BERLIN – Lou Taylor, superintendent of Worcester County Public Schools, reiterated his commitment to maintaining a reasonable spending plan and working closely with county officials at this week’s budget work session.
On Tuesday Taylor, who took over leadership of Worcester County Public Schools in September, met with the Worcester County Commissioners to discuss the school system’s proposed FY 2018 budget. As presented the county would fund 81 percent of the $104,767,501 budget.
“I believe that the success of our community is largely dependent on how successful our children are,” Taylor said. “They are the ones shaping our community so we want to invest in them so we can ensure those that lead Worcester County into our future are prepared for that responsibility. I believe the school system budget you have before you today sets us on the right course to do just that.”
The proposed budget includes a 4 percent increase in county funding. Taylor said the increase was tied to four spending areas — health insurance, fair compensation, transportation needs and capital improvements. The school system’s health insurance costs are expected to jump by $710,447, or 5 percent, in the coming year. An additional $120,915 would cover an increase in bus contractor rates and funding to support the purchase of several new and spare buses.
The largest chunk of the expenditure increase, $1,778,098, would be used to fund salary increases.
Four one-time capital projects, totaling $566,100, would also be funded by the expenditure increase. They include the replacement of energy management systems at Buckingham Elementary School and Snow Hill Middle School, a new chiller at Stephen Decatur Middle School and a courtyard swing at Cedar Chapel Special School.
Commissioner Chip Bertino asked what role the Worcester County Education Foundation would play in providing the school system with funds. Taylor explained that while the foundation had $650,000 in commitments, it was still in its early stages. Last year, the foundation gave the school system $38,000 to fund laptop cases and a new technology cart.
“As funds build, there will be a stronger and much larger request,” Taylor said.
When Bertino asked whether the foundation would alleviate any of the funding burden placed on the county, Taylor explained that while it had not been created to fund teacher salaries, it would help in other ways.
“We’re trying to look at broad needs,” he said.
Commissioner Joe Mitrecic brought up an incident in which a Pocomoke student had been inadvertently left on a school bus earlier this month.
“It’s disheartening I had to read about it in the paper,” he said, adding that he had concerns about the funding that was being used to outfit more buses with alarm systems to ensure drivers check for students.
Vince Tolbert, the school system’s chief financial officer, said that while newer buses had the alarms some of the older buses did not. He said the proposed budget included approximately $10,000 to install the alarm systems on buses that didn’t yet have them.
“I have a problem with taxpayer money going to put these alarms on buses,” Mitrecic said. “Bus drivers are trained professionals. There should be certain responsibilities put on their shoulders.”
Taylor said he somewhat agreed but that he’d still asked Chief Operating Officer Steve Price to see that all buses were outfitted with alarms.
“My decision to ask Mr. Price and the board to move forward with that comes down to the safety of kids,” he said. “It’s my feeling we do everything we can to keep kids safe. That is a safety precaution.”
Several commissioners thanked Taylor for his efforts to work with them since being appointed superintendent.
“Thank you for being more open,” Commissioner Ted Elder said. “We get a lot more done with that kind of dialogue.”
Commissioner Jim Bunting agreed.
“I’ve enjoyed working with you since you’ve been superintendent,” he said.
Taylor said he’d made a point to meet with each of the commissioners since taking on his current role and that he appreciated the partnership they had built in a short amount of time.
“As you know one of my main objectives throughout my transition and my superintendency is to foster positive working relationships with school system administration, with the board of education and obviously yourselves as our governing body in Worcester County…,” he said. “You all know that I am a Worcester County guy, a local guy. You all know how personally invested I am in seeing our community thrive.”
