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Simmons said he and his team are in the process of developing a draft budget. What happens in this year’s state legislative session is expected to impact how the budget looks, the superintendent said.

“We are really contingent upon what happens at the state level for our funding, and we do expect the General Assembly to be very engaged in things that could impact us budget-wise,� Simmons said. “So it is 100% likely we will not have a clear picture of our budget, of our revenue numbers until mid-April at best.�

At the Dec. 3 meeting, Simmons reviewed the fiscal year 2025 budget, noting that around 60% of unrestricted funds were spent on salaries and wages. Those funds largely come from the state, as the district received around 66% of its FY25 revenue from the state in unrestricted money.

“When we talk about where our expenses come from, it’s people,� Simmons said. “No surprise as we’ve said for years, we are a people business. It takes people to educate children. It takes people to make school work.�

Contracted services accounted for just under 7% of the unrestricted budget. Board Member Troy Plutschak said he wants the board to find out how much auditing through outside companies costs.

Simmons said the district is often audited, but that moving audits in-house would be difficult and put the district in a “world of hurt.� Potentially, one or two finance-related positions would be added, along with adding a stress onto the workload of school principals, Simmons said.

According to the superintendent, he doesn’t expect federal money or county allocations to drastically change heading into fiscal year ‘26. “We knew ‘25 was the tight year,� he said.

Assuming no major changes are made to the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, the state’s initiative to increase education funding, Simmons has an optimistic outlook. That’s partly due to increased multilingual learner, special education and overall enrollment in the county.

“We are anticipating what should be a good budget year for Caroline County Public Schools,� Simmons told the board.

BLUEPRINTWhile there was positivity in the fiscal year 26 forecast, Simmons made clear to board members that the outlook could drastically change if state legislators enact major adjustments to funding in Blueprint.

Changes to fiscal 26 funding “can have absolute detrimental impacts to Caroline County Public Schools,� he said, since Caroline County Public Schools is “not a district that has extra wealth to go to to fill gaps.�

“Not trying to paint a dire picture, but I don’t want to paint roses where they may not exist,� he said. “They should. But I want to make sure that everybody in the public is very clear as well. It should be, but if they go changing things in the FY 26 formula, it will hurt in this county more so than others probably.�

State legislators may be tasked with discussions about Blueprint funding this winter, as the state faces a predicted budget deficit of $2.7 million for fiscal year 2026.

Blueprint will require all schools to meet a minimum teacher salary of $26,000 by July 2026. Caroline County Public Schools has not met that mark yet, but Simmons said the district is making progress.

“We are still working to get our starting teacher salary up to the mandated $60,000 by FY27,� Simmons said. “We have done a great job through negotiations. We’re roughly $5,000 away.�

Looking to the next budget cycle, salaries and maintaining adequate staffing levels are at the top of mind for the superintendent and his team.

“We need to stay competitive with salaries and benefits for all employees,� Simmons said.