Budget

Fiscal Year 2026 Operating Budget

The Board of Education of Charles County approved the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 operating budget during its meeting on June 10, 2025. The Superintendent's budget request totals $529,516,701, which reflects an increase of $23.3 million, or 4.6 percent, compared to the Fiscal Year 2025 base operating budget.

Expenditure increases include mandatory healthcare costs, negotiated school bus contractor wages, and the replacement of retiring buses, as well as an additional FY26 PISOTA allocation, along with budget line items that were not fully funded in the prior fiscal year. Other cost increase requests include a reserve for collective bargaining, funding to support the continual implementation of the Blueprint for Maryland’s future policy areas, Oracle support positions, instructional increases, and non-instructional increases.

The budget includes positions and operating costs associated with the opening of Margaret J. Thornton Elementary School. It requests the addition of 67.5 full-time equivalent (FTE) positions to compensate for our continually expanding school system. These positions include human resources, finance, and IT staff, as well as school administration and teachers.

In accordance with the Maryland Cares for Kids Act (House Bill 315), the Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) program will implement a $0.10 increase in meal prices for breakfast and lunch for paid students.