Press Releases

Westminster, Maryland — February 16, 2025

A new community-led, non-partisan group, the Carroll Education Coalition, has been formed in response to the alarming budget and staffing issues within Carroll County Public Schools (CCPS). Several members of our group have been following the CCPS budget, and plans for Blueprint implementation, for years. Others are newer to this effort. Each brings their own skills, passions, and expertise – in legislative advocacy, public sector budgeting, community leadership, public schools, higher education, writing/editing, social media, and more.

“CCPS has been forced to operate on a lean budget for years, eliminating teachers and staff and cutting programs,” says Lisa Maisano, one of the Coalition’s founders. The formation of Carroll Education Coalition comes at a crucial time, as CCPS faces both an operating budget deficit and the monumental challenges of implementing the state’s 2021 Blueprint for Maryland’s Future Law. The group is advocating against the proposed operating budget cuts and is urging community members to join their advocacy efforts. Immediate actions include reaching out to the Board of Education and Carroll County Commissioners to request that CCPS receive the needed funds to stave off the cuts that would be needed to balance the budget. Julie Walsh, another of the Coalition’s founders, shares she reached out to Carroll’s elected officials “out of concern for the increasingly-spare condition of our school system and a desire to see our County better invest in it.”

Between 2009 and 2019, CCPS reduced its operating budget by $40 million, resulting in 375 instructional positions cut, 3 schools closed, and the loss of many programs. As recently as 2020, CCPS ranked 17th out of 24 local education jurisdictions in the state for per pupil funding, but has fallen steadily ever since. In the current year, CCPS is in last place. “It is one thing to have a lean, efficient school system. It is another when it is so lean that the funding becomes inadequate,” says
Maisano.

CCPS is struggling to come up with a balanced operating budget, weighing a range of cost cutting measures, including the following:
● Not meeting employee compensation commitments, including those in three existing contracts with collective bargaining units.
● Terminating The Outdoor School program, which has been a beloved CCPS program and rite-of-passage for Carroll 6th graders for nearly 50 years.
● Reducing 3 full time central office clerical positions.
● Reducing the planned transportation (bus drivers) formula salary increase from 5% to 3%.
● Using Fund Balance (rainy day funds) to phase in utilities inflation increases.
● Ending 1:1 laptops for grades 3-5; considering ending 1:1 laptops for grades 6-8 as a trade off to keep the The Outdoor School program.
● Reducing the materials of instruction budget.

In addition to the complexities of balancing the operating budget, CCPS simultaneously faces significant challenges implementing the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future. To meet the laws Fiscal Compliance Requirements, CCPS plans to cut 92 staff positions and shift another 90 employees to different schools in the County. These cuts, along with the potential increase in class sizes and reductions in teacher support, threaten the quality of education and learning experiences for
students, along with their safety. “It takes just one delayed emergency response - one critical incident where seconds matter - to realize the devastating cost of overcrowded classrooms,” says Amy Hardesty, one of the Coalition’s founding members.

Formed around a kitchen table in Carroll County the morning of Tuesday, February 11th, in less than a week this passionate grassroots coalition has launched a website and Facebook page. The Carroll Education Coalition is determined to ensure that CCPS receives the necessary funds and staffing to fulfill their educational mission. The Coalition aims to clarify this confusing situation and provide actionable steps for community involvement.

More funding is critical to preserve the already-lean system’s current programs, meet existing employee contracts, and provide essential learning resources in the classroom.

Local Carroll County businesses are joining the effort by printing the Carroll Education Coalition logo on shirts and selling them to the community at cost. “This is about more than just our children,” says Maisano. “This is about supporting the community we live in, of which schools are a huge part.” CCPS is the largest employer in the County, so CCPS supports not only our children, but also our workforce.

To learn more about the Carroll Education Coalition or to join the cause, please visit their website at carrolleducationcoalition.org. Community members are also encouraged to reach out to the Coalition via email to express their concerns and suggestions.

Join us in this vital effort.
Together, we can ensure a bright future for all students in Carroll County. We are committed to ensuring Carroll County Public Schools has sufficient funds and staffing to carry out their mission of educating our children.

Contact:
Carroll Education Coalition
CarrollEdCoalition@gmail.com
carrolleducationcoalition.org
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