County asks for school budget info

Bertino wants transparency, Mitrecic says ‘not our

job’

By Jack Chavez Staff Writer

(April 20, 2023) With another eight-figure difference between income and spending, the Worcester County Commissioners are scrutinizing next fiscal year’s budget seemingly line by line.

Typically, that hasn’t been the case for the Worcester County Public School system and the board of education who, mostly, are left to their own devices in determining what they need and how to spend it.

But this year, some commissioners say they need more transparency from the schools.

Racquet sports manager named

club regarding free introductory lessons and court time.

Prior to the public comment segment of the board meeting, Director of Rec and Parks Debbie Donahue reported that the changes were made based on the growth of the racquet center.

“In the past, we had a 14-day trial free to non-members and free lessons,” Donahue said.

“This year we are looking at no free court time and being able to charge for lessons, although there are two clinics that are offered in April and in May that are still free for new mem-

(April 20, 2023) Tim Johnson has been named the new Racquet Sports manager for Ocean Pines, the Ocean Pines Association announced last Thursday.

A former member of several Ocean Pines racquet sports, Johnson also brings a wealth of professional experience to the position.

He most recently served as the tennis supervisor for the Town of Ocean City. Johnson is also a USPTA-certified Elite Tennis Professional, USPTA-certified

School Superintendent Lou Taylor and Chief Financial Officer Vince Tolbert presented the school system budget to the commissioners on Tuesday, asking for an increase of $4.2 million over FY23, or about 4.1 percent more.

In a presentation, Tolbert said that the expected revenue for FY24 is around $131 million, an increase of about 4.78 percent.

Aside from a few questions about particulars in the budget, most of the comments from the commissioners zeroed in on the overall transparency of the school system budget — or as some commissioners put it the lack thereof.

“This is the budget for all county departments that isn’t the Board of Education, roughly $110 million,” Commissioner President Chip Bertino said as he piled three binders about a foot tall.