Cumberland County Schools is facing a recurring budget gap of about $5 million, largely because it is operating more school buildings than it needs for a shrinking student population.
Jay Toland, the district’s associate superintendent of business operations, told the Cumberland County Board of Education on Friday that recurring expenses now exceed recurring revenue, forcing the district to rely on its fund balance to cover ongoing costs. The district’s annual operating budget is about $673 million.
Toland said the district has space for about 57,377 students, while current enrollment is closer to 47,111.
“That gap is really the main driver of the budget problem,” Toland said.
Enrollment Down, Capacity Up
Toland presented a chart comparing average daily membership (ADM) with total district staffing over time, showing that while enrollment has declined in recent years, staffing levels have generally followed the same downward trend.
District data showed total staff declined from about 6,030 in 2022 to 5,805 in 2025.
He contrasted the pattern with other large school districts that became financially insolvent after allowing staffing to rise even as enrollment fell.
“In those districts, the ADM went down and the staff went up,” Toland said. “That’s what made them insolvent.”
Toland said CCS has avoided that outcome by gradually reducing staffing through attrition as enrollment declined.
“It’s bittersweet because we’re losing staff,” he said. “But it’s a sign that we’re making the right financial decisions to keep the district solvent.”
Toland said the district’s building inventory has not adjusted at the same pace as enrollment.
“That building portfolio is a little bit larger than the student population that we have,” Toland said. “And I really think that’s the main driver of the structural deficit.”
The district’s loss of 1,242 students in the current school year—a decline that Toland said reduces state funding by roughly $9.9 million based on per-pupil formulas—adds to the district’s financial strain.
How Closing Schools Helps Budget Deficit
The district has relied on its fund balance to help close the $5 million budget gap, but Toland warned that strategy is not sustainable long-term.
“We currently have sufficient fund balance to continue the next couple of years,” he said. “But we can’t do it forever. We will run out of money if our expenses are more than our revenues.”
Toland referenced a separate facilities analysis presented by Kevin Coleman, the district’s associate superintendent of auxiliary services, which outlined deferred maintenance costs tied to aging school buildings.
The analysis comes as district leaders are considering a proposal to close up to eight schools as part of a broader consolidation plan aimed at reducing long-term operating costs.
Parents and students at several campuses, including Massey Hill Classical High School, have spoken out against the proposed closures.
Toland said closing schools reduces maintenance expenses and building-specific positions that do not directly follow student enrollment.
“When you close a school, you don’t do maintenance on it anymore,” he said. “And positions like assistant principals, office staff, custodians and media staff are no longer needed.”
Teachers and teacher assistants, he added, typically follow students to new schools.
According to Toland, closing a school can generate between $475,000 and $630,000 in annual savings, depending on staffing and utility costs.
“That’s recurring savings,” Toland said. “Once you save it, you don’t add it back.”
Phasing Out ‘Emergency Relief’ Funding
Toland also updated the board on the district’s plan to phase out positions funded through federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) dollars.
ESSER is federal pandemic-relief funding provided to school districts to offset costs related to COVID-19, including support for instruction, student services, and pandemic recovery efforts.
CCS previously employed about 153 ESSER-funded positions. The district expects to reduce that number to about 34 positions by the end of the 2026–27 fiscal year, and to zero by 2028–29.
The reductions are being handled primarily through attrition—a natural reduction in personnel as employees leave and aren’t replaced—as enrollment declined.
“We hired a lot of people with one-time money,” Toland said. “Now we’re reducing that headcount to get back to zero.”
Toland said potential federal budget cuts remain a longer-term risk, but current projections assume education funding will remain stable for the next fiscal year.
In the event of major federal reductions, he said the district would prioritize maintaining federally funded staff positions while reviewing programs line by line.
“In a worst-case scenario, we could still be okay under our projections,” Toland said.
Toland said future consolidation proposals and budget adjustments will continue to be brought before the board as the district works to align its facilities and staffing with long-term enrollment trends.
“We’ve done a good job managing staff,” he said. “Now we have to address the buildings.”