Charles County Public Schools staff asked the Board of Education on Oct. 14 to approve routine intercategory budget transfers for fiscal 2026, and presented a proposed calendar‑year 2026 health-insurance plan that would make modest copay changes and increase flexible‑spending limits.

Budget transfers: Karen Acton, the district’s budget officer, outlined two intercategory transfers for the fiscal‑year 2026 budget. For the countywide transfer (excluding soda revenues) she described a $1,500,000 realignment across categories to permanently fund previously one‑time personnel reclassifications (including a director of IT and lead network engineer), purchase district vehicles and move some categories to comply with MSDE reporting requirements. Specific line items Acton cited included $492,003.73 moved for vehicle purchases and $863,001.57 moved into student‑personnel services to align funding for community schools. Posota (the operator of a charter school discussed at the meeting) requested a $1,200,000 intercategory transfer to align their preliminary budget categories with final budget detail; Acton said Posota’s overall allocation was set but the distribution between MSDE reporting categories needed adjusting.

Health-insurance update: Christina Warner, benefits manager, said the district’s self‑insured plan is projecting higher claims driven by chronic and complex conditions. Rather than raise premiums, the health‑insurance committee recommended modest cost‑sharing changes: a $5 increase in office visit copays (amounts not specified for each tier in the presentation materials), raising emergency‑room copays from $100 to $175 (waived if the visit results in hospital admission), a $10 diagnostic lab copay where there had been none, and increasing the district’s flexible‑spending maximum (the proposal discussed at the meeting was to raise the FSA election ceiling; the transcript did not include a definitive final amount). Warner said the committee believes those changes would move the district toward its targeted employee/ employer cost split without a rate increase for most enrollees. The Medicare Advantage retiree plan would see no increase in 2026.

Why it matters: The transfers realign already‑budgeted dollars to reflect actual spending and MSDE reporting categories; the health‑insurance adjustments are targeted to keep the employer cost‑share near its historical target and to reduce the need for a larger premium increase.

Board action: The board approved the intercategory transfers and later unanimously approved the budget transfer requests during its action items. Board members asked for additional clarity on some line items and for staff to provide more detail to county commissioners when the transfers go to the county for final approval.

Ending: District staff said they will provide the county commission with the same detail the board received and will continue to share updates. Staff noted that the district will present further budget reconciliations to the board as the fiscal year progresses.