Schools’ fund for retirement looking weak

Shortfalls predicted without cash infusion

Retirement benefits for the Board of Education employees could face “major funding shortfalls within the next six to eight years” if the current payment schedule continues without adjustment, county Treasurer Phil Thompson told the Worcester County Commissioners Tuesday.

Thompson said Worcester is unusual among other counties in the state in that it counts the Board of Education in its “Other Post-Employment Benefits,” or OPEB, accounting.

A reason for this could be that Worcester itself is unusual among counties, in that a large portion of the schools’ budget comes from county residents, and not the state itself, as is done in most other areas of Maryland.

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