A SEASONAL VISIT. SO THREE TIMES A YEAR WHERE SIXTH GRADE STUDENTS WILL GO FALL, WINTER AND SPRING TO SEE THE SEASON CHANGE IN THE SAME AREA. [1.04 Presentation of CCPS Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request] [00:00:09] SO WE'RE STILL IN TALKS WITH NORTH BAY AT THIS TIME AND JUST WORKING THROUGH DEPENDENT IF A BUDGET IS THERE OR NOT. SO DEPENDING ON WHAT IS CHOSEN, TRANSPORTATION WOULD BE A DIFFERENCE AS WELL. CORRECT. SO ALL OF THOSE OPTIONS FULFILL THE STANDARD AND FULFILL THE ENVIRONMENTAL LIKE THE ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION AND THE COMMUNITY SERVICE. THAT IS CORRECT. OKAY. THANK YOU. AND AGAIN, JUST TO JUST TO URGE THE BOARD, THE DIRECTION I GAVE TO THE LEADERSHIP TEAM IS TO TAKE THE BIG NUMBERS THAT ARE UP AND THE BIG NUMBERS THAT ARE DOWN, HIGHLIGHT THEM AND GO TO THOSE FOR LINE BY LINE EXPLANATIONS. THAT DOESN'T PRECLUDE YOU ALL FROM ASKING QUESTIONS. FOR INSTANCE, FOR MUSIC FOR $80,000, FEEL FREE TO ASK THOSE KINDS OF QUESTIONS. AND I JUST WANT TO REITERATE WHAT YOU SAID BEFORE, THOUGH, ALL THOSE THINGS WE TALKED ABOUT AT OUR PREVIOUS MEETINGS, AND THEY'RE THE SAME. THE ONLY DIFFERENCE IS THIS NORTH BAY NUMBER, WHICH IS LIKE $272,000 LESS THAN THAT IS CORRECT. WHAT WAS ON THERE? AND WITH THE EXCEPTION OF NORTH BAY, YOU'RE LINE BY LINE BINDERS THAT YOU HAVE ARE ALL STILL CORRECT. CORRECT? YES. DOCTOR HAMMER, REAL QUICK. THE 100,000 DOES NOT INCLUDE TRANSPORTATION. THAT IS CORRECT. IT DOES NOT INCLUDE TRANSPORTATION. GOOD EVENING. IN THE AREA OF ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES, WE'LL BE TOUCHING UPON THESE SIX AREAS. AS MISS HAWLEY JUST INDICATED. THERE'S NO CHANGE. LINE OVER LINE. AND WHAT THESE ITEMS ARE FROM WHAT WE PREVIOUSLY PRESENTED. BUT I WOULD LIKE TO DRAW YOUR ATTENTION TO A FEW AREAS UNDER THE BOARD, I ROLL UP 10,000. THE INCREASE THAT'S HERE OF $132,000 REFLECTS INCREASE IN AUDIT FEES AS WELL AS OUR LEGAL EXPENSES. AND THEN WHEN YOU GET TO THE OFFICE OF FINANCE AND THE ROLL UP CODE OF 50,000, THOUSAND THAT REFLECTS THE INCREASE OF OUR INSURANCE PREMIUMS, AND THEN GOING DOWN TO ROLL UP CODE 6100. THE $456,000 INCREASE THERE IN STUDENT TRANSPORTATION REFLECTS THE PURCHASE OF BUSSES AND THEN THE CONTRACTS THAT WE HAVE WITH OUR BUS CONTRACTORS. SO FOR A NET OVERALL INCREASE ON ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES OF $495,000. JUST A QUICK QUESTION. SO IT'S NOT SHOWN ON HERE, BUT IN OUR BINDERS OUR CONTRACTS HAVE GONE UP LIKE $1 MILLION EACH YEAR FOR THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS. IS THAT WHAT WE'RE EXPECTING TO CONTINUE? AND IS THAT FROM SALARIES INCREASE OR FOR THE BUS CONTRACTORS FOR THE BUS CONTRACTS? SO THAT REFLECTS BOTH THE PURCHASE OF BUSSES AS WELL AS THE PVA, THE PER VEHICLE ALLOTMENT THAT WE PAY. SO, WHEN OUR WHEN OUR CONTRACTORS BUY NEW BUSSES. SO, A BUS TODAY COSTS LESS MONEY OR MORE MONEY THAN A BUS DID 13 YEARS AGO. SO OUR TABLE OF RATES REFLECTS THAT HIGHER PURCHASE PRICE THAT WE ARE NOW PAYING BACK TO OUR CONTRACTORS. SO, A BUS THAT USED TO COST, SAY, $100,000 NOW COSTS $150,000. SO, AS THEY'RE REPLACING THEIR BUSSES, AS THEY CYCLE OUT, THAT REFLECTS A CHANGE IN THE TABLE OF RATES, THAT IS MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS FOR THEM AS WELL AS THEIR CONTRACTOR PAY AND ALL OF THAT, ALL OF THAT IS BUNDLED TOGETHER. CORRECT. OKAY. THANK YOU. I WANTED TO ADD SOMETHING ABOUT UTILITIES AS WELL. WE ARE PART OF ESMEC, WHICH IS THE EASTERN SHORE OF MARYLAND ENERGY CONSORTIUM. AND AS A PART OF THAT CONSORTIUM, WE ARE ABLE TO PURCHASE ELECTRICITY AT A REDUCED RATE. AND SO WE WERE UNDER THE IMPRESSION THAT OUR INCREASE IN RATES WOULD NOT CHANGE FOR FY 26, BUT THEY ACTUALLY WILL. IT WILL BE CALENDAR YEAR 26. SO, WE DO NEED TO COME BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD, AND WE WILL NEED TO INCREASE WHAT WE HAVE ALLOCATED OR BUDGETED FOR ELECTRICITY RIGHT NOW. WE WERE LOOKING AT WHERE WE STAND COMPARATIVELY FROM PRIOR YEARS, AND WE WERE ABLE TO REDUCE AREAS OTHER THAN ELECTRICITY. BUT WE WILL HAVE TO COME BACK AND REVISE THIS, WHICH WE DECIDED WHEN WE WERE MAKING OTHER REVISIONS DOWN THE ROAD. WE WOULD TACKLE ALL OF THAT AT THE SAME TIME. AND IT COMES DOWN TO A CONTRACT FOR THE DELIVERY OF ELECTRICITY THAT WON'T BE HONORED ANYMORE. IT WON'T BE SOMETHING THAT ANY THAT WE HAVE ACCESS TO. AND SO ALL SCHOOL SYSTEMS, LOCAL GOVERNMENTS THAT ARE PART OF THIS CONSORTIUM, WILL PAY AN INCREASE IN ALMOST UP TO 20% FOR DELIVERY CHARGES FOR ELECTRICITY. SO DO WE DOING QUICK MATH, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU KNOW THIS ANSWER, BUT DO WE HAVE A BALLPARK IDEA OF HOW MUCH MORE WE'RE TALKING? I CAN GET THAT FOR YOU BECAUSE I DON'T IN MY HEAD. I KNOW THAT'S A HARD QUESTION, I JUST. BROKEN DOWN, BUT I WILL. AND IT WAS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE TALKED ABOUT WITH SOME OF THE POTENTIAL CHANGES. INSTEAD OF MAKING SOME CHANGES NOW AND SOME LATER, ADDRESSING THEM ALL AT THE SAME TIME AND BEING ABLE TO SHARE THOSE. GREAT. THANK YOU. SO THIS IS A SALARIES AND FIXED CHARGES FOR THE UNRESTRICTED BUDGET. [00:05:01] SO REMEMBER THIS IS ANYTHING THAT IS NOT A GRANT. AND SO COMPARING THE INCREASES IN SALARIES FROM WHAT WE APPROVED, WHAT YOU APPROVED FOR FY 25 VERSUS WHAT WE'RE REQUESTING FOR FY 26. KEEP IN MIND THAT THIS IS NOT ONLY THE STEPS AND THE COLAS, THE INCREASES FOR THE CURRENT FTE POSITIONS. WE BUDGETED LAST YEAR, BUT THE POSITIONS THAT WE ADDED AFTER WE STRUCK THE BUDGET. SO BACK IN THE FALL WHEN WE STARTED ADDING THOSE POSITIONS, THOSE POSITIONS ARE BAKED INTO THE BUDGET FOR FY 26. AND AGAIN, THE INCREASE IN FIXED CHARGES, WHICH GIVES YOU A TOTAL INCREASE OF 13.4 MILLION JUST FOR SALARIES AND FIXED CHARGES FOR THE UNRESTRICTED BUDGET. THIS IS A POSITION SUMMARY THAT JUST SHOWS YOU OUR STATE CATEGORIES ACROSS THE TOP, BECAUSE WE HAVE TO CATEGORIZE EVERY FTE BY A STATE CATEGORY, AND THEN THE OBJECT WHICH TELLS YOU WHAT THE POSITION IS DOWN THE SIDE AND THE NUMBER FOR EACH. AND THIS IS JUST THE UNRESTRICTED NUMBER. I KNOW THERE WERE SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT POSITIONS, AND I THINK WHEN WE GET TO THE SLIDE THAT COMPARES FY 25 AND 26, WE CAN I CAN GO A LITTLE MORE INTO DEPTH INTO THOSE. BUT I THINK SO. THIS SETS THE STAGE FOR THE DILEMMA OF TRACKING OUR POSITIONS. AND I KNOW THAT CAUSES SOME FOLKS IN THE COMMUNITY SOME REAL HEARTBURN. WE MOVE POSITIONS SOMETIMES FROM RESTRICTED TO UNRESTRICTED. AND CAN YOU GIVE ME AN EXAMPLE? AN EXAMPLE OF THAT WOULD BE IF WE GET A REDUCED AMOUNT OF RESTRICTED MONEY FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, OKAY. AND THAT'S A GREAT EXAMPLE BECAUSE IT'S TRUE AND IT'S HAPPENING. THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT GRANTS ARE WE REFER TO AS OUR TITLE GRANTS, TITLE ONE, TWO, THREE AND FOUR. TITLE ONE IS POVERTY. IT'S THE BIGGEST ONE. SO WE GET A FEW MILLION DOLLARS FROM TITLE ONE GRANTS. IF THAT NUMBER IS REDUCED AND WE CAN AFFORD IT, WE WILL TRY TO TAKE THOSE RESTRICTED POSITIONS AND PUT THEM IN THE UNRESTRICTED CATEGORY SO THAT WHEN YOU COUNT THE POSITIONS FOR RESTRICTED AND UNRESTRICTED, THEY CAN CHANGE. THEY CAN CHANGE DURING THE YEAR. OKAY. BECAUSE THE FEDERAL CALENDAR AND THE STATE CALENDAR DO NOT LINE UP FROM A BUDGET PERSPECTIVE. AND SO WHAT HAPPENS IS IT IS A REALLY HARD THING TO GET YOUR HEAD AROUND. AND SO IT STARTS TO LOOK LIKE WE'RE KIND OF PLAYING FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE DECK SORT OF THING, WHEN IN FACT, IF YOU PAY VERY CLOSE ATTENTION EVERY SINGLE MONTH TO WHAT HAPPENS, THERE'S AN EXPLANATION FOR IT EVERY SINGLE TIME. SO WE WILL FIND OUT THAT WE'RE GETTING REDUCED FROM A RESTRICTED FUND. AND WE WILL SAY, CAN WE AFFORD TO PAY FOR THAT POSITION FROM OUR UNRESTRICTED MONEY? AND IF WE CAN, WE DO THAT AND THAT WILL THROW THESE NUMBERS OFF AGAIN. THESE ARE JUST THE UNRESTRICTED POSITIONS AND A GOOD PROBABLY 8,590% OF OUR POSITIONS ARE UNRESTRICTED, BUT IT DEFINITELY THROWS OFF THE LEDGER BALANCE SHEET IF YOU'RE NOT WATCHING THIS CLOSELY. SORRY IF I'M BEMOANING THAT. SO THIS SLIDE ADDS EVERYTHING TOGETHER. SO THE LAST SLIDE WAS JUST POSITIONS AND THE FIXED CHARGES ASSOCIATED WITH THEM. THE SLIDES THAT DOCTOR HAMMER AND DOCTOR BUCKLEY SHARED WERE ALL THE SUPPLIES, CONTRACTED RESOURCES OR CONTRACTED SERVICES. THIS PUTS EVERYTHING TOGETHER, WHICH IS OUR TOTAL UNRESTRICTED BUDGET SUMMARY BY STATE CATEGORY. YOU CAN SEE SOME OF THE THINGS WE KNOW THAT SALARIES AND WAGES ARE UP BECAUSE OF POSITIONS THAT WE'VE ADDED STEPS AND COLAS FOR EMPLOYEES INSTRUCTION, OTHER COSTS. A LOT OF THAT IS THE CONTRACTED SERVICES THAT WE'VE DISCUSSED, SPECIAL EDUCATION. YOU HAVE EMPLOYEES. SO IN EACH ONE OF THESE CATEGORIES YOU HAVE EMPLOYEES AND FTES. IN THOSE CATEGORIES, THIS INSTRUCTION SALARIES AND WAGES. THOSE ARE OUR TEACHERS AND OUR PARAPROFESSIONALS OUR NON-SPECIAL ED NON-SPECIALIZED PARAPROFESSIONALS. SO THAT'S ONE OF OUR BIGGEST LINES BECAUSE THEY'RE OUR BIGGEST RESOURCE. STUDENT TRANSPORTATION. YOU CAN SEE AN INCREASE THERE AND FIXED CHARGES. AGAIN, THOSE ARE ALL THE THINGS THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH EMPLOYING SOMEONE. SO THERE ARE BENEFITS SOCIAL SECURITY, PENSION, THOSE TYPES OF THINGS ARE ALL IN THERE. SO YOU CAN SEE AN INCREASE IN OUR RESTRICTED BUDGET FROM WHAT WAS APPROVED FOR FY 25 TO WHAT'S REQUESTED IN FY 26. AND DOCTOR LAWSON BROUGHT UP A GOOD POINT ABOUT WITH POSITIONS, HOW YOU HAVE TO PICK A POINT IN TIME TO COMPARE SO THAT YOU'RE COMPARING APPLES TO APPLES. I WOULD SAY THE SAME THING HAPPENS WITH BUDGET. WE APPROVED THIS AS THE FY 25 UNRESTRICTED BUDGET. BUT I'VE BEEN TO YOU WITH A BUDGET AMENDMENT EVERY MONTH SINCE THEN. AND SO THIS HAS CHANGED. SO YOU ALWAYS HAVE TO PICK YOUR POINT IN TIME WHERE YOU'VE APPROVED A BUDGET AND COMPARE FROM THERE. SO YOU'RE ALWAYS COMPARING APPLES TO APPLES. AND TO GO A STEP FURTHER, CAN YOU BACK UP ONE THAT NOTICED THAT FY 22, 3 AND 4, THEY WERE ACTUALS. AND THEN FY 25 IS WHAT WAS APPROVED. NOW IS WHAT IS APPROVED ALWAYS THE ACTUAL? NO, IT CHANGES DURING THE COURSE OF THE YEAR DEPENDING ON WHAT HAPPENS WITH REVENUES. [00:10:01] AND SO AGAIN, THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO UNDERSTAND WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT OUR BUDGET IS TWO THINGS WHEN IT COMES TO STAFFING. PICK A POINT IN TIME. HOW MANY FTES DO WE HAVE ON OCTOBER 15TH OF 23 AND COUNT THAT TO THE FTES FULL TIME EQUIVALENTS ON OCTOBER 15TH OF 24? THEN YOU'RE COMPARING APPLES TO APPLES. AND SO THAT IS JUST REALLY A FUNDAMENTAL THING FOR THE AVERAGE LAYPERSON JUST TO TRY TO GET YOUR HEAD AROUND. SO THIS IS LOOKING AT OUR RESTRICTED REVENUE. AND AGAIN, KEEPING IN MIND THAT OUR TITLE, OUR FEDERAL DOLLARS RUN FROM OCTOBER THROUGH SEPTEMBER. AND SO FOR MUCH OF THIS RESTRICTED REVENUE, IT'S LOOKING AT WHAT WE HAVE NOW AND PROJECTING THAT UNLESS WE HAVE ANY BETTER INFORMATION PROJECTING THAT INTO FY 26. ONE OF THE BUDGET AMENDMENTS WE COME TO YOU WITH IN THE FALL IS USUALLY A BIG CHANGE TO THE RESTRICTED BUDGET. WHEN WE CARRY OVER ALL OF THOSE GRANTS AND WE HAVE THE ACTUAL NEW NUMBERS. SO YOU GET THE ACTUAL THEN. BUT THIS IS AS CLOSE AS WE KNOW NOW. AND SO THIS WOULD BE A GOOD EXAMPLE HERE THAT AFTER WE STRUCK THE FY 25 BUDGET AND WE THOUGHT WE WERE GETTING X AMOUNT OF MONEY FROM TITLE ONE, TITLE ONE MONEY WAS CUT. AND WITH THAT, WE HAD TO REDUCE THE NUMBER OF POSITIONS THAT WERE GOING TO BE IN TITLE ONE. SO YOU CAN SEE THE CHANGES. AND SO SOME OF THIS ACTUALLY HAPPENED DURING THIS FISCAL YEAR. SO DURING THIS FISCAL YEAR WE PLANNED. WE BUDGETED FOR PRE-K EXPANSION GRANTS. WE DID NOT RECEIVE THE PRE-K EXPANSION GRANTS. WE BUDGETED FOR THESE TITLE ONE POSITIONS WITH ADDITIONAL TITLE ONE MONEY. WE DIDN'T RECEIVE IT. SO SOME OF THESE POSITIONS WERE ACTUALLY REDUCED DURING THIS FISCAL YEAR. SO AGAIN, THESE ARE JUST PROJECTIONS BASED ON WHAT WE HAVE RIGHT NOW AND WHAT WE'RE WORKING WITH RIGHT NOW THROUGH THIS BUDGET. SO PROJECTING FOR OUR RESTRICTED REVENUE, LOOKING LIKE IT'S A -2.6 MILLION AND A REDUCTION OF 40.8 POSITIONS. WE HAD PLANNED. SO IF YOU LOOK AT THIS RIGHT HERE MR. FERDINANDO, THIS MIGHT ANSWER ONE OF YOUR QUESTIONS WHERE YOU SEE THIS -22. WE BUDGETED 22 POSITIONS FOR THE PRE-K EXPANSION GRANT THAT WE WERE TOLD WE WOULD RECEIVE. WE DID NOT RECEIVE THE GRANT. SO WE ENDED UP CREATING ADDING FOUR PRE-K CLASSROOMS OURSELVES. AND THAT WAS PART OF THE POSITIONS, PART OF THE POSITIONS THAT WE ADDED USING OUR FUND BALANCE AND THE REST WE JUST WEREN'T ABLE TO ADD. EVERYBODY'S CLEAR ON THAT, RIGHT? BECAUSE THAT IS JUST A GREAT EXAMPLE OF WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT. WE BUDGETED TO HAVE RESTRICTED MONEY TO BE ABLE TO FUND AND IN THIS CASE, A PRE-K EXPANSION. WE FOUND FROM THE RESTRICTED SOURCE THAT THEY WERE NOT GOING TO FUND IT. WE USED UNRESTRICTED TO MAKE IT HAPPEN ANYWAY. SO IN YOUR STAFFING LEDGER, IT DOES. IT CAUSES THE UNRESTRICTED RESTRICTED TO GO JUST IN CHAOS. SO IT'S REALLY HARD. YOU HAVE TO LOOK AT A POINT IN TIME AND YOU HAVE TO CONSIDER IS IT RESTRICTED OR UNRESTRICTED. THIS IS JUST THE SALARIES AND FIXED CHARGES PART OF THE RESTRICTED BUDGET. SO AGAIN THESE ARE THE EMPLOYEES AND THEIR STEPS AND THEIR COLAS. THESE ARE THE FIXED CHARGES THE INSURANCE AND THE PENSION THAT GOES ALONG WITH IT. SO KEEPING IN MIND YOU SEE A REDUCTION IN SALARIES AND FIXED CHARGES BECAUSE WE'VE REDUCED THE RESTRICTED BUDGET BY 40.8 EMPLOYEES. SO ALTHOUGH THE REMAINING EMPLOYEES WILL HAVE A STEP AND A COLA INCREASE, WE'VE REDUCED THE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES, WHICH ULTIMATELY REDUCES THE BUDGET. THIS IS A SUMMARY OF THE RESTRICTED POSITIONS IN OUR REQUEST FOR FY 26. SO AGAIN THE CATEGORIES ACROSS THE TOP, THE DESCRIPTIONS ALONG THE SIDE. AND THESE ARE THE TOTAL NUMBER OF FTES THAT WOULD BE FUNDED IN THE RESTRICTED BUDGET FOR FY 26. THIS IS THE TOTAL RESTRICTED BUDGET SUMMARY. SO AGAIN COMPARING AND I WOULD LIKE TO DRAW YOUR ATTENTION TO BACK WHEN WE HAD ESSER FUNDS, WHEN WE WERE WORKING WITH THE ALMOST $34 MILLION RESTRICTED BUDGET, A $30 MILLION RESTRICTED BUDGET, 34 MILLION, NOW WE'RE DOWN TO 15.8 FOR FY 26, WHICH IS A $2.6 MILLION REDUCTION FROM FY 25. THIS IS A TOTAL SUMMARY OF ALL OF THE POSITIONS. SO IF YOU PUT YOUR RESTRICTED AND YOUR UNRESTRICTED BUDGET TOGETHER, THIS SUMMARIZES THE TOTAL POSITIONS THAT WE'RE REQUESTING FOR FY 26. AGAIN, WE IDENTIFY THESE POSITIONS BY STATE CATEGORY AND WE IDENTIFY THEM BY OBJECT AND WHAT THESE POSITIONS ARE. SO YOU CAN SEE HOW MANY THERE ARE OF EACH POSITION, HOW MANY THERE ARE IN EACH STATE CATEGORY. I THINK THIS IS THE IMPORTANT PAGE, BECAUSE THIS IS THE ONE WHERE THERE WERE REALLY SOME QUESTIONS. [00:15:04] SO IT COMES BACK TO THIS FY 25 IS WHAT YOU ALL APPROVED AS THE BUDGET IN JUNE. THESE WERE THE POSITIONS THAT WE SAID THAT WE WERE GOING TO FUND WITH OUR FY $25. WE FUNDED ALL OF OUR UNRESTRICTED POSITIONS, BUT IN THE RESTRICTED AREA IN SOME OF IN SOME OF THESE CASES, AGAIN, THE TITLE ONE FUNDS THE PRE-K EXPANSION GRANT. WE WEREN'T ABLE TO FILL THOSE POSITIONS BECAUSE WE DID NOT RECEIVE THE FUNDING. SO NOW WHEN WE LOOK AT OUR REQUESTS FOR FY 26, WHEN YOU SEE THIS -40.8 FOR RESTRICTED, SOME OF THOSE WERE POSITIONS THAT WERE CUT THIS YEAR BECAUSE WE DIDN'T RECEIVE THE FUNDING. SOME OF THOSE WERE POSITIONS THAT WE MOVED INTO THE UNRESTRICTED BUDGET. THE GOOD EXAMPLE WAS THE PRE-K EXPANSION GRANTS. WE HAVE A COUPLE OTHER GRANTS. I CAN THINK OF TWO SPECIFIC EMPLOYEES WHO WERE FUNDED IN A GRANT THAT ENDED. IT RAN OUT IN DECEMBER. SO AS OF DECEMBER, WE HAD TO PICK UP THE EMPLOYEES AND MOVE THEM INTO THE UNRESTRICTED SIDE OF THE HOUSE. SO WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO SHOW YOU HERE IS JUST OUR HISTORICAL STAFFING, WHERE WE STAND OVER TIME AND HOW WE GOT TO THIS DIFFERENCE HERE. SO AGAIN, FROM WHAT WE BUDGETED LAST YEAR TO WHAT WE BUDGETED THIS YEAR IN THE UNRESTRICTED, THERE'S AN INCREASE OF 82.4 POSITIONS. 73 OF THEM ARE RIGHT HERE. IF YOU LOOK AT PEREZ AND TEACHERS, THAT'S WHERE WE BUILD IN THE PRE-K CLASSROOMS, THE FOUR PRE-K CLASSROOMS THAT WE ADDED, THE PEREZ THAT WERE ADDED FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD, SOME OTHER SPECIAL ED PEREZ SSTS. SO, 73 OF THE 82.4 ARE RIGHT HERE. THE BALANCE ARE THOSE POSITIONS THAT WE HAD BUDGETED IN THE RESTRICTED BUDGET, AND WE HAD TO MOVE TO THE UNRESTRICTED BUDGET. SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE INCREASE FROM BUDGET TO BUDGET, WHAT WAS APPROVED FOR 25, WHAT WERE REQUESTING AND 82.4 INCREASE IN UNRESTRICTED, A 40.8 DECREASE IN RESTRICTED, WHICH GIVES YOU A NET CHANGE OF 41.6. SO WHEN YOU TAKE THIS NUMBER AND YOU ADD 41.6, YOU GET 2,052.4. SO IS THAT A GOOD PLAN? CAN WE STOP THERE JUST TO MAKE SURE TO GIVE YOU GUYS AN OPPORTUNITY TO SAY ANYTHING? YEAH. I DON'T THINK WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO ANSWER TODAY. BUT WHAT I WAS TRYING TO GET TO AND TRY TO GET AN ANSWER, MAYBE SOME MORE DETAIL ON SINCE 24 TO WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO APPROVE TODAY FOR 26, WE ONLY HAVE A NET INCREASE OF 21 POSITIONS IN THOSE TWO YEARS. THAT'S CORRECT. SO SPELLING OUT WHY IT'S ONLY 21. WHEN WE APPROVED A $6 MILLION FUND BALANCE INCREASE, OR IN SEPTEMBER FOR 70 SOMETHING POSITIONS. I THINK WE NEED SOME DETAIL AS TO WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE, BECAUSE IT'S 21 POSITIONS OVER TWO YEARS, AND IT SEEMS LIKE IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE MORE THAN THAT. I KNOW WE'VE LOST SOME POSITIONS HERE AND THAT, BUT THE NET IS ONLY UP 21, SO REMEMBER THAT WHAT WAS IN THE FUND BALANCE DESIGNATION, THAT WAS A DESIGNATION. SO THAT WASN'T AN ACTUAL. SO WE WHEN WE ADDED POSITIONS THIS WAS WHAT WAS ADDED FROM THE FUND BALANCE. SO JUST BECAUSE IT WAS DESIGNATED IN THE FUND BALANCE, IT ONLY BECOMES REALITY WHEN IT COMES TO YOU AS A BUDGET AMENDMENT. SO, I DON'T KNOW IF THAT. NO, IT DOESN'T ANSWER THE QUESTION AS TO STAFFING, OKAY. AND PROVIDING MORE STAFFING WITH MORE MONEY. AND WE HAVE MORE MONEY. SO WE ARE OVER A TWO YEAR PERIOD. WE'RE ONLY PROVIDING 21 MORE POSITIONS TO STAFFING. NO MATTER HOW YOU CUT IT, WE MOVED IT FROM HERE. WE CUT IT FROM HERE. WE DID THIS, DID THAT. IT'S ONLY 21 MORE PEOPLE. AND OVER THE LAST TWO YEARS WE'VE HAD SIGNIFICANT INCREASES IN FUNDING. SO TRYING TO SPELL THAT OUT A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENTLY AND MAKE SENSE OF IT WOULD BE IMPORTANT BECAUSE I'M NOT, I'M SO 2024, WE WERE AT 2031 POSITIONS. IF WE IF THIS BUDGET IS APPROVED, WE'LL BE AT 2052 POSITIONS. IT'S ONLY 21 PEOPLE OR 31 PEOPLE. 21 PEOPLE INCREASE. THAT'S LAST YEAR. NO, I'M SAYING FROM 24 TO TODAY. LAST YEAR WE WERE SUPPOSED TO ADD POSITIONS OF 73. THIS YEAR WE'RE ASKING TO ADD POSITIONS. SO THIS 2010.8 IS WHAT WAS APPROVED FOR FY 25. YEP. THEN WHAT WE DID IS WE USED THE FUND BALANCE THAT WE DISCUSSED. AND WE ADDED THIS MANY POSITIONS. AND THE REASON THAT THIS ISN'T 2083, OKAY, BECAUSE FUND BALANCE THAT'S ONLY RELATED TO OUR UNRESTRICTED BUDGET, THE REASON THAT IT WENT DOWN IS BECAUSE WE LOST 40 POSITIONS IN OUR RESTRICTED BUDGET. SO THAT'S WHERE THE NEGATIVE IS, WHERE YOU'RE NOT SEEING THE INCREASE. BECAUSE WE DID NOT GET THOSE PRE-K EXPANSION GRANTS. THAT WAS 22 POSITIONS THAT WE BUDGETED. THERE WERE 11 POSITIONS IN TITLE ONE THAT WE WEREN'T ABLE TO ADD. SO RIGHT THERE, THAT'S 33 OF THE 40.8 THAT WE WERE SUPPOSED TO HAVE FOR FY 25 THAT WE WEREN'T ABLE TO BECAUSE WE DIDN'T GET THE MONEY. [00:20:08] SO WHAT MAKES IT REALLY CHALLENGING IS UNFORTUNATELY, WE CALL IT THE OPERATING BUDGET. BUT YOU REALLY HAVE TO KEEP THE RESTRICTED BUDGET AND THE UNRESTRICTED BUDGET SEPARATE. AND SO RIGHT THERE, IF WE HAD IF WE HAD RECEIVED THAT MONEY, IF YOU ADD 40.8 ONTO THE TOP, THEN THAT'D BE ANOTHER 40.8 POSITIONS. WE'D BE AT 2092, 2093. BUT THE REASON THAT WE'RE NOT THERE IS BECAUSE WE'VE LOST RESTRICTED MONEY. NOT BECAUSE WE DIDN'T ADD WITH OUR FUND BALANCE IN THE UNRESTRICTED. SO WE DID ADD ON THE UNRESTRICTED SIDE. THE PROBLEM WAS WE LOST MORE THAN HALF OF THE SAME NUMBER IN OUR RESTRICTED BUDGET. WELL, AND I THINK ANOTHER THING, BECAUSE THE WATER IS NOT MUDDY ENOUGH. I THINK SOMETHING ELSE THAT CAN'T GO UNNOTICED IS IF YOU CAN BACK UP TO THE UNRESTRICTED SUMMARIES AND IF YOU LOOK AT THE RAW, UNRESTRICTED. KEEP GOING. SO, IF YOU LOOK AT 03, 05, 06 AND 12. RIGHT. SO THAT'S 912. THAT'S ABOUT $13 MILLION. SO, WHEN YOU SAY WE'RE ONLY GROWING THIS MANY POSITIONS, WE NEEDED 13 TO JUST HOLD TO STAY. AND I THINK THAT'S A PIECE THAT HAS FLOWN UNDER THE RADAR WITH THE BLUEPRINT RIGHT FROM THE JUMP, IS THAT IT'S GOING TO TAKE A HEAVY LIFT JUST TO BREAK EVEN. SO, I THINK THAT'S ALSO A PLAYER HERE JUST POINTING THAT OUT. AND THAT'S BEEN THE CASE FOR THE LAST FOUR FISCAL YEARS. IT REALLY HAS. AND WE HAVE THIS YEAR AND THEN NEXT YEAR. AND THEN THESE NUMBERS IDEALLY WILL BACK OFF TO BE WHAT THEY'VE BEEN HISTORICALLY FOR OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM. YEAH. AND I THINK THE REASON MR. FERDINANDO, THAT IT FEELS LIKE WE HAVEN'T ADDED ENOUGH POSITIONS AGAIN IS BECAUSE WHAT WE'VE LOST IN THE RESTRICTED BUDGET. SO WHILE WE'RE TRYING TO ADD POSITIONS, WHICH WE HAVE AT THE SAME TIME WE LOST POSITIONS IN THE RESTRICTED BUDGET. I THINK THAT'S WHERE I LOST IT A LITTLE BIT. SO THE LOSSES THERE SHOWING UNDER FISCAL YEAR 26 ARE LOSSES THAT WE. RIGHT, BECAUSE IT'S SHOWING THE DIFFERENCE. THAT WE REALIZED IN 25 RIGHT. OKAY. EXACTLY RIGHT. AND YOU DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT JUNE 30TH OF 24. RIGHT. YOU DIDN'T KNOW. BUT WE KNEW PROBABLY WITHIN 2 OR 3 MONTHS AFTER THAT. SO STARTING IN ITS OCTOBER 1ST TO SEPTEMBER 30TH IS THE IS THE FEDERAL FISCAL CALENDAR? GOT IT. SO, WE'VE ALREADY LOST THESE POSITIONS DURING THIS YEAR. THEY'RE NOT POSITIONS WE'RE CUTTING FOR NEXT YEAR. THESE ARE POSITIONS THAT THIS YEAR WE DID NOT RECEIVE ENOUGH MONEY TO FUND OR GRANT FUNDING RAN OUT, AND WE HAD TO MOVE POSITIONS OVER TO THE UNRESTRICTED BUDGET. SO THAT'S WHAT'S THROWING THIS NUMBER OFF IS WHEN YOU DON'T RECEIVE THAT RESTRICTED MONEY, WE COULDN'T ADD ANOTHER 40.8 BECAUSE WE THEN HAVE TO BE ABLE TO SUSTAIN THE UNRESTRICTED BUDGET WITH THE FUNDING THAT WE'RE GOING TO GET FROM THE STATE AND THE COUNTY. SO IF YOU ADDED THAT 40.8 BACK UP, THAT WOULD LOOK LIKE A WHOLE DIFFERENT NUMBER. I MEAN, YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN DOING THIS NOW, WHAT, 6 OR 7 HOURS JUST THIS BUDGET SEASON GOING THROUGH THIS. AND YOU CAN SEE HOW COMPLICATED IT IS SO THAT WHEN SOMEBODY COMES AND THEY DECIDE THEY WANT TO PAY ATTENTION TO OUR BUDGET FOR TEN MINUTES AND CAST THESE DISPERSIONS ON THE SYSTEM, IT'S HARD TO TAKE SOMETIMES BECAUSE THERE ARE PEOPLE, BLESS YOU. THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO JUST LIVE THIS, YOU KNOW, AND EVEN THAT IT IS HARD TO KEEP YOUR HEAD AROUND THIS. SO THE DIFFERENTIAL OF THAT 73 AND 40, THAT 33 POSITIONS, LIKE, YOU KNOW, THE 73 WE ADDED WITH FUND BALANCE AND WE LOST TECHNICALLY, WE ADDED, WELL, WE ADDED THIS WHOLE 73 TO OUR UNRESTRICTED BUDGET. THIS IS WHERE THE DIFFERENCE IS. SO SEE WE BUDGETED 150 INCHES OUR RESTRICTED BUDGET LAST YEAR. WELL NOW THERE'S ONLY 109.3 BECAUSE WE LOST THAT FUNDING. SO EITHER THE FUNDING EXPIRED OR WE DID NOT GET THE GRANTS THAT WE WERE EXPECTED OR WE RECEIVED A REDUCED AMOUNT AND WE WERE NOT. MOST OF OUR RESTRICTED BUDGET IS ACTUALLY SALARIES AND FIXED CHARGES. VERY LITTLE OF IT IS ANYTHING ELSE. SO THE REDUCTION YOU CAN SEE THE INCREASE HERE IN OUR UNRESTRICTED BUDGET WE WENT FROM 18 TO 60.7. NOW IT'S 1940 3.1. HERE'S WHERE THE REDUCTION IS 150.1 TO 109.3. SO THE 143 IN FY 26 NUMBER THAT UNRESTRICTED HAS SOME OF THAT 73 POSITIONS, THAT IT HAS ALL OF THEM IN THERE AND THEN SOME AND THEN AND MORE. AND THEN YEAH, BECAUSE THERE WERE SOME MORE FROM THE RESTRICTED BUDGET THAT MOVED. SO NOT ALL OF THESE WERE CUT. SOME OF THESE WERE A MOVE TO THE UNRESTRICTED BUDGET. AND SOME OF THEM, THE REST OF THEM WERE A CUT. SO FOR THIS YEAR, FOR FISCAL YEAR 26, WE'RE NOT REALLY AT WE'RE NOT ADDING THAT MANY MORE POSITIONS. IT'S MORE OF THE POSITIONS THAT ALREADY WERE KIND OF EXACTLY. IT'S WHAT WE HAVE RIGHT NOW IS THIS THIS BUDGET DOES NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT ADDING ANY NEW POSITIONS AT THIS TIME FOR NEXT YEAR. [00:25:01] ONCE OUR STATE FUNDING IS SOLIDIFIED WITH THE COP FUNDING, WE WILL BE REQUIRED TO ADD A CSA FOR EACH OF THE NEW CONCENTRATION OF POVERTY SCHOOLS. THAT WOULD BE TWO POSITIONS, BUT THIS DOES NOT. AND THAT GETS OFFSET SOMEWHAT BY NURSES BECAUSE WE'RE ABLE TO THEN PAY FOR NURSES. SO THAT WILL FREE UP TWO POSITIONS FROM THE UNRESTRICTED THAT WILL BE TAKEN CARE OF THROUGH RESTRICTED. AND SO FOR THE 41 DIFFERENTIAL THAT WE SEE THERE ON THE RIGHT, THAT'S FROM WHAT WE'VE ALREADY KIND OF DONE IN SEPTEMBER WITH THAT WITH THE 73 POSITIONS ON THE RIGHT. THAT'S WHAT THEY'RE SAYING. 73 POSITIONS ARE IN HERE. OKAY. SO THAT'S IN THAT NUMBER, NOT IN THE 25 NUMBERS. THIS IS JUST SHOWING AFTER 25 WHEN WE DID IT. YES. YEAH. THIS IS JUST SHOWING YOU IN TOTAL. THIS IS WHAT WE'RE UP IN THE RESTRICTED BUDGET. THIS IS WHAT WE'RE DOWN IN THE RESTRICTED BUDGET. SO OUR TOTAL NET INCREASE IS 41.6 POSITIONS. SO IF I CAN SUMMARIZE REALLY QUICKLY. SURE. WE ARE NOT REDUCING POSITIONS FOR THE FIRST TIME IN YEARS. I THINK THAT'S OUR REQUEST IN THIS. WELL OKAY. OUR REQUEST PROPOSED BUDGET REQUEST IS NOT REDUCING POSITIONS. IT'S SUSTAINING WHAT WE HAVE RIGHT NOW. YES. ADDING TO VIRTUAL POSITIONS TO TAKE THE LOAD OFF OF MIDDLE SCHOOL TEACHERS WHO ARE DOING BOTH TO HELP WITH CLASS SIZES. IS THAT RIGHT? THAT IS CERTAINLY THE PLAN. OKAY. THEY'RE NOT IN HERE THOUGH. AND RIGHT, AND WE ARE INCREASING APPRENTICESHIPS FOR OUR HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS. IS THAT. IT WOULDN'T BE A COST TO US, BUT IT'S PART OF LIKE IT'S A FEELING OF MORE HANDS ON DECK IN CLASSROOMS AND ALSO HELPING OUR HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS AND ANY, ANY INTERNSHIPS THAT ARE DONE THROUGH US ARE NOT CONSIDERED AN FTE. RIGHT. IT'S AN HOURLY POSITION THAT DOESN'T SHOW UP HERE. IT'S AN HOURLY POSITION, BUT IT'S ALSO HELPING TEACHERS IN. THAT'S REALLY A GOOD POINT. I MEAN, I FEEL VERY MUCH APPRECIATED. WE'RE ALWAYS TRYING TO ADD I MEAN, MY GOAL ALWAYS WAS TO ADD PAIRS TO KINDERGARTENS AGAIN, AND WE'RE GETTING THERE. BUT HAVING THESE STUDENT ASSISTANTS IS A WIN, WIN, WIN FOR EVERYBODY. SO I WOULD SAY THAT THE BOARD WILL SEE A HANDFUL OF CHANGES BETWEEN NOW AND JUNE 30TH MUCH OF THAT DRIVEN BY LEGISLATION. RIGHT. ONCE SINE DIE COMES AND GOES AND BILLS ARE SIGNED, THAT KIND OF THING THAT WE'RE GOING TO BRING BACK TO YOU SOMETHING VERY CLOSE. BUT THERE WILL BE SOME CHANGES. AND JUST FOR THE AUDIENCE'S AWARENESS, FTE IS FULL TIME EQUIVALENT. THAT'S BASICALLY AN EMPLOYEE THAT GETS BENEFITS. THE BEST WAY TO LOOK AT IT. THANK YOU. NO, IT HELPS BECAUSE THAT THAT BOX ON THE BOTTOM RIGHT ALWAYS LOOKED LIKE IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE IN THOSE NUMBERS IN THE FY 25 ON THE LEFT RIGHT. BUT IT WAS AFTER THAT HAPPENED. SO THAT'S REALLY KIND OF INCLUSIVE IN THE 26. YES. BECAUSE IT WAS MID BUDGET WHEN IT HAPPENED. AND I'M REALLY GLAD YOU BROUGHT. I'M REALLY GLAD YOU BROUGHT THAT UP. MAKES A LOT OF SENSE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. BECAUSE WE DIDN'T ADD THEM UNTIL THE FALL. YEAH. YEAH. SO THIS IS OUR TOTAL OPERATING BUDGET SUMMARY. AGAIN, TAKING INTO ACCOUNT THE SALARIES AND FIXED CHARGES AND THE UNRESTRICTED BUDGET AND THE RESTRICTED BUDGET AND PUTTING THEM TOGETHER. AND SO YOU CAN SEE THE INCREASE REQUESTED FOR FY 26. ON THIS SLIDE. YOU'LL NOTE EXCUSE ME ON THE CAPITAL BUDGET. ON THIS SLIDE, YOU'LL NOTE THAT WE HAVE COMBINED THE SMALL CAP ON THE BOX ONTO WITH THE LARGE CAP. OFTENTIMES THEY WERE SEPARATED. AND THERE WAS KIND OF A SEPARATION IN MIND OF THEY'RE NOT ONE AND THE SAME, BUT THEY ARE ALL A PART OF OUR CAPITAL PROJECTS. SO YOU'LL SEE THE TWO LARGE CAP PROJECTS THERE. NORTHEAST MIDDLE HIGH SCHOOL, WHICH IS WELL UNDERWAY, AND WE'LL BE CONTINUING. THE TOTAL COST IS 181 MILLION. AND THIS YEAR, UNDER THE FY 26 REQUESTED BUDGET, YOU'LL SEE THE 11,000,606 FROM THE STATE AS WELL AS THE COUNTY PAGO, 05,834,000, AS WELL AS 7.5 MILLION IN BONDS. THEN THE CECIL MANOR HVAC REPLACEMENT. THERE ARE SOME FUNDS THAT ARE ON HAND ALREADY. PRIOR FUNDING OF 2.6 MILLION AND THE STATE. THE REQUEST THIS YEAR WILL BE $792,000 FROM THE STATE, AND $1,339,000 FROM THE COUNTY, FOR A TOTAL FUNDING FOR THE, FOR THESE PROJECTS, OF $52,622,632 AND OUR SMALL CAP PROJECTS WE HAVE. WE HAVE A LARGE LIST OF SMALL CAP PROJECTS. THESE ARE OUR TOP SEVEN PRIORITIZED. AND SO THEY TOTAL 1.4 OR 1,488,000 FOR OUR SEVEN TOP TIER, IF YOU WILL, SMALL CAP PROJECTS THAT WILL BE REQUESTING FROM THE COUNTY. AND ON THE NEXT SLIDE YOU'LL SEE WHERE THIS IS ALL SUMMARIZED. DOCTOR BUCKLEY IF I COULD, YEAH PULL BACK. I JUST WANT TO JUMP IN FOR A MINUTE THAT THIS IS THE FUTURE FUNDING TOTAL, [00:30:01] NOT THE TOTAL FOR THIS YEAR. SO WHAT THIS SLIDE SHOWS YOU IS THE COST OF THE PROJECT, WHAT WAS FUNDED IN PRIOR YEARS, WHAT WE'RE ASKING FOR THIS YEAR FROM THE STATE, THE COUNTY. THIS WAS THE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE COUNTY AND THE STATE FOR THE FRONT FUNDING FOR NORTHEAST MIDDLE AND NORTHEAST HIGH AND WHAT WE'RE PROJECTING AS NEEDED THIS YEAR. THIS IS WHAT IS LEFT TO FUND THE PROJECTS AFTER THIS YEAR. THE TOTALS WILL BE. ON THE NEXT SLIDE. WE ADDED A SLIDE FOR YOU THAT SHOWS THE TOTALS. SORRY IF I COULD JUST THROW IN MY $0.02 ON THE SMALL CAP LIST AT THE BOTTOM. KEEP IN MIND, JUST FOR THE BOARD'S AWARENESS THAT THESE ARE PROFESSIONAL ESTIMATES AT THIS TIME, WE WON'T KNOW EXACT NUMBERS UNTIL WE PUT THEM OUT FOR BID. AND I THINK THAT'S PARTICULARLY TRUE ANYTIME YOU SEE A LARGE HVAC PROJECT OR FOR INSTANCE, THE NUMBER ONE PRIORITY IS A ROOF ON THE ASC ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES BUILDING. SO, YOU KNOW, THESE ARE WHAT WE THINK. NOW WHEN WE GET THE ACTUAL ESTIMATES, WE'LL, YOU KNOW, PIN THAT DOWN WITH THE COUNTY AND SOME OF THOSE TO FOLLOW UP ON THAT. WE WON'T KNOW UNTIL WE GET PEOPLE IN TO ACTUALLY LOOK AT THOSE PROJECTS AND WHAT THE TOTAL COST WILL BE. SO MY APOLOGIES ON THAT. THIS IS THE SLIDE THAT SHOWS YOU THE TOTAL FUNDING REQUEST FOR FY 26. AND YOU'LL SEE HERE ON THE BOTTOM RIGHT, THE TOTAL FOR LARGE CAP 33,071,950. AND THEN THE SMALL CAP CARRYOVER 1.4 FOR A TOTAL ASK OF $34,559,950 FOR OUR CAPITAL PROJECTS FOR FY 26, AND IT IS SIGNIFICANTLY LARGER. BUT THAT HAS TO DO WITH THE ACCELERATED TIMELINE FOR NORTHEAST MIDDLE AND NORTHEAST HIGH. IT IS THE LARGEST CONSTRUCTION PROJECT WE'VE DONE, AND MY UNDERSTANDING, IT'S THE LARGEST CONSTRUCTION PROJECT THAT'S HAPPENED IN THE COUNTY. SO IT'S EXPENSIVE AND IT'S HAPPENING QUICKLY. THE SOPA CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, BUT THE $11.6 MILLION IS MONEY THAT THE COUNTY HAS PUT OUT, AND THE EXPECTATION IS THAT THEY WILL BE REIMBURSED BY THE STATE AT SOME POINT. YES, CORRECT. WHICH IS LIKE THE FIRST TIME THAT IT'S NOT ALL BOND FUNDED. YOU HAVE PAYGO, YOU HAVE THAT RIGHT. SO I THINK THAT'S CONFUSING BUDGET A CONFUSING LINE IN THE CAP. AND ALSO I FEEL LIKE OUR SMALL CAP PROJECT IS LIST ISN'T AS BIG BECAUSE THEY ARE DOING 1.7 MILLION NOW THAT THE COUNCIL JUST APPROVED FOR $1.7 MILLION OF SMALL CORRECT? CORRECT. THIS IS A DEBT SERVICE BUDGET. THIS INFORMATION COMES FROM COUNTY GOVERNMENT. THEY SELL BONDS TO FUND CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS. THEY ARE ALSO USING PAYGO FUNDING, WHICH IS THEIR LOCAL BUDGET. BECAUSE OF THE SIZE OF THE FUND BALANCE THAT THEY HAVE. BUT WHEN THEY SELL BONDS, THEY HAVE TO PAY THE PRINCIPAL AND INTEREST ON THOSE BONDS. AND THEN WE HAVE TO REPORT, AS PART OF OUR FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, THE AMOUNT OF PRINCIPAL AND INTEREST THAT THE COUNTY GOVERNMENT PAYS ON BONDS THAT ARE PURCHASED TO FUND SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS. SO IT'S CONSIDERED PART OF OUR BUDGET, BUT THESE ARE PAYMENTS THAT COUNTY GOVERNMENT MAKES ON BEHALF OF THE SCHOOL SYSTEM. SO THIS DATA COMES FROM COUNTY GOVERNMENT. SO FOR FY 26, THE TOTAL DEBT SERVICE BUDGET IS A LITTLE OVER 8.5 MILLION. THAT IS A LITTLE OVER $6 MILLION IN PRINCIPAL PAYMENTS AND 2.4 MILLION IN INTEREST PAYMENTS ON OUR BEHALF. FOR THE BONDS THAT ARE USED TO FUND OUR CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS. CAN I ASK A QUESTION? SOPA. AS FAR AS FY 2024 PROJECTED BALANCE. IS THERE A REASON WHY IT'S STILL PROJECTED IN THAT BALANCE AT THIS POINT? BY THE BY THE COUNTY WHERE SECOND ONE AGAIN, THIS COMES FROM THEM. AND IT MAY JUST BE SOMETHING THAT JUST HASN'T BEEN TAKEN OUT OF THE. I MEAN, THAT WAS THE BALANCE. SO IT'S PROBABLY JUST A WORDING IN THE SPREADSHEET. WE JUST TAKE WE RECEIVE THIS SPREADSHEET AND TOOK A SNIPPET. SO THEY, THEY BUILD OUT MULTIPLE YEARS SO THAT THEY CAN TRACK THEIR DEBT SERVICE. SO IT'S PROBABLY WE COULD TAKE THAT OUT. THAT WAS THE BALANCE. I MEAN THIS IS PROJECTED RIGHT. YEAH. IT'S I WOULD SAY FOR 24 IT SHOULD BE BALANCED. WE ARE THESE ARE THEIR PROJECTED BALANCES FOR 25 AND 26. GOOD QUESTION. OKAY. SO THIS IS THE OPERATING. SO NOW GOING BACK TO THE OPERATING BUDGET, WE WENT FROM OPERATING TO CAPITAL TO DEBT SERVICE. NOW BACK TO OPERATING. TO SUM IT ALL UP THAT OUR REQUEST, AS FAR AS THIS BUDGET REQUEST, WOULD REQUIRE A LITTLE OVER $108 MILLION FROM THE COUNTY, A LITTLE OVER $147 MILLION FROM THE STATE, 12.1 MILLION IN FEDERAL, 1,450,000 IN INTEREST. MISCELLANEOUS. OTHER REVENUE. THIS ALSO IS USING $6.1 MILLION OF OUR FUND BALANCE TO BALANCE THIS BUDGET, FOR A TOTAL OPERATING BUDGET OF $275,571,292. ALL RIGHT. AND THE LAST SLIDE IS JUST THE UPCOMING MEETINGS. AFTER TODAY, WE WILL SUBMIT OUR REQUEST TO COUNTY GOVERNMENT. WE HAVE A BOOK PREPARED LIKE WHAT WE REVIEWED ON FEBRUARY 4TH. [00:35:03] SO WE'VE UPDATED IT WITH THE CHANGE FOR NORTH BAY. WE'VE ADDED SOME OTHER INFORMATION TO THE FRONT, SO YOU WILL RECEIVE THAT ELECTRONICALLY AS READY AS WELL. THAT IS READY TO GO. THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE WILL SUBMIT HIS PROPOSED BUDGET TO COUNCIL BY APRIL 1ST. WE DO HAVE OUR DATE WHERE WE WILL BE PRESENTING OUR BUDGET TO COUNCIL ON MAY 6TH. ON MAY 22ND, THE COUNCIL WILL HAVE A HEARING REGARDING THE BUDGET. ON JUNE 3RD, THE COUNCIL WILL ADOPT THE COUNTY BUDGET AND ON JUNE 11TH, THE BOARD WILL APPROVE OUR FINAL BUDGET. AND UPON OUR APPROVAL OF A BUDGET, WE WILL GET AN EMAIL WITH THE NEW LINE BY LINE, I ASSUME. AND YOU MAY HAVE SAID THIS COUNCIL AND COUNTY EXECUTIVE ARE GETTING THE SAME THING. SO ONCE. SO IF THERE ARE CHANGES TO THE BUDGET BEFORE THE END, YOU'LL RECEIVE A NEW LINE BY LINE FOR US TO REVIEW. YES. THANK YOU. AND THAT ENDS THE PRESENTATION. OKAY. THANK YOU. VERY INFORMATIVE. AT THIS TIME I'M GOING TO MOVE TO THE PUBLIC COMMENTS ON THE FISCAL YEAR [1.05 Public Comments on the Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request] 2026 BUDGET REQUEST. MISS OLSEN. GOOD EVENING EVERYONE. THE GUIDELINES. EXCUSE ME. FOR PUBLIC INPUT FOR THIS MEETING HAS HAVE BEEN ESTABLISHED BY THE BOARD THIS EVENING. A TIMELINE FOR COMMENTS HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED. AND IN GENERAL, THREE MINUTES WILL BE ALLOTTED TO INDIVIDUALS. SPEAKERS MAY NOT YIELD THEIR TIME TO SOMEONE ELSE OR SPEAK ON BEHALF OF AN ANONYMOUS INDIVIDUAL. REMARKS THIS EVENING MUST BE IN REGARD TO THE FISCAL YEAR FY 26 BUDGET ONLY. THE BOARD PRESIDENT MAY INTERRUPT OR TERMINATE AN INDIVIDUAL'S STATEMENT WHEN IT IS TOO LENGTHY OR VIOLATES THE GUIDELINES. THE BOARD ENCOURAGES SPEAKERS TO SUBMIT A WRITTEN COPY OF THEIR REMARKS. COMMENTS MAY BE PLACED ON THE BOX ON THE TABLE, WHICH IS RIGHT BEHIND THE PODIUM, AND COMMENTS REGARDING THE FY 26 BUDGET MAY ALSO BE EMAILED TO BOARD MEMBERS. THIS EVENING WE HAVE SIX PEOPLE SIGNED UP TO SPEAK. WE'D LIKE TO HAVE EVERYONE PREPARED TO MOVE UP ONCE THE OTHER PERSON HAS FINISHED. OUR FIRST SPEAKER, SEAN BRIMM, IS AT THE PODIUM AND HE WILL BE FOLLOWED BY LORI, RENKO AND SEAN, IF YOU WOULD PUSH THE BUTTON ON THE MICROPHONE. THANK YOU SO MUCH. I'M SEAN BRIM OF NORTHEAST. THE LAST ADMINISTRATION LEFT A BUDGETARY A SERIES OF BUDGETARY MESSES BEHIND CHRONIC UNDERFUNDING OF THE SCHOOL SYSTEM, REFUSAL TO FUND BASIC MAINTENANCE SUCH AS PAVEMENT REPLACEMENT AND ROOF REPAIR, AND MUCH MORE. THE COUNTY COUNCIL HAS HAD TO CLEAN UP MESSES, IN PARTICULAR SINCE JANUARY 1ST, INCLUDING INTERNET SERVICE FUNDS FOR DESPERATELY NEEDED ROAD REPAIRS, AND FINALLY A $1.7 MILLION APPROPRIATION FOR THE SCHOOLS. THE SCHOOL FUNDING BILL WAS NEEDED BECAUSE THE LAST ADMINISTRATION EXPLICITLY DENIED FUNDING FOR SMALL CAP PROJECTS IN WHICH COUNCILOR BRANCH, CORRECTLY CALLED THE HORNBERGER GREGORY ADMINISTRATION OUT ON THE CARPET FOR MISERLY IS THE WORD SHE USED, AND I CALL THAT AN UNDERSTATEMENT. I MENTIONED THESE OTHER ITEMS BECAUSE CECIL COUNTY SHOULD KNOW THAT THE HORNBERGER GREGORY ADMINISTRATION WAS AMONG THE MOST IRRESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENTS I HAVE SEEN IN DECADES, AND NOT MERELY ABOUT THE SCHOOLS. INSTEAD OF FUNDING DESPERATELY NEEDED PROJECTS FOR CECIL ROADS AND SCHOOLS, THEY MADE A TOTAL OF AT LEAST. THEY MADE A TOTAL OF AT LEAST 20 MILLION TO GO POOF WITH THEIR SO-CALLED TAX CREDITS AND TAX REBATES. HORNBERGER AND GREGORY HAVE CONTINUED TO COMPLAIN ON SOCIAL MEDIA TO THIS DAY ABOUT SCHOOL BUDGET DECISIONS THAT THEY THEMSELVES MADE AND LEFT TO THEIR SUCCESSORS TO DEAL WITH. FOR EACH BOARD OF EDUCATION MEMBER, THIS THIS, THIS BUDGET VOTE IS THE MOST IMPORTANT VOTE YOU WILL EVER MAKE. MORE IMPORTANT EVEN THAN YOUR VOTES FOR PRESIDENT OVER YOUR LIFETIMES, THE FUTURE OF CECIL COUNTY IS LITERALLY IN YOUR HANDS. CHOOSE WISELY. IT WILL TAKE MULTIPLE YEARS FOR THE SCHOOLS TO MITIGATE THE DAMAGE DONE THESE LAST FEW YEARS, AS MR. SPOCK WOULD SAY. AS A MATTER OF COSMIC HISTORY, IT IS EASIER TO DESTROY THAN TO CREATE. FINALLY, SINCE IMMIGRATION POLICIES AFFECT OUR SCHOOLS AND THE BUDGET, I HOPE IT'S OKAY FOR ME TO MENTION HERE. CECIL COUNTY DEMOCRATIC CLUB ENDORSES STATE SENATE BILL 0828. THE PROTECTING OF SENSITIVE LOCATIONS ACT SCHOOLS AND SANCTUARY CHURCHES SHOULD BE LEFT ALONE. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU, MR. GRIMM. OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS LAURIE RENKO, AND SHE WILL BE FOLLOWED BY LINDSEY BERGMAN. DEBOSE. GOOD EVENING, PRESIDENT HAWLEY. DOCTOR LAWSON, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, LEADERSHIP TEAM AND GUESTS. I'M REQUESTING THAT YOU MAKE THE TOUGH DECISIONS NECESSARY FOR THE FY 26 BUDGET AND ANY BUDGET AMENDMENTS THAT MAY BE NECESSARY DUE TO THE LEGISLATION IN ANNAPOLIS [00:40:09] AND AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL, AND THAT YOU FOCUS ON AREAS THAT WILL MAKE THE BIGGEST IMPACT ON STUDENT GROWTH AND LEARNING. AREAS OF SERIOUS CONCERN CONTINUE TO BE LARGER CLASS SIZES, ESPECIALLY IN OUR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS, AND THE LARGER CLASS SIZES ARE A DETRIMENT TO STUDENT LEARNING. TEACHERS HAVE LESS TIME AND OPPORTUNITY TO SUPPORT, DIFFERENTIATE, AND FOCUS ON INDIVIDUAL STUDENTS AND THEIR NEEDS. STUDENT AND STUDENT AND STAFF SAFETY AND SEVERE STUDENT. SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL 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 THE STRUCTURE AND ROUTINES THAT WILL HELP THEM TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN THE SCHOOL SETTING AND IN THE FUTURE. SMALLER CLASS SIZES AND ADDITIONAL PARAPROFESSIONALS AND SPECIAL EDUCATORS, AND EVEN THE ASSISTANTS THAT YOU MENTIONED THIS EVENING WOULD BE NECESSARY TO MEET THE WIDE RANGE OF 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 AND CURRICULUM TO PROVIDE THE NECESSARY REMEDIATION AND INTERVENTION THAT WILL HELP OUR STUDENTS REACH THEIR GOALS. THIS IS TRUE FOR OUR EXPERIENCED TEACHERS, OUR PROVISIONALLY LICENSED TEACHERS, AND OUR TEACHERS WHO ARE NEW TO THEIR SUBJECT AREAS AND GRADE LEVELS. CECIL COUNTY HAS A LONG HISTORY OF FUNDING OUR NEGOTIATED AGREEMENTS THAT PROVIDE COMPETITIVE SALARIES AND BENEFITS, AND THIS IS CRITICAL IN RECRUITING AND RETAINING OUR DEDICATED WORKFORCE. CECIL COUNTY MUST REMAIN COMPETITIVE WITH THE SURROUNDING COUNTIES AND STATES AND REMAIN COMMITTED TO THEIR STUDENTS, THEIR FAMILIES, AND THEIR DEDICATED EDUCATION EMPLOYEES. AS A PUBLIC SCHOOL, IT'S OUR JOB TO TAKE CARE OF AND EDUCATE ALL OF OUR COUNTY'S CHILDREN. I ASK THAT YOU TAKE CARE OF THE STAFF AND PROVIDE THE TOOLS AND RESOURCES NECESSARY SO THAT WE CAN TAKE CARE OF ALL OF OUR KIDS AND GIVE THEM THE EDUCATION THAT THEY WILL USE TO BUILD A SUCCESSFUL FUTURE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MISS RENKO. OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS LINDSAY BERGMAN DEBOSE, AND SHE WILL BE FOLLOWED BY SCOTT HECKERT. MY ONLY COMPLAINT ABOUT THIS BUDGET IS THAT YOU AREN'T ASKING FOR MORE FUNDING. BUT THEN AGAIN, I'D LOVE TO SEE ALL MY TAX DOLLARS GO TO SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES AND MEDICAID AND THINGS THAT HELP PEOPLE. I'M ALSO BIG ON ASKING FOR THE MOON AND THE STARS, SO THAT WHEN YOU ONLY GET THE MOON, YOU'VE STILL MADE OUT LIKE A BANDIT. MY COMPLAINT IS SHARED BY A CERTAIN FORMER COUNTY COUNCIL MEMBER WHO WAS VERY VOCAL ABOUT BUDGETS LAST YEAR. SHE POSTED ON HER FACEBOOK, WANTING TO KNOW WHY YOU ARE NOT ASKING FOR THE 115 MILLION YOU ASKED FOR LAST YEAR. I'M ASSUMING, AND MAYBE I'M GOING OUT ON A LIMB HERE, THAT LAST YEAR YOU ASKED FOR THE MOON AND THE STARS BECAUSE YOU KNEW YOU WERE GOING TO GET NEITHER, AND WANTED TO ILLUSTRATE WHAT IT WOULD LOOK LIKE TO HAVE A FULLY FUNDED SCHOOL SYSTEM. AND THIS YEAR YOU'RE ASKING FOR A MORE MODERATE INCREASE, KNOWING YOU WILL SEE GRADUAL INCREASES OVER THE NEXT FOUR YEARS OF HAVING SOMEONE REASONABLE SERVING AS THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE. AT LEAST THAT'S THE HOPE. SO NO, DEAR FORMER COUNTY COUNCIL MEMBER, LAST YEAR'S BUDGET WARS AND THE SUBSEQUENT OUTCOMES WERE NOT ABOUT OPPOSING CONSERVATIVE VALUES. IT WAS TRULY ABOUT WANTING A FULLY FUNDED SCHOOL SYSTEM TO SERVE OUR COMMUNITY WELL, AND UNDERLINING THAT CHARLATANS WHO ESPOUSE HATRED IN THEIR TALKING POINTS DO NOT ACTUALLY CARE ABOUT CHILDREN, FAMILIES OR PEOPLE OUTSIDE THEIR INNER CIRCLE. THEY DON'T REALIZE THAT FUNDING MORE CLASSROOM TEACHERS AND PARAS SO KIDS GET THE ATTENTION THEY NEED WILL IMPROVE THE OFT CITED TEST SCORES. THEY WANT TO SEE IMPROVEMENT WITHOUT INVESTMENT, WHICH IS NOT POSSIBLE IN ANY BUSINESS, BUT ESPECIALLY ONE THAT RELIES ON INVESTING IN PEOPLE. IT WILL TAKE TIME TO REBUILD WHAT WAS LOST DURING THE LAST ADMINISTRATION. THAT'S NOT ALL THEIR FAULT EITHER. THERE WAS A WHOLE PANDEMIC THAT CHANGED THE FACE OF EDUCATION AS WE KNEW IT OVERNIGHT, BUT I TRULY BELIEVE THE NEXT FOUR YEARS ARE A GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY FOR OUR COUNTY EXECUTIVE TO SHOW THAT HE PUTS PEOPLE ABOVE POLITICS. UNLIKE HIS DETRACTORS, WHO PUT POLITICS OVER THE EDUCATION OF CHILDREN AND STILL DO. THANK YOU, MISS BERGMAN. SCOTT HECKERT, FOLLOWED BY BRIAN HAMPTON. GOOD EVENING, DOCTOR LAWSON. PRESIDENT HAWLEY. MEMBERS OF THE BOARD AND LEADERSHIP TEAM. MY NAME IS SCOTT HECKERT AND I REPRESENT THE CENTRAL OFFICE SUPPORT SERVICES LEADERSHIP ASSOCIATION, WHICH IS NOT ONLY A MOUTHFUL, BUT IT INCLUDES DIRECTORS AND SUPERVISORS IN TRANSPORTATION, MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS, TECHNOLOGY, BUSINESS SERVICES, HUMAN RESOURCES, AND OF COURSE, FOOD AND NUTRITION. ALL OF THESE FOLKS HAVE WORKED HARD TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE BUDGET THAT HAS BEEN PRESENTED TO YOU THIS EVENING SO WELL BY OUR LEADERSHIP TEAM. [00:45:07] SUPPORT SERVICES PLAY SUCH A VITAL ROLE IN DELIVERING A QUALITY EDUCATION TO THE USE OF CECIL COUNTY. SO ON THE BEHALF OF THE CENTRAL OFFICE SUPPORT SERVICES LEADERSHIP ASSOCIATION, I WOULD LIKE TO ENCOURAGE THE BOARD TO VOTE TO APPROVE THE BUDGET AS PRESENTED TO YOU THIS AFTERNOON. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MR. HECKERT. BRIAN HAMPTON WILL BE FOLLOWED BY OUR LAST SPEAKER, DANIELLE SLATER. GOOD EVENING. I'M BRIAN HAMPTON FROM PERRYVILLE. WHEN PUT ON THE BALLOT, PEOPLE OVERWHELMINGLY LIKE THEIR PUBLIC SCHOOLS. IN NOVEMBER'S GENERAL ELECTION, ALL THREE STATES WITH SCHOOL CHOICE VOUCHERS ON THE BALLOT VOTED AGAINST POLICIES TO PROVIDE FAMILIES WITH TAXPAYER FUNDING FOR PRIVATE EDUCATION, INCLUDING KENTUCKY, WHICH DEFEATED THE MEASURE 65% TO 35. BUT WE DON'T HAVE TO LOOK AT RESULTS FROM FARAWAY PLACES ACROSS THE COUNTRY. WE HAD AN ELECTION RIGHT HERE LAST MAY THAT WAS LARGELY A REFERENDUM ON SCHOOL FUNDING, AND PUBLIC SCHOOLS WON IN A TIME WHEN 49.8% OF THE POPULAR VOTE IS DECLARED A MANDATE. I WANT TO REMIND THE BOARD THAT ALSO DURING NOVEMBER'S GENERAL ELECTION, THERE WERE TWO SCHOOL BOARD CANDIDATES THAT RAN ON PRO-PUBLIC EDUCATION PLATFORMS AND TWO CANDIDATES THAT WERE LESS SUPPORTIVE OF PUBLIC EDUCATION. THE PRO-PUBLIC EDUCATION CANDIDATES WON WITH 55% AND 57%, RESPECTIVELY, OF THE VOTE. THAT, THEN, IS A MANDATE. THE LOCAL PEOPLE THAT COMPLAIN THE LOUDEST ABOUT OUR SCHOOLS, ON SOCIAL MEDIA, RARELY, IF EVER TONIGHT BEING NO EXCEPTION, ATTEND BOARD MEETINGS OR BUDGET MEETINGS, OR OFFER TO HELP THE SCHOOLS OR MENTOR STUDENTS, OR VOLUNTEER TO ASSIST STUDENTS AT THE LIBRARY OR COACH OR JUDGE YOUTH EVENTS. OTHERS, WHETHER KNOWINGLY OR NOT, CONFLATE RESTRICTED AND UNRESTRICTED FUNDING AND QUESTIONED PERCEIVED SINISTER MOTIVATIONS OF CCPS LEADERSHIP WITHOUT ALSO ACKNOWLEDGING THE ANTAGONISTIC RELATIONSHIP FOSTERED BY THE PREVIOUS EXECUTIVE AND COUNCIL THAT LED TO A HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT. THE BOARD HAS A MORAL OBLIGATION AND AN ELECTORAL MANDATE TO APPROVE A BUDGET REQUEST THAT ENSURES ALL CCPS STUDENTS HAVE ACCESS TO THE RESOURCES TO HELP THEM SUCCEED, AND TO WORK WITH THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE TO ENSURE THAT INVESTMENT IN OUR COMMUNITIES IS FULFILLED. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MR. HAMPTON. AND OUR FINAL SPEAKER THIS EVENING IS DANIELLE SLATER. GOOD EVENING, PRESIDENT HAWLEY, BOARD MEMBERS, LEADERSHIP TEAM AND GUESTS. MY NAME IS DANIELLE SLATER. I AM THE PRESIDENT OF THE CECIL EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT PROFESSIONALS ASSOCIATION. I'M ALSO THE HEAD CUSTODIAN AT CONOWINGO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. MOST OF US UNDERSTAND DEVELOPING A BUDGET IS CHALLENGING AND CRITICAL DECISIONS ARE MADE THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS. I APPRECIATE THE TIME, EFFORT, AND CARE YOU ALL PUT INTO DEVELOPING A BUDGET THAT ADDRESSES THE CRITICAL NEEDS OF OUR STUDENTS, SCHOOLS AND STAFF. I ALSO UNDERSTAND THERE ARE SOME BILLS BEING EVALUATED AND WORKED THROUGH AT A LEGISLATIVE LEVEL, AS WELL AS SOME POTENTIAL BLUEPRINT CHANGES WHICH MAY IMPACT OUR FY 26 BUDGET. WE KNOW WE WILL WORK THROUGH ANY OUTGROWTHS THAT ARISE. ALL OF US ARE COMMITTED TO OUR STUDENTS AND THEIR ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT. WE UNDERSTAND THE CORRELATION BETWEEN SMALL CLASS SIZES AND STUDENT SUCCESS, AND HAVING A SAFE PLACE FOR STUDENTS TO LEARN AND STAFF TO WORK IS ESSENTIAL. ATTAINING THESE COMMITMENTS IS A CHALLENGE IN THIS AND EVERY BUDGET CYCLE. JOB SECURITY IS A PRIORITY FOR ALL STAFF. OUR SUPPORT STAFF NEED AND VALUE THEIR POSITIONS. WE ARE GRATEFUL AND RELIEVED THAT THE FY 26 COLA AND STEP INCREASES ARE PRESERVED IN THIS BUDGET. MANY OF OUR FOLKS HAVE SHARED THEIR PERSONAL STORIES WITH ME OF HOW CHALLENGING IT IS FOR THEM TO OBTAIN BASIC LIFE NEEDS. SO PLEASE KNOW HOW MUCH THIS MEANS AND HELPS ALL OF US. MANY OF OUR SUPPORT STAFF JOB FAMILIES CONTINUE TO DO MORE WORK WITH LESS STAFF. THIS CONTINUES TO TAKE A HEAVY TOLL ON OUR SUPPORT STAFF, ESPECIALLY OUR WORKLOAD, PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH. GOING FORWARD, WE WILL CONTINUE TO ADVOCATE FOR ALL SUPPORT STAFF POSITIONS AND THE RECOUPING OF ALL SUPPORT STAFF POSITIONS THAT WERE CUT OR UNFILLED. IN ALL YOUR CHALLENGED WITH MAKING DIFFICULT AND OPERATIONALLY SOUND DECISIONS IN AN ECONOMICALLY CHALLENGED TIME. THANK YOU FOR ALL. THANK YOU ALL FOR GIVING US THE OPPORTUNITY TO UNDERSTAND YOUR BUDGET PROCESS AND WEIGH IN ON THESE CRITICAL DECISIONS. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MISS LEADER. THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR PUBLIC COMMENTERS. WE APPRECIATE YOU BEING HERE AND EXPRESSING YOUR REMARKS TO US. I APPRECIATE IT. NOW IT'S TIME FOR GENERAL DISCUSSION FROM OUR BOARD MEMBERS. [1.06 General Discussion - Board Members] I KNOW YOU GUYS HAVE HEARD ME SPEAK AT NAUSEUM. [00:50:02] BUT I THINK THAT IT IS IT'S A REALLY TRICKY YEAR. IT'S PROBABLY THE TRICKIEST YEAR I'VE EVER SEEN IN TERMS OF LEGISLATION, LEGISLATION AFFECTING BUDGET, A LOT OF UNKNOWNS. RIGHT. AND I THINK I DO APPRECIATE YOU GUYS REVISING THE IN THE NORTH BAY NUMBER. THANK YOU FOR THAT. AND I WANT TO OPEN THE FLOOR UP TO OTHER BOARD MEMBERS FOR DISCUSSION. THANK YOU. I HAVE A QUESTION. YEAH. GO AHEAD. CAN YOU HEAR ME? NOT. HOLD ON. DID WERE YOU DISCONNECTED FROM THE OTHER? YES. OKAY. YES. SORRY. OKAY. NO. THAT'S FINE. DO YOU WANT TO CALL ME BACK? AND THEN I CAN HOLD MY QUESTION TILL LATER? NO, I THINK WE CAN HEAR YOU NOW. I HAD TO JUST TWEAK A COUPLE OF THINGS. GO AHEAD MS. DIXON. OKAY. I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO AMEND OUR BUDGET TO ADD AN EXTRA $6 MILLION TO OUR OPERATING BUDGET. AND THIS IS WHY THE MAIN EXCUSE ME, THE MAIN ISSUE WE'VE BEEN HEARING FROM THE TEACHERS AND THE PARENTS, AND I TOTALLY UNDERSTAND, IS ALL ABOUT CLASS SIZES. I'M VERY CONFUSED THAT LAST YEAR WE ASKED FOR $150 MILLION, AND THIS YEAR WE'RE ONLY ASKING FOR 108 MILLION. THAT'S A $7 MILLION DIFFERENCE. SO WHY DON'T WE JUST GO AHEAD AND ASK FOR THAT 6 MILLION IN HOPES THAT WE'LL GET IT, AND THEN WE CAN GET MORE TEACHERS. AND EVEN IF WE DON'T GET THE WHOLE 6 MILLION EXTRA, WE COULD GET SOMETHING MORE. YOUR MOTION IS TO AMEND THE BUDGET TO ADD $6 MILLION IN POSITIONS, SPECIFICALLY TEACHER POSITIONS AND TEACHERS AND PARAS. OKAY, SO NOT NO SPECIFIC NUMBERS IN TERMS OF TEACHERS AND PARAS. JUST 6 MILLION TOTAL FOR TEACHERS AND PARAS. THAT'S THE MOTION. WELL, YES. I MEAN, EXCUSE ME. AT 15 TEACHERS PER $1 MILLION, THAT WOULD BE 90 TEACHERS. BUT I KNOW WE NEED PARAS, TOO. SO IF WE ADDED MANY TEACHERS AND MANY PARAS, I'M NOT GOING TO TELL YOU I NEED, YOU KNOW, WE NEED 66 TEACHERS IN X AMOUNT OF PARENTS THAT I KNOW THAT WE NEED PARAS AND TEACHERS. OKAY. SO THERE IS A MOTION ON THE FLOOR. I JUST NEED TO SEE IF THERE'S A SECOND. IS THERE A SECOND? OKAY. THE MOTION DIES. ANY OTHER COMMENTS FROM BOARD MEMBERS? I JUST WANT TO MAKE A CLARIFICATION TOO. LAST YEAR, OUR TOTAL OPERATING BUDGET WAS 200. REQUEST WAS $270,199,963, AND THIS YEAR, OUR TOTAL OPERATING BUDGET REQUEST IS ABOUT $5.4 MILLION MORE, WHICH IS $275,571,292. SO I JUST WANT TO MAKE THAT POINT OF CLARIFICATION. I WAS TALKING ABOUT WHAT WE HAD ASKED FOR THE COUNTY FROM THE COUNTY. COUNTY APPROPRIATION. I UNDERSTAND THAT I'M JUST TELLING YOU THE TOTAL NUMBERS CORRECT. ARE THERE ANY OTHER BOARD COMMENTS, QUESTIONS? DISCUSSION? WELL JUST TO MAKE THIS CLEAR, FROM WHAT I, FROM WHAT I'M LOOKING AT, WE'RE ASKING FOR AN ADDITIONAL OVERALL BUDGET THIS YEAR VERSUS LAST YEAR. 15 MILLION. RIGHT. GIVE OR TAKE. AND AND 13.4 OF THAT IS INCREASES CORRECTLY THAT HAVE TO HAPPEN. THOSE ARE ALL THE PAYROLL INCREASES BASED ON WHERE WE NEED TO GET TO. SO WE HAVE ROUGHLY 2 MILLION, JUST UNDER $2 MILLION ADDITIONAL AFTER THAT TO SPEND WITH HOPES THAT EVERYTHING HAPPENS WITH THE STATE CORRECTLY. AND WE'LL FIGURE IT OUT. SO WHAT'S THE HOW REALISTIC IS ARE THESE STATE LIKE, DO WE FEEL REALLY CONFIDENT THAT THINGS ARE GOING TO STAY THE SAME? OR WHERE ARE WE AT THAT YOU WANT ME TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION? OH, GOSH. I SAID, AND WITH THAT SAID, I GUESS THE ADDITIONAL FUNDING THIS 2 MILLION WE HAVE OF SPACE WILL CHANGE WHERE IT GOES IF THE STATE TAKES MONEY BACK. A MILLION OF THAT MIGHT NEED TO GO TO OUR PENSION. CORRECT, IF THAT COMES TO US. OKAY. SO SENATE BILL 429 WAS PRESENTED TO JOINT HOUSE AND SENATE LAST WEDNESDAY. I BELIEVE MABE WAS THERE. PAASAM WAS THERE IN FULL FORCE. I THINK THERE WERE TOTAL OF 15 SUPERINTENDENTS, TEN OF WHOM SPOKE. NSEA, WAS THERE SPEAKING AGAINST THE GOVERNOR'S PROPOSED BUDGET IN TERMS OF FOUNDATION FUNDING, SAYING WE DON'T WANT FOUNDATION FUNDING TO BE LOWERED. [00:55:04] WE NEED FOUNDATION FUNDING TO REMAIN THE SAME. SPEAKING AGAINST PAUSING COMMUNITY SCHOOLS, SPEAKING AGAINST CERTAIN THINGS THAT WOULD AFFECT THE STATE REVENUE SIDE OF THINGS. THERE ARE MEETINGS, I BELIEVE, TOMORROW AND FRIDAY. AS A RESULT OF THAT, THE HOUSE PASSED WITH AMENDMENTS, LISTENING TO THE CONSTITUENTS, TO THE STAKEHOLDERS WITH BOOTS ON THE GROUND. AND WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THE SENATE'S GOING TO DO YET. SO AGAIN, ALL OF THIS, THERE ARE SO MANY UNKNOWNS MOVING INTO THIS, I JUST, YOU KNOW, I THINK WE NEED TO BE REALISTIC. I, WE'RE ASKING FOR MORE. WE'RE ASKING FOR A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OVER WHAT WE BELIEVE LOCAL SHARE IS GOING TO BE. I THINK AS A COUPLE OF OUR SPEAKERS MENTIONED, IT'S GOING TO TAKE SOME TIME TO GET OUT OF THE HOLE. WE NEED TO ASK FOR MORE, THOUGH, RIGHT? BECAUSE IF WE DON'T GET THAT, AT LEAST THAT AT LEAST THAT 13 MILLION, WE'RE NOT EVEN DOING THE SAME AS WE DID LAST YEAR. YEAH. RIGHT. SO CAN I JUMP IN ON THAT? SO THIS NOTION OF WE ARE ASKING FOR, COMPARED TO WHAT WE ASKED FOR LAST YEAR, THIS TIME LAST YEAR, WE WERE ASKING FOR SOMETHING ABOVE MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT, WHICH HAD BEEN FOR THREE YEARS IN A ROW. THIS YEAR WE'RE ASKING FOR ABOVE THAT, A $9 MILLION INCREASE ON TOP OF MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT LAST YEAR. AND THE BLUEPRINT, YOU KNOW, GODFATHERS WILL TELL YOU, LAST YEAR WAS A LOW STATE YEAR REVENUE WISE. THEY CALLED IT AN ANOMALY. THIS YEAR WE KNOW WE'RE GOING TO GET SEVEN. WE THINK WE'RE GOING TO GET 7 MILLION FROM THE STATE. SO IT'S NOT UNLIKE THE RESTRICTED, UNRESTRICTED POSITIONS. IT'S VERY MUCH APPLES AND ORANGES. YOU KNOW, WE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN GOOD FAITH PARTNERS IN TERMS OF ASKING FOR WHAT WE NEED. AND LAST YEAR, AGAIN, THE 21 MILLION WAS ABOVE MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT. AND WE ARE IN NO SUCH PLACE NOW. AND SO TO HAVE THAT KIND OF CONVERSATION SIMPLY ISN'T BEING, YOU KNOW, HONEST FROM A PRINCIPLED PERSPECTIVE TO WHAT HAPPENED. AND SO WE ARE GETTING MORE MONEY. WE GOT MORE MONEY FROM THE COUNTY LAST YEAR. WE GOT $9 MILLION MORE. AND IF YOU START TO DO THE MATH, IT STARTS TO ADD UP TO CLOSE TO $20 MILLION, RIGHT? BUT WE GOT 9 MILLION MORE FROM THE COUNTY LAST YEAR, YEAR OVER YEAR BECAUSE IT WAS FIVE LOCAL SHARE. AND I THINK FOUR ABOVE THAT THAT'S WHERE THE NINE CAME FROM. AND SO AND NOW WE'RE EXPECTING ANOTHER SEVEN FROM THE STATE. SO CERTAINLY THERE'S NOT AS MUCH PRESSURE ON THE COUNTY THIS YEAR THAT THERE WAS LAST YEAR. BUT TRUTH DISCLOSURE, SOME OF THAT PRESSURE WAS THEIR OWN DOING. THREE YEARS IN A ROW OF MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT HAD NEVER HAPPENED IN CECIL COUNTY. NOW, THE OTHER PART OF THAT, DO WE FEEL COMFORTABLE IF THE PENSION DOES COME TO THE COUNTY, THAT THAT WE WILL GET, THAT THE COUNTY WILL UNDERSTAND THAT AND BE THERE TO POSSIBLY HELP MORE WITH THAT IF THAT BECOMES A. I THINK THEY UNDERSTAND IT. A SMALL BOMB WAS DROPPED YESTERDAY SAYING THAT IT WAS THE GOAL FROM DLS, DIVISION OF LEGISLATIVE SERVICES TO PUSH ALL CHECKMATE HERE, TO PUSH ALL PENSION COSTS TO THE COUNTY, THE TEACHERS PENSION. THE BRFA, THE BUDGET RECONCILIATION FINANCIAL ACT CALLS FOR HALF OF THE PENSION. I THINK THAT'S WHAT THE COUNTY IS EXPECTING TO HAVE TO PICK UP ANOTHER MILLION AND A HALF OR SO OF THE TEACHERS PENSION, BUT DLS RECOMMENDED AS RECENTLY AS LAST 48 HOURS. WELL, IF YOU'RE GOING TO DO HALF, YOU MIGHT AS WELL JUST DO IT ALL. WELL, THAT MADE THE COUNTIES OBVIOUSLY CONCERNED. AND SO DO I THINK THE COUNTIES ARE GOING TO HAVE TO PICK IT UP. ALL MY SPECULATION IS THAT THEY WILL NOT. IS IT POSSIBLE? IT IS. DO I THINK THEY'RE GOING TO PICK UP? EXCUSE ME? THE 50% I DO THAT'S COMING AND THEY'RE WELL AWARE OF THAT. AND I THINK THAT WAS YOUR. AND IF WE HAD. YEAH. AND IF WE HAD TO PICK UP THE OTHER 50% ARE WE. WE DON'T. WE WANT THE. STATE DOES. THE STATE WOULD STATE DOES. MRS. SOPA DID I MISSPEAK PLEASE. OKAY. I ALSO WANTED TO ADD, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE REQUEST FROM ME. TRY TO BE THE SECOND SMARTEST GOALS, THE OUR REQUEST FROM LAST YEAR TO THIS YEAR. AT THIS POINT LAST YEAR, WE HAD NOT PROJECTED TO USE $6 MILLION OF OUR FUND BALANCE. WE RECEIVED A LOT OF CRITICISM FOR OUR FUND BALANCE. SO GOING INTO THE BUDGET REQUEST THIS YEAR, OUR REQUEST INCLUDES US USING. SO THAT REQUEST TO THE COUNTY ALREADY INCLUDES US USING $6.1 MILLION OF OUR FUND BALANCE. SO THAT'S ANOTHER PLACE THAT CAUSES A LITTLE BIT OF A SHIFT FROM LAST YEAR. AND LAST YEAR WE WERE IN NO SUCH YOU KNOW, WE HAD NO CERTITUDE OF WHAT OUR FUND BALANCE WOULD BE GIVEN WHAT HAD HAPPENED IN THE THREE PRIOR YEARS. WE WERE ALMOST LIKE A RESCUE CHILD FROM A BUDGET PERSPECTIVE IN THE PAST THREE YEARS. AND WE HAD A FAVORABLE YEAR, RIGHT SO BECAUSE OF SOME THINGS LIKE HEALTH CARE PLANNING. SO WE'RE PLANNING FOR IT FOR FY 26. WE WEREN'T IN THAT POSITION THIS TIME LAST YEAR BECAUSE WE WEREN'T SURE WHERE WE WERE GOING TO LAND. AND WE WEREN'T SURE HOW WE WERE GOING TO BE FUNDED COMING OFF OF THREE YEARS OF MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT FUNDING. SO THERE WERE A LOT OF THINGS UP IN THE AIR. [01:00:01] AND SO THIS YEAR WE PUT THAT FUND BALANCE AMOUNT IN EARLIER IN THE GAME, BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT WE, WE HAVE THE FUNDING TO DO SO. WHEN I MET WITH THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE AND HER DIRECTOR OF ADMINISTRATION IN DECEMBER, A COUPLE NIGHTS BEFORE THE INFAMOUS COMBINED JOINT BOARDS MEETING WITH THE COUNCIL. I TOLD THEM WHAT THE NUMBER WAS. IT WAS $21 MILLION. HAD THEY SAID, WE CAN YOU CAN REST ASSURED YOU'RE GOING TO GET 9 TO 10 FROM US. THAT COULD HAVE BROUGHT THE TEMPERATURE WAY DOWN, BUT NO SUCH THING EVER HAPPENED. IN FACT, IT WENT THE OTHER WAY. YOU KNOW, SOMEBODY USED THE TERM ANTAGONISTIC, KIND OF SO I'LL JUST LEAVE IT AT THAT. YEAH. AND DO WE FEEL COMFORTABLE USING SIX POINT? YOU KNOW, I MEAN, BECAUSE THAT'S ANOTHER PART OF THIS EQUATION IS, IS 6.1 MILLION IS OUT OF OUR FUND BALANCE. THAT KEEPS US IN COMPLIANCE WITH OUR POLICY OF 2%, I THINK, WHICH USED TO BE 5%. WE FEEL COMFORTABLE FOR NEXT YEAR. BUT REMEMBER, I MEAN, IT CAN'T GO ON INDEFINITELY. SO WE HAVE A FINITE NUMBER OF YEARS THAT WE AND WE'RE IN THAT STILL IN THAT SITUATION WHERE OUR, OUR SALARIES, OUR INCREASES ARE QUITE LARGE. AND SO WE FEEL FOR NEXT YEAR THAT WE CAN IF WE DIDN'T FEEL THAT, WE WOULD NOT HAVE PROPOSED IT IN OUR BUDGET REQUEST. THANK YOU. AND I KNOW I IT GIVES ME HEARTBURN TO USE FUND BALANCE FOR RECURRING FUNDS. AND THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE KNOWS THAT, AND I THINK HE'S FULLY AWARE OF THAT AS WELL. MISS HALL, YOU KNOW THIS. IS THAT YOU CAN GO AS FAR BACK AS 2020, 2021 WHEN COVID HIT AND WE SAW THE ESSER MONEY STARTING TO COME IN AND SOME OF THE FOLKS BEHIND ME. WE HAD LEADERSHIP TEAM MEETINGS WHEN SCHOOLS WERE CLOSED IN THIS ROOM, AND OUR PLAN WAS ALWAYS TO TRY TO MONITOR THE USE OF THE ESSER MONEY, HAVE SOME FUND BALANCE. SO WHEN THE ESSER MONEY PHASED OUT, WE COULD RELY ON OUR FUND BALANCE FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS AND THEN KIND OF COME BACK DOWN. AND HONESTLY, IT HASN'T BEEN EASY. BUT THAT'S EXACTLY HOW IT'S WORKED. IT'S HOW IT'S WORKED OUT. ANY OTHER. I GUESS I'M TOTALLY MISSING SOMETHING. SO THERE'S OBVIOUSLY A NEED THAT WE GET MORE MONEY. THERE'S OBVIOUSLY A NEED THAT WE GET MORE TEACHERS AND PARAS. SO WHY CAN'T WE ASK THE COUNTY FOR 6 MILLION MORE DOLLARS? THE CURRENT YEAR OVER YEAR REQUEST PLACES A $10.8 MILLION ASK ON THE COUNTY, WHICH I BELIEVE MAY BE THE SECOND. I DON'T EVEN WANT TO SAY THAT. IT'S A $10.8 MILLION INCREASE, WAS WHAT WE'RE ASKING FROM THE COUNTY. NOW, WHETHER OR NOT THEY'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO DO ALL THAT IN ONE YEAR REMAINS TO BE SEEN. BUT THAT WILL BE OUR REQUEST. AND KEEP IN MIND THAT THIS REQUEST NOW IS DEPENDENT ON STATE REVENUE AS WELL, WHICH COULD DECREASE IN WHICH THE COUNTY WOULD POTENTIALLY NEED TO PAY MORE TO COVER THIS BUDGET. OTHERWISE, WE HAVE TO CUT THINGS. OKAY. DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? OKAY. YEAH. ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? COMMENTS? DISCUSSION, BOARD MEMBERS. JERRY, YOU LOOK PENSIVE. I'M GOOD. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. I'M WITH YOU. I'M TOTALLY CONFUSED. WELL, YOU SAID IT. I'M CONFUSED WITH YOU. BUT I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE CONFUSED WITH. LAST YEAR YOU WENT AND ASKED FOR AN INCREASE WHEN WE NEEDED IT. NOW YOU'RE ASKING FOR IT THIS YEAR. I CAN'T FIGURE OUT WHERE YOU ARE AND WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, BUT THAT'S FOR ANOTHER CONVERSATION. WE CAN HAVE THAT OFFLINE IF YOU WANT RENEE. OKAY. YEAH, I AGREE WITH YOU. I'M A LITTLE I'M A LITTLE STUMPED. [1.07 Consideration of Adoption of Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request - Operating Budget] MOVING ON TO CONSIDERATION OF THE ADOPTION OF THE FISCAL YEAR 2026 BUDGET REQUEST OPERATING BUDGET. YOU HAVE A RECOMMENDATION, DR. LAWSON? I DO NOT MISS HAWLEY. IT'S NOT MY PLACE TO READ THESE RECOMMENDATIONS. I'D LOVE TO. THE BIGGEST RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE YEAR. I DON'T GET TO READ. I JUST SIT IN THE CORNER. I FORGOT THE MEMBER OF THE BOARD MUST READ THE RECOMMENDATION. I WILL, THEN I'M GOING TO READ IT. I RECOMMEND THAT THE BOARD. I GET THE GAVEL. YOU WANT TO SWAP. OKAY. I RECOMMEND THAT THE BOARD OF EDUCATION OF CECIL COUNTY APPROVE THE OPERATING BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2026, FOR A TOTAL OF $275,571,292 WITH THE COUNTY APPROPRIATION OF $108,136,837. YOU HEARD MY RECOMMENDATION. IS THERE A MOTION? SO MOVED. SECOND. OKAY, WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND. [01:05:05] AND I NEED TO DO A ROLL CALL VOTE. MOTION CARRIES UNANIMOUSLY. NEXT, WE HAVE THE CONSIDERATION OF ADOPTION OF FISCAL YEAR 2026 BUDGET [1.08 Consideration of Adoption of Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request - Capital Budget] REQUEST, CAPITAL BUDGET. I RECOMMEND THAT THE BOARD OF EDUCATION OF CECIL COUNTY APPROVE THE CAPITAL BUDGET FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 2026, IN THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF $34,559,950, WHICH INCLUDES A COUNTY APPROPRIATION OF $16,161,950. IS THERE A MOTION? SO, MOVED. SECOND. OKAY, I HEAR A MOTION AND A SECOND. ANY DISCUSSION? ROLL CALL VOTE. CARRIES UNANIMOUSLY. FINALLY, WE HAVE THE CONSIDERATION OF THE ADOPTION OF FISCAL YEAR 2026, [1.09 Consideration of Adoption of Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request - Debt Service Budget] BUDGET REQUEST THE DEBT SERVICE BUDGET. I RECOMMEND THAT THE BOARD OF EDUCATION OF CECIL COUNTY APPROVE THE DEBT SERVICE BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2026 IN THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF $8,516,977, WHICH INCLUDES $6,028,857 IN PRINCIPAL AND $2,488,120 IN INTEREST. IS THERE A MOTION SO MOVED? SECOND. OKAY. ANY DISCUSSION? WHY ARE YOU LAUGHING? ALL IN FAVOR? OH, I CAN'T EVEN DO THAT. ROLL CALL VOTE. UNANIMOUSLY. I BELIEVE I'VE GOT TO SCROLL DOWN HERE. THAT TAKES US TO THE END OF THE AGENDA. THANK YOU ALL FOR COMING. THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ENGAGEMENT. THANK YOU, DR. LAWSON, LEADERSHIP TEAM, THIS PROPOSED BUDGET AND ALL OTHER THINGS ARE MOVING FORWARD. SO THANK YOU. MEETING ADJOURNED. * This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.