Public Hearing On Wed. On Proposed School System Budget

Citizens can get all of the details on line.

 


Frederick, Md (KM). A public hearing is scheduled for Wednesday evening, February 7th, by the Frederick County Board of Education on the proposed fiscal year 2019 budget for the School System. The hearing takes place at 7:00 PM at Frederick High School. A sign-up sheet will be available for residents beginning at 6:00 PM.

Superintendent Dr. Theresa Alban released her proposed budget on January 4th. It totals $604,457,837, which is $25,952,306 or 4.5% over  last year. It’ was also $18-million more in expenditures compared to revenues. During a budget meeting last month, the School Board managed to bring that deficit down to $15-million.

During a recent appearance on “Mid-Maryland Live” on WFMD, Dr. Alban said citizens who want to know more about the budget and get into the details   can go on line. She says they can also ask questions. “Any questions that are asked about the budget, our staff are complying those answers and posting them. We have a special budget page for questions a board member asks or the community sends in,”: she says.

For information on the budget, citizens can go to www.fcps.org/budget. Any questions or comments about the spending plan  can be submitted to ThePromise.org, or through social media such as Facebook or Twitter.

After the hearing, the Board of Education will vote on the budget and send it off to the County Executive. But Dr. Alban says the School System receives revenues from both the county and the state, and how much may not be known for a while. “So it’s really almost the end of May before we know what the revenue is, and that’s when we then have to evaluate all of our expenditures,  and make it all balance,” she says.

 

By Kevin McManus