04/17/2026
Yesterday, the County Executive announced she is fully funding the Board of Education's budget request.
That didn't happen by accident.
It reflects months of collaboration between the Superintendent, Board Leadership, and County Executive - and it produced a budget that was responsible, credible, and focused on real priorities for our students and staff.
Now some are saying, "you should have asked for more."
That’s not how this works.
Inflated requests don't build support, they risk losing it. What does work is putting forward a thoughtful, sustainable plan that earns trust and delivers results.
For nearly four years, we've worked to:
•Support competitive compensation for educators and staff
• Protect jobs during challenging budget cycles
• Expand services for our growing and increasingly complex student population
• Secure funding for major capital projects across our county
All while maintaining fiscal responsibility.
And this year, that approach helped deliver a fully funded request, and even though this doesn't reflect what it truly costs to operate our fast growing school system, it puts us on a path of long term fiscal sustainability. 
That's not a failure to advocate or properly budget, it's effective leadership.
Responsible budgeting didn't cost us funding, it helped secure it. And, we're not done, we'll continue to advocate with our County Council and reexamine our budget to ensure that it supports our priorities as a system.
Personally, I'll continue focusing on results for our students, staff, and community - not rhetoric.
In Frederick County Executive Jessica Fitzwater's proposed fiscal year 2027 budget, the Frederick County Board of Education's request was fully funded.
