LA PLATA — Charles County Public Schools will carry about $1.9 million in unspent money from last year into this year’s budget to finish building repairs already underway and to keep its growing community schools program running, after county commissioners signed off Tuesday, Oct. 27.
The move costs county taxpayers nothing new. The Board of Education, which approved the request first, asked commissioners for a $1,911,209 increase to its fiscal 2027 general fund budget, paid entirely from fiscal 2026 fund balance already set aside for specific purposes. The county’s appropriation to the schools does not change. State law, Education Article 5-105, requires the county’s approval for the shift.
Commissioners approved it on a voice vote with no opposition heard. The increase takes the school system’s general fund budget from $555,532,999 to $557,444,208.
Where the money goes
The request has two parts.
| Purpose | Amount | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Open purchase orders (repairs, equipment, capital work) | $744,607 | Assigned fund balance |
| Community schools (Blueprint carryover) | $1,166,602 | Committed fund balance |
| Workforce development / career counseling (Blueprint carryover) | $33,972 | Committed fund balance |
| Total | $1,911,209 |
The first piece is an accounting carryover. Under the school system’s Oracle Cloud financial system, purchase orders that aren’t finished or paid by June 30 are canceled at year-end and re-entered in the new fiscal year, the school system’s presenter told commissioners. “Canceled” in that sense describes the year-end process, not abandoned projects, she said. More than $700,000 of the $744,607 covers maintenance and capital work already started, including fire safety systems, building access, HVAC work, parking improvements and portable classrooms. These are existing obligations that crossed the fiscal year line, not new projects or a second approval of the same purchases, according to the presentation.
The larger piece is state money from the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, the state’s school reform law, which funds community schools: schools that add services such as health care, social workers and family support for students in high-poverty areas.
Why community schools money was left over
The community schools carryover is about the same size as last year’s, roughly $569,000 then versus about $563,000 now, in the comparison the presenter gave, and she said the increase in the overall carryover reflects program growth and timing, not a lack of planning or student need.
Several things happened at once in 2025-26. Charles added four community schools, taking the program from 10 schools to 14. Oversight moved to the Office of Title I and Community Schools, and vacancies, retirements and promotions left temporary salary and benefit savings. The Summer Boost program expanded from half days to full days with transportation, and some of its costs fell on the other side of the fiscal year line. The prior year’s carryover was fully spent when that program ended, according to the presentation.
Going forward, the community schools money will pay for instructional coaching, evidence-based learning materials and student wellness and social-emotional services. The workforce development money continues a career counseling program. Both balances can be used only for their original purposes, and Blueprint funds can be carried only from one year to the next, the presenter said in answer to a commissioner’s question about what happens to the money later.
A shrinking cushion
The request also showed the school system’s total fund balance falling from about $45.7 million to about $38.6 million, according to a year-end table attached to the request. The $1.9 million comes only from money already classified as assigned or committed, the presenter said, and does not touch unassigned reserves.
One commissioner said there was “a larger issue” with the request but held the question for later and did not elaborate during the item.
It is the second school budget adjustment the commissioners have approved this month. On Oct. 14, the Chronicle reported the board OK’d a $930,299 school budget shift, with a warning from Commissioner BJ Bowling.
