OC Today WWW.OCEANCITYTODAY.COM
JUNE 9, 2023
SERVING NORTHERN WORCESTER COUNTY
QUIRKY FUN
BATHTUB RACES
Competators will race down streets of Berlin in annual competition Friday evening – Page 26
FREE
HUNTER HINE/OCEAN CITY TODAY
HOLD ON THERE
Ocean City’s second annual PBR Challenge Series finished up in the inlet parking lot last Sunday with the third round of bull riders, followed by the championship round. Pictured is rider Elizimar Souza Jeremias on the second-to-last ride of the championship round. He earned third place overall.
Schools receive ultimate ‘no’
ANNUAL AIR SHOW FLIES INTO TOWN
County commissioners not persuaded by large crowd to increase WCPS funding
Thunderbirds, more will dominate resort sky in weekend event — p. 3
By Jack Chavez Staff Writer (June 9, 2023) The county public schools budget is officially set, and it’s exactly what the new Worcester County Commissioners majority has said for months it could be — flat. The commissioners passed the Worcester Board of Education’s
budget on a 5-to-2 vote at roughly $100 million in maintenance-of-effort funding and $759,000 for the county’s required share of teacher pensions on Tuesday. Commissioners Diana Purnell and Joe Mitrecic opposed the measure. The approved framework is not a penny more than what the county is legally obligated by the state Department of Education to provide to its school system. That means it is now on the school board to determine how to come up with the roughly $4.5 mil-
lion it asked for to pay for staff and contractor salary increases, among other things. At the core of the budget discussion was a dispute over the accessibility of specific expenses in the school system’s annual budget. While repeated assurances from both sides that the relationship is still healthy, or that everyone is cooperating as best as possible, they have exchanged many pointed words. One side harped on the unprecedented See COUNTY Page 4
NEW, MORE SIGNS ON BOARDWALK Ocean City council seeks uniformity, opportunity to advertise events — p. 6