State Funding
Approximately 31% of our funding comes from the State. The amount of State funding is predetermined and non-negotiable. We anticipate that we will receive $348.2 million from the State for the 2025 fiscal year, which is about a half of a percentage point above FY 2024. Included in State funding is their share of required funding for Blueprint, which is mandated as part of the legislation and establishes per pupil funding amounts, considers enrollment, and determines the percentage share between the State and County.
County Funding
Approximately 67% of our funding comes from the County. In FY 2024, the County increased their recurring funding of the school system by $47 million from the year before. The proposed budget is based on an assumption that HCPSS will receive the same increase in funding from the County this year as we did last year. In total, the proposed budget requests $761.6 million from the County, which represents a 5.6% increase from FY 2024.
Other Funding Sources
A small percentage of HCPSS revenue comes from other funding sources such as investment income, summer school tuition and athletic contest gate fees. This total amounts to just under $10 million.
For more information about revenues and how public education is funded in Maryland, see the Summary of FY 2025 Operating Budget Revenues section under Factors Influencing and Summary of the Budget in the Superintendent’s FY 2025 Proposed Operating Budget book.
One-Time Revenues, Including Fund Balance
Last year, $21 million of fund balance was used to balance the budget and pay for recurring expenditures. This year, available fund balances are about half of what they were last year. To manage the full impact of the structural deficit hitting in one budget cycle, the FY 2025 budget proposes using $10.2 million of available fund balance. This exhausts all the unassigned fund balance available in the General Fund as of June 30, 2023. Using fund balance once again to help pay for recurring expenses means HCPSS will have to address replacing these funds in the next budget cycle or further reduce costs.
Additionally, In FY 2024, HCPSS transferred $6.7 million from the technology fund. No funds are being proposed to be transferred from the technology fund this year. Any available dollars available in this fund are being used to meet the school system’s technology needs.
In all, the proposed budget based on total revenues amounts to $1.13 billion, which is $25.1 million, or 2.3%, above FY 2024.
The information contained in this answer relates to the Superintendent’s FY 2025 Proposed Operating Budget, which was published on Jan. 18, 2024. The information is subject to change with the initial Board of Education Adopted Operating Budget on Feb. 29, 2024, the County Council Adopted Budget in May 2024, and the final Board of Education Operating Budget on May 23, 2024. View the full FY 2025 Operating Budget timeline and versions of each budget as they become available.