The St. Mary’s County Commissioners have unanimously voted to deny a bailout of the school system’s budget shortfall at this time. But they have left open the possibility of “deficit funding” at some later date once the final figures are in for the Board of Education’s current fiscal year budget.
In a commissioner meeting Tuesday morning, St. Mary’s County Chief Financial Officer Elaine Kramer argued strongly that it was too early to know what the final outcome of the school board’s budget would be since more than a month remained in the fiscal year, so the decision should be deferred.
Kramer also advised the commissioners that income tax revenue for this month is running a million less than last year for the same time, so the county’s budget also remains unsettled.
The school board had asked the commissioners for a minimum of $782,000 that they were told by their Assistant Superintendent of Fiscal Services and Human Resources Tammy McCourt could not be absorbed during the current fiscal year.
But, in short statements from School Superintendent Dr. Michael Martirano and School Board Chairman Dr. Sal Raspa, they seemed satisfied that waiting might be the best option if the possibility existed at the end of the wait that a bailout would happen if it was needed. Raspa called the idea “a great proposal.”
Martirano noted that the school system had already taken “extreme measures” to reduce the shortfall, but he admitted that the exact amount needed would not be known until later. He said he presented the options because the commissioners had asked him to do so.
In the motion to deny either “revenue adjustment or category transfers at this time” the commissioners also said it “assumes that the BOE will continue to seek savings, resulting in a shortfall that is less than currently projected.”
Kramer said both the county commissioners and school board would have a better idea in August about the extent of the shortfall and thus have a better handle on what to do.
In the meantime Kramer indicated the county would be able to continue to help the school system out of any cash flow crunch by advancing approved revenues. Those advances started in April when the school board told the county about the extent of the problem. “I think we can do a lot to help them,” Kramer said.
The current fiscal year school budget has a $6 million shortfall due to increased Group Health Insurance costs plus more than $1.4 million addi
