT'S GOING TO END UP BEING ABOUT $1 MILLION. 
          AND SO THAT'S WHAT HAS ME. AND SO THAT THE MONEY WE GET FROM THE COUNTY TENDS TO BE IT'S
MUCH MORE LIKELY TO BE LESS RESTRICTED THAN THE STATE MONEY. YEAH, I GET THE SENSE TODAY THAT. DOES THAT HELP THE COMMUNITY SCHOOL IS JUST
PIGGYBACKING THERE. 
          THEY'RE POPULAR. THEY'RE A POPULAR THING. AND IT'S BECAUSE A LOT OF COUNTIES AND INCLUDING
OURSELVES TO SOME EXTENT HAVE, THEY'VE BEEN SUCCESSFUL AND BUT THEY'RE STILL VERY NEW IN TERMS OF HAVING DATA TO SHOW
THAT FOR ALL OF THEM. 
          I KNOW SOME OF THEM STARTED A WHILE AGO, BUT THEY'VE BEEN INCREASING. 
          SO I THINK COMMUNITY SCHOOLS IS SOMETHING THAT THE STATE REALLY LIKES. 
          MY FEAR IS THAT THE COUNTIES ARE BEING ASKED TO SUPPORT THE BLUEPRINT AND HAVING TO DO ALL
THE INITIATIVES WITHOUT RECEIVING ADEQUATE FUNDING TO DO SO. STATE FUNDING. 
          AND WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT A $3 BILLION DEFICIT ON THE STATE END,
THAT'S A LITTLE CONCERNING. 
          [01:35:01]
WHEN WE LOOK AT STATE REVENUE AND HAVING TO RELY ON STATE. 
          YOU KNOW, IN MY ROLE, YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES I SAY THINGS IN PUBLIC,
AND THEN SIX MONTHS LATER YOU LOOK BACK AND YOU'RE THINKING, YOU KNOW, YEAH, THAT WAS GREAT. AND MAYBE NOT SO MUCH. I LOOK BACK TO THE TOWN HALL WAS
THAT OCTOBER OF 23RD OCTOBER. 
          ONE OF THE THINGS I SAID THEN WAS THAT WHAT I'VE LEARNED ABOUT THE BLUEPRINT IS THAT THE
MONEY IS INSTEAD OF MONEY. 
          IT'S NOT. IN ADDITION TO MONEY, THE BLUEPRINT HAS BEEN AN EXERCISE IN REASSIGNING HOW WE
ALLOCATE OUR RESOURCES. AND IT'S NOT WHAT WE'RE ACCUSTOMED TO. 
          AND THIS IS WHY WE'VE SEEN SOME OF THE CLASS SIZES SWELL,
BECAUSE THE MONEY IS BEING FORCED IN CERTAIN AREAS THAT DON'T TYPICALLY SUPPORT SMALLER CLASS SIZE, MORE INDIVIDUAL ATTENTION FOR KIDS. 
          SO I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT STILL RESONATES WITH ME. 
          THAT WAS ONE THING THAT THAT, YOU KNOW, IT'S PLAYING OUT THAT WAY. 
          I WENT AND I TOOK A LOOK AT THE TEN YEAR HISTORY OF THE STATE,
INCREASES IN REVENUE, AND IT COMES OUT TO ABOUT 3.4% OVER THE LAST TEN YEARS. 
          THAT'S WHAT THE INCREASE HAS BEEN ON THE COUNTY SIDE. 
          THE INCREASE IS 2.2%. SO SAY WHAT YOU WANT ABOUT THE BLUEPRINT. 
          IT HAS NOT BEEN A WINDFALL FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION. 
          FOR THOSE FOLKS OUT THERE SCREAMING THAT THE BLUEPRINT IS BANKRUPTING THE STATE,
IT'S SIMPLY NOT TRUE. 
          IT'S JUST NOT TRUE. THERE ARE OTHER COMMITMENTS THAT THE STATE HAS IN TERMS OF SPENDING
THAT ARE MUCH MORE IMPACTFUL IN TERMS OF THE LONG TERM FISCAL HEALTH. 
          AGAIN, 3.5% INCREASE OVER THE LAST DECADE. YOU SAY WHAT YOU WANT. 
          THAT'S NOT CRAZY SPENDING. MOST YEARS THAT'S BARELY KEEPING YOU UP WITH INFLATION,
ESPECIALLY THESE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS WHEN IT'S BEEN CRAZY. 
          AND ONLY 2.2% ANNUAL INCREASE ON THE COUNTY SIDE. 
          AND SO WHAT'S HAPPENING IS WE JUST CAN'T KEEP UP WITH THAT. 
          YOU SEE SOME OF THESE INCREASES COMING ISSUES LIKE SPECIAL EDUCATION. 
          A TWO AND A HALF 2.7% INCREASE DOES NOT KEEP UP WITH THAT. 
          YEAR OVER YEAR OVER TIME. AND SO I THINK THAT'S A LOT OF WHAT WE'RE SEEING IN TERMS OF THE
LARGER FISCAL DYNAMIC. 
          SORRY. I HAVE ONE MORE QUICK QUESTION. HOW DO YOU MEASURE THE SUCCESS OF THE INCREASED
MONEY FOR THE CONCENTRATION OF POVERTY? HOW IS THAT GOING TO BE MEASURED? THE STATE WILL TELL YOU. WHAT THEY'RE SEEING IS THAT THE
BIGGEST GAINS IN TERMS OF TEST SCORES HAS BEEN IN THE COP SCHOOLS. 
          NOW, I DON'T KNOW THAT WE CAN SAY THAT IN POCKETS. 
          WE PROBABLY COULD. THERE ARE A COUPLE. THERE ARE A COUPLE. 
          BUT SOME OF THESE, SOME OF THESE HIGH POVERTY SCHOOLS SCORE VERY LOW. 
          SO YOU COULD BE LOOKING AT A 9% PROFICIENCY RATE AND SEE A JUMP TO 13. 
          WELL, ALL OF A SUDDEN THAT'S A 40% GROWTH YOU KNOW. 
          SO THAT REALLY STARTS TO YOU KNOW, SO SOME OF THAT IS IN PLAY. 
          I'LL BE VERY HONEST WITH YOU. I'VE BEEN AROUND COMMUNITY SCHOOLS FOR THE BETTER PART OF 20
YEARS. THERE'S A LOT TO BE SAID FOR PROVIDING A LOT OF SERVICES TO KIDS. 
          MY FRUSTRATION IS, IS THAT THE RESTRICTIONS ON THE COMMUNITY,
SCHOOLS, MONEY. 
          I WOULD ARGUE THAT, AND I'M BEING TOLD INFORMALLY THERE MAY BE SOME LOOSENING OF
RESTRICTIONS FOR THAT, BUT IT SEEMS LIKE WE COULD CERTAINLY BE PROVIDING MORE INTENSIVE TUTORING. 
          I THINK WHAT MATTERS MOST TO A YOUNG CHILD IS ONE ON ONE INTERACTION WITH READING FOR
SUSTAINED, YOU KNOW, HIGH DOSAGE TUTORING REALLY MATTERS. 
          AND SO, I THINK TO THE EXTENT YOU MIGHT SEE THAT MORE AT THESE SCHOOLS IS CONCENTRATION OF
POVERTY. 
          POVERTY? SCHOOLS IS A GOOD THING. BUT, YEAH,
THE STATE'S PRETTY CONVINCED THAT THAT THIS IS THE WAY TO GO. 
          AND I TELL YOU, IT'S A STRONG ADVOCACY GROUP. 
          ONCE YOU GET INTO CENTRAL MARYLAND. THANK YOU. 
          ANYBODY ELSE? OKAY, WE'RE GOING TO MOVE ON TO THE CSPS VIRTUAL INCLEMENT WEATHER PLAN. 
          [1.06 CCPS Virtural Inclement Weather Plan]
DR. LAWSON? SO, YEAH 1.06 AND 1.07 ARE RELATED IN THE SENSE THAT THEY BOTH SURROUND OUR
PLANS FOR INCLEMENT WEATHER. 1.06 IS FOR INFORMATION PURPOSES,
DR. 
          HAMMER WILL WALK YOU THROUGH OUR VIRTUAL DAY PLAN. 
          ONCE WE HAVE SHARED THIS WITH YOU. EXCUSE ME. 
          WE WILL THEN FORWARD IT TO THE STATE WHERE, UPON APPROVAL,
I WOULD EXPECT IT WOULD BE APPROVED. 
          WE COULD THEN USE VIRTUAL DAYS THIS YEAR IF WE RUN OUT OF OUR INCLEMENT WEATHER. 
          MAKE UP DAYS. WE'VE USED TWO SO FAR. WE HAVE FIVE ON THE CALENDAR. 
          RIGHT GUYS? SO, WE HAVE THREE MORE SNOW DAYS. 
          AND SO, YOU KNOW, THE SNOW AND THE WEATHER OTHER THAN DOING WONDERS FOR MY INSTAGRAM
FOLLOWING HAS REALLY, YOU KNOW, KIND OF BROUGHT THIS THING TO THE FORE. AND YOU HAVE SOME OF THE LOWER SHORE
COUNTIES HAVE BEEN USING VIRTUAL INSTRUCTION ALREADY BECAUSE THEY'VE RUN OUT OF INCLEMENT WEATHER MAKE UP DAYS. SO THAT SAID, THAT WILL BLEED NICELY INTO 1.07,
WHERE WE'RE ASKING YOU ALL TO VOTE ON A REVISED CALENDAR FOR NEXT YEAR. 
          NEXT YEAR'S CALENDAR HAS US GOING TO MONDAY,
JUNE 15TH, IF WE HAVE FIVE INCLEMENT WEATHER MAKEUP DAYS. 
          SO OUR RECOMMENDATION TO YOU WILL BE TO CHANGE THE 5 TO 4. 
          [01:40:03]
THAT WOULD PUT THE LAST DAY FOR TEACHERS 15,
14, 13 TO BE JUNE 12TH. 
          AND IN THE EVENT, WE HAVE MORE THAN FOUR INCLEMENT WEATHER DAYS,
WE WOULD THEN GO VIRTUAL. 
          SO, AS WE MOVE INTO NEXT YEAR, WE WILL GET OUR VIRTUAL PLAN APPROVED BY THE STATE SOONER. 
          FOLLOW ALL THAT. OKAY. AND WITH THAT, DR. HAMMER AND I WILL HAVE ASKED FOR A VOTE AFTER
1.07 VOTE. 
          THANK YOU, DR. LAWSON I ALWAYS LOVE WHEN YOU INTRODUCE ME AND PROVIDE ME THE PROVIDE THE
AUDIENCE THE WHOLE PRESENTATION, SO I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT. I HOPE EVERYBODY IS STAYING WARM. I WILL WALK YOU THROUGH THE NITTY GRITTY OF THE LEGISLATION THAT WAS PASSED TO ALLOW
SCHOOL SYSTEMS TO IMPLEMENT VIRTUAL INSTRUCTIONAL DAYS. SO, THIS IS WHAT COMAR SAYS TO US, THAT YOU MAY AUTHORIZE THE USE OF THOSE VIRTUAL
EDUCATION DAYS IN SEVERE WEATHER. 
          LIKE WE'VE SAID, WE'VE ALREADY USED TWO DAYS BECAUSE OF THE WEATHER,
AND WE HAVE FIVE BUILT INTO OUR CALENDAR. 
          SO, YOU ARE ONLY ALLOWED TO DO THAT WELL IF YOU WERE TO AUTHORIZE IT. 
          THE PLAN THAT WE DEVELOPED WOULD BE PUBLISHED ON OUR WEBSITE,
WHICH IS THE SECOND BULLET, YOU SEE. AND THEN FINALLY, THIS IS ANOTHER PIECE OF THAT COMER, IS THAT THE COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT MAY DECIDE TO
PROVIDE A DAY OF VIRTUAL EDUCATION ONLY IF THE LEAD IS USED ALL THE DAYS INCORPORATED. SO THAT'S WHAT DR. 
          LAWSON JUST SHARED WITH YOU. WE HAVE USED TWO OF THOSE FIVE DAYS. 
          WE HAVE THREE MORE TO GO. SO AFTER THAT, DR. LAWSON,
IF YOU AUTHORIZE THAT TO HIM, WE CAN MOVE INTO VIRTUAL INSTRUCTION. 
          SO, WE DON'T HAVE TO GO DEEPER INTO THE SUMMER. 
          SO THIS IS BASICALLY WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN. WE HAVE TO DISCUSS IT IN AN OPEN MEETING JUST
LIKE THIS. 
          PUBLISH THE PLAN ON THE WEBSITE. AND THE PLAN HAD TO INCLUDE AN ASSURANCE THAT ATTENDANCE
WILL BE TAKEN ON THOSE VIRTUAL DAYS. 
          STUDENTS AND STAFF HAVE THE ABILITY TO MAKE UP WORK ON THOSE DAYS,
AND WE HAVE VERY FLEXIBILITY, A LOT OF FLEXIBILITY WITH THAT, WITH OUR PLAN THAT ALL STAFF WILL,
AND STUDENTS, INCLUDING STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES, HOMELESS ENGLISH LEARNERS, HAVE THE DEVICES THEY NEED TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN. 
          AND THEN IEPS ARE IMPLEMENTED. SO THOSE ARE THE ASSURANCES WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT ARE
PART OF THE VIRTUAL INSTRUCTIONAL PLAN WE PUT TOGETHER. 
          HERE'S SOME HERE'S SOME OF THE PARAMETERS THAT I ALREADY SHARED WITH YOU,
BUT IN A LITTLE MORE DETAIL. 
          AND LET ME GO HERE. SO, THE VIRTUAL INSTRUCTIONAL PLAN I DO HAVE LINKED HERE. 
          AND WHAT WE WOULD HAVE TO DO FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS IN PARTICULAR,
WE WOULD HAVE TO CONDUCT A SURVEY WITH FAMILIES ABOUT THEIR CONNECTIVITY. 
          WE DO NOT HAVE ENOUGH DEVICES, AS YOU JUST HEARD IN OUR BUDGET PRESENTATION,
FOR A 1 TO 1 SITUATION IN OUR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS. 
          SO WE WOULD WE HAVE TEED UP READY TO GO A SURVEY TO OUR ELEMENTARY FAMILIES TO SEE WHO HAS
A DEVICE AND WI-FI IN THEIR HOMES. 
          SO THEY WOULD BE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS VIRTUAL THESE VIRTUAL DAYS. 
          OUR SECONDARY STUDENTS WERE IN GOOD SHAPE WITH OUR COMPUTERS AND WOULD HAVE TO ASSIGN FOR
A MIDDLE SCHOOL TO ASSIGN THOSE COMPUTERS TO OUR STUDENTS, AND HIGH SCHOOLS ARE ALREADY IN A 1 TO 1 SITUATION,
SO WE'RE GOOD TO GO THERE AS WE WOULD BE LOOKING FORWARD TO THE WEATHER AND WE WOULD THEN INITIATE THIS PROCESS. SO WE HAVE TO HAVE THIS PLAN IN PLACE BEFORE WE DECIDE TO IMPLEMENT
IT. 
          SO THAT'S WHY WE'RE HAVING THIS MEETING AFTER TWO DAYS OF CLOSURE AND THAT'S IT. 
          I DO NOT THINK THERE'S A VOTE. WE JUST HAVE TO PRESENT IT. YEAH,
I THINK SO. 
          THE CALENDAR. THE NEXT ONE HAS A VOTE. CAN I JUST WHEN YOU DO THE SURVEY FOR ELEMENTARY
SCHOOLS, YOU HAVE TO ASK IF THEY HAVE A DEVICE AND CONNECTIVITY. 
          CORRECT. DO WE HAVE TO ASK SECONDARY ABOUT CONNECTIVITY. 
          WE HAVE A SURVEY PREPPED FOR THEM IF WE NEED TO DO THAT,
BUT I'M JUST CURIOUS. 
          TYPICALLY, WE DID HAVE THAT AS A PART OF OUR ENROLLMENT PROCESS FOR THOSE SCHOOLS THAT DID
THE ELECTRONIC ENROLLMENT, BUT NOT EVERYBODY DID THAT PROCESS. AND THEN THEY HAVE TO HAVE A LIKE A DEVICE PER EACH
CHILD. 
          THAT'S CORRECT. THAT'S CORRECT. AND TEACHERS ARE REQUIRED TO BE ONLINE WITH STUDENTS FOR
HAVE AVAILABILITY FOR FOUR HOURS OF INSTRUCTION. 
          SO, WE DO HAVE A PLAN FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD STUDENTS WOULD RECEIVE PACKETS THAT THEY COULD
WORK THROUGH. 
          HOWEVER, THE TEACHER WOULD BE AVAILABLE FOR,
TO ZOOM IN WITH TEACHERS, TO TALK TO STUDENTS AND FAMILIES TO HELP THEM THROUGH THOSE PACKETS IN EARLY CHILDHOOD SITUATIONS. THANK YOU. 
          SORRY. JUST TO CLARIFY. ALL RIGHT. NEXT, WITH THE REVISED 2025-26 SCHOOL CALENDAR. 
          DR. LAWSON QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT I DESCRIBED. JUST A QUICK QUESTION. 
          ARE WE REQUIRED TO HAVE A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF DAYS THAT ARE ALREADY IN OUR CALENDAR? IS IT FOR 180 DAYS? NO, BUT I MEAN INCLEMENT WEATHER. 
          WEATHER. WE DON'T HAVE TO HAVE ANY IF WE DON'T WANT TO. 
          I AM NOT FAMILIAR WITH CODE, BUT I CAN TELL YOU IT CERTAINLY VARIES COUNTY TO COUNTY,
WHICH MAKES ME THINK THAT THERE'S A WHOLE LOT OF FLEXIBILITY. 
          I MEAN, IT JUST SEEMS LIKE VIRTUAL DAYS ARE NOT AS WORTHWHILE AS BEING IN THE CLASSROOM. 
          [01:45:04]
SO, USING INCLEMENT WEATHER DAYS, EXCEPT FOR AND THAT WAS THE RATIONALE CONVERSATION AT
THE END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR. 
          THOSE DAYS THEY'RE NOT GREAT ANYWAY, RIGHT? SO USING VIRTUAL FOR DAYS LIKE THAT MAKES MORE
SENSE. 
          AND KEEPING INCLEMENT WEATHER DAYS AS MUCH AS WE LIKE OUR LONG WEEKENDS SPRING BREAKS. 
          BUT ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? OKAY. WITH THAT, I RECOMMEND THAT THE BOARD OF EDUCATION APPROVE
AND ADOPT THE REVISED CCPS 
          [1.07 CCPS Revised 2025-2026 School Calendar]
2025-2026 SCHOOL CALENDAR AS PRESENTED. THE BOARD RESERVES THE RIGHT TO ALTER THIS
CALENDAR BASED UPON LEGISLATIVE ACTION. 
          OKAY, YOU'VE HEARD THE RECOMMENDATION. IS THERE A MOTION? SO MOVED. 
          SECOND. ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? ALL IN FAVOR,
SAY AYE. 
          I THINK EVERYONE SAID I. NO OPPOSED. OKAY. MOTION CARRIES UNANIMOUSLY. 
          THANK YOU. WE ARE NOW AT THE END OF OUR AGENDA. 
          HAVE A GREAT NIGHT, EVERYONE. GO. WASHINGTON ON SUNDAY. 
          MEETING ADJOURNED. ALL RIGHT.
* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.