State Funding Per Pupil
The state’s per-pupil funding for Somerset County Public Schools increased 36.1% between fiscal 2019 and fiscal 2024. That’s the 12th largest 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 initial Blueprint Implementation Plan. And here’s what the state Accountability and Implementation Board – which oversees the Blueprint – had to say about Somerset County Public Schools’ Blueprint Implementation Plan:
Strengths:
- Somerset plans to partner and coordinate with Head Start and Judy Center Early Learning Hubs for early childhood education. The district already serves 4-year-olds, and plans to add slots for 3-year-olds to elementary and middle schools that are among the 5% lowest-performing schools in the state.
- The district plans to improve the teacher workforce by conducting a needs assessment and creating a recruiting and retention plan. This plan includes recruiting diverse candidates and “supporting a paraprofessional cooperative learning experience at the high school.”
- Somerset has formed a teacher cohort with neighboring counties so that more teachers can get exposure to varied teaching methods as they earn their Master’s degrees.
- The district will address college and career readiness in part by embedding support for students in 9th and 10th grade core courses. In addition, a full course will be available through the community college that includes tutoring and online learning tools aimed at supporting older students.
Needs improvement:
- In order to expand pre-K slots, Somerset may need to provide public staff to private pre-K providers to meet demands for space.
- The district needs to diversify the teacher workforce and support a core group of teachers to attain National Board Certification.
- Somerset needs to be more detailed in developing literacy and mathematics plans aligned with the Blueprint to increase student achievement and enable students to be college- and career-ready.
- Tutoring and intervention support need to be available during the school day to help more students get ready for college or careers.
- The district needs more specifics on how to expand post-career and college readiness pathway options such as advanced placement, dual enrollment, and career and technical education.
– Andrea Durán