State Funding Per Pupil
The state’s per-pupil funding for Garrett County Public Schools increased 32% between fiscal 2019 and fiscal 2024. That’s the fifth smallest increase among all 24 Maryland public school districts.
Per-pupil funding is based on a formula that utilizes the district’s total enrollment and the characteristics of its students. It’s too soon to know what the per-pupil funding level will be in the later years of the Blueprint.
Here’s the district’s Blueprint Implementation Plan. And here’s what the state Accountability and Implementation Board – which oversees the Blueprint – had to say about Garrett County Public Schools’ Blueprint Implementation Plan:
Strengths:
- Garrett County has partnered with Frostburg State University whereby future teachers are learning the district’s content while still in college. This model helps teachers transition to working in the district.
- The county has a strong plan to encourage teachers to get National Board Certification.
- The district involves families as it develops plans for students who have fallen behind in college and career readiness.
Needs improvement:
- The district should do more to involve stakeholders in the development of its Blueprint plans.
- To address the teacher shortage, the district should help its staff members to move up the career ladder and fill teaching positions. The District also should quickly expand the Grow-Your-Own initiatives and the Teach Academy of Maryland programs.
- The district needs to improve its Comprehensive Literacy Plan and finish developing its Comprehensive Mathematics Plan, making sure to involve stakeholders as it does so. Garrett County should develop a career ladder that encourages teachers to move up the leadership ladder.
- The district still needs to finalize a career counseling plan.
– Devin Etta