Budget

Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) Fiscal Year 2023 Operating Budget Request

The Board of Education of Charles County at its February meeting approved Superintendent of Schools Maria Navarro’s proposed fiscal year 2023 operating budget. The Superintendent’s $438.3 million request prioritizes employee compensation, the expansion of early childhood education opportunities, instructional, behavioral and therapeutic reports, transportation and the Early College Program for high school students.

The Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) budget development timeline is as follows.

Board of Education unanimously approved the proposed budget request at its Feb. 8 meeting.
Submission of Board approved budget to Charles County Commissioners, Feb. 28.
Maryland General Assembly legislative session ends, April 11.
Charles County Commissioners public hearing on FY 2023 proposed operating budgets, April 27.
Board of Education adopts final 2023 operating budget, June 14 meeting.

Fiscal Year 2023 Budget request summary

The request totals $439,014,077 and includes a $30.9 million increase, or 7.6% more than fiscal year 2022. CCPS estimates an additional $19.3 million in state funding. The request also includes a local contribution increase of $11.6 million.

Cost increases for fiscal year 2023 include mandatory health care costs, the nurse contract with the Charles County Department of Health, negotiated school bus contractor wages and a 4 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) established in Fall 2021 for CCPS employees that fall under the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) support staff union. The COLA addressed a support staff wage shortfall in comparison to competing markets as reported by an independent compensation study provided by the Management Advisory Group (MAG). The mandatory costs increase totals about $8 million.

Included in the budget request are costs for the joint Early College Program with the College of Southern Maryland (CSM), an expansion of prekindergarten access for students, salary negotiations for teachers and support staff, new mathematics curriculum for secondary students, and additional staff positions to support therapeutic and behavioral student needs. The total cost per student in the budget request for next school year is $16,181.87.

Nearly 79 percent of the school system’s fiscal year 2023 budget request supports employee compensation – 59 percent for salaries and wages, and 20 percent for employee benefits. CCPS negotiates with two employee groups: AFSCME, which represents non-certificated or support staff, and the Education Association of Charles County (EACC), which represents teachers and other certificated staff

The proposed budget is for fiscal year 2023, which starts July 1, 2022, and ends June 30, 2023.