Wicomico County releases education budget

Wicomico County Executive Bob Culver introduced the proposed budget for fiscal year 2018 at the Youth and Civic Center in Salisbury Thursday evening. 

At the forefront of the budget was a question of how much additional funding would go toward education.

Mr. Culver said the new budget will include a $1.6 million increase from 2017, including over $1 million for Maintenance of Effort and around $587,000 in a disparity grant for the Board of Education.

Culver said he thinks the proposal is good for both sides, adding that in addition to the budget increase, the county decided to forward-fund West Salisbury School, meaning construction of the school will be finished a year ahead of schedule.

When asked about the state of Wicomico's public schools the County Exec said while he does not know how the BOE intends to use the extra funds, the county is happy to help the kids receive the tools they need to move forward. 

"So we hope this helps them out, and technology that they need, laptops that sort of thing.  Again, they're the ones that determine how that money is spent.  We're very happy to help the county students get the needs that they have to make them successful in the world today."

The proposed budget will be presented to the county council during a meeting to be held in the future.