BALTIMORE COUNTY — Maryland school leaders are asking for flexibility as they prepare for reductions in state funding for Blueprint.

That’s the message Baltimore County Public Schools Superintendent Myriam Rogers says she and other superintendents are sending to elected officials as they prepare their fiscal 2026 budgets.

“All signs point to another difficult budget cycle, for our system and other school systems across the state,” Dr. Rogers said in his monthly update to the public Tuesday morning.

The Blueprint for Maryland’s Future is intended to be a comprehensive overhaul of the state’s public school systems with the overall goal of improving student outcomes at all levels. It comes with a long list of demands, including increased teacher pay, that all school systems must check off. The bill that created the Plan for Maryland’s Future outlines a 10-year plan and this is the second year of its full implementation.

Dr. Rogers says that over the past week, they have moved from hints at proposed cuts to details on funding levels, in which she called a “huge gap” in the five-year projections of the l’s budget. state education.

Some of those hints, she said, came from Gov. Wes Moore, who said the state was going to have to make tough decisions about funding the Blueprint.

“We had anticipated an increase in Blueprint funds, but with these planned adjustments, we will likely need to refine our plans due to state funding concerns,” says Dr. Rogers.

She says her team is already looking at areas where potential savings could be made to offset the deficit while still meeting student needs and meeting commitments to faculty and staff.

“We hope to have the flexibility to fill resource gaps,” she says. “The principles of the Blueprint are solid, but (we) need to get back to the table…. Baltimore County’s 111,000 students are counting on us.

The public can have a say on the budget for the next school year. A survey is available and expires at 11:59 p.m. Tuesday. You can access it here.

Dr. Rogers is also hosting two other community conversations where the public can come share their thoughts on the budget and other school issues, Thursday at Cockeysville Middle School and November 25 at Perry Hall Middle School, from 6 to 7 p.m. both days.