Facilities Maintenance Funding
In FY18, facilities maintenance was entirely removed from the CCPS operating budget as a cost savings measure with the intention to reinstate it when the financial situation improved; however, that has not happened. Since 2018, CCPS has been able to accomplish building maintenance by creating a local CIP infrastructure renewal project by transferring in funds from the CCPS fund balance (rainy day funds). Board of Education policy requires the CCPS Fund Balance to remain between 1 and 5% of the unrestricted operating budget to cover unforeseen expenses. CCPS has been using one-time funding from the fund balance to pay for facilities maintenance that is really an ongoing cost. Things are getting even more concerning now that the fund balance has been almost exhausted and is at the lower end of the minimum range. The unplanned replacement of the stadium light poles put additional strain on the fund balance of nearly $1.8M.
Facilities maintenance was only intended to be removed from the operating budget temporarily during difficult times, but it has not been reinstated. Maintaining school buildings and facilities is important to protecting the assets and property of Carroll County taxpayers. We will work with the Commissioners to see that facilities maintenance is properly funded and reinstated into the CCPS operating budget.
Maryland’s Interagency Commission on School Construction (IAC) conducts Maintenance Effectiveness Assessments (MEA) each fiscal year for all of the state’s jurisdictions. Between 2022 and 2025, Carroll has fallen from “adequate” to “not adequate” maintenance effectiveness. Carroll needs to make maintenance a higher priority for the long term health of our facilities or we will continue to see emergency repair measures such as the stadium light pole replacements become a more frequent strain on the system.
In 2022, CCPS had a system-wide “adequate” score for the Maintenance Effectiveness Assessment (MEA), as shown in green on the map.
From 2023 to the most recent rating in 2025, CCPS’ score for the Maintenance Effectiveness Assessment (MEA) has fallen to “not adequate,” as shown in orange on the map.
