Charles County Forced To Cover $141K In Surprise Pre-K Mandate

LA PLATA, Md. — The Charles County Board of County Commissioners on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026, approved a $141,860 transfer from the county’s FY 2026 contingency fund to cover its newly required share of private prekindergarten costs mandated by the state, following weeks of questions over how and why the expense was shifted to local governments.

The funding addresses a requirement communicated by the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) after the county had already adopted its FY 2026 budget on May 20, 2025, leaving officials with no opportunity to plan for the added cost.

Director of Fiscal and Administrative Services Jake Dyer said commissioners had asked staff in December to seek additional clarification from MSDE before bringing the request back for approval. Dyer told the board he requested a legal opinion explaining why the cost responsibility shifted to the county, but the department declined to release it publicly.

“The first thing I asked for was for them to provide a legal opinion on why that is now being funded to the county,” Dyer said. “MSDE said they’re not able to share that publicly.”

Commissioners also questioned whether the county could adjust its maintenance-of-effort funding or bill Charles County Public Schools to offset the cost. Dyer said MSDE advised that neither option was permitted and that the department would not involve itself in any such transaction.

“So it sounds like the state wouldn’t tell us publicly why they did what they did, why they passed the bill to us, and then they’re saying they’re not getting involved on whether or not we can send that over to the Board of Education,” Commissioner BJ Bowling said during the discussion.

Bowling said the issue highlights broader budget concerns as costs continue to be shifted from the state to local governments.

“As we move into the next budget cycle, it will probably be incumbent upon us to look back over the amount of bills that the state did not pay that were passed on to us so we can have a contingency to cover those types of bills,” Bowling said. “I’m assuming that there are more of those that they’re supposed to pay that they’re going to pass along to us at a later date.”

Dyer said the county had set aside $500,000 in its contingency budget in anticipation of unexpected expenses like this one arising later in the fiscal year. He noted that MSDE has already provided an estimate for the county’s FY 2027 cost for the same prekindergarten shift, which is expected to be approximately $650,000.

Following the discussion, the board unanimously approved the transfer.

Watch the Jan. 28 Meeting: CCGTV
See the complete Jan. 28, 2026 Agenda here.

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