Baltimore County school board OKs $2.58B budget

Baltimore County’s school board approved a $2.58 billion operational budget Tuesday for fiscal year 2025 with investments in teacher compensation and early education. The proposal also eliminates vacant positions and changes class sizes.

The school board signed off on Superintendent Myriam Rogers’ budget in a 9-3 vote. Board members Rod McMillion, Julie Henn and Maggie Litz Domanowski voted against it over concerns about larger classes and teacher transfers. The Baltimore County Council will now review the plan before voting in May.

The budget is a $42.3 million increase, 2.2%, from the current fiscal year’s budget.

Rogers earmarked $2.3 million to reduce elementary class sizes for third through fifth grades, critical years for children’s reading and math development. But secondary school classes could grow. The proposed ratio, which varies by class and school, is one teacher for every 22 middle school students and every 23 high school students.

Schools won’t know how many students are in each class until at least May, Rogers said.

“I want to make it very clear that no matter what kind of schedule you have, you’re going to have some classes that are smaller and some classes that are larger,” she said.

Other board members praised Rogers and her team’s work in drafting a budget during a tight fiscal year in the county and in Maryland. Federal funds tied to the coronavirus pandemic expire this summer while local school districts must continue to implement programs required by the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, the state’s multi-billion-dollar education reform plan.

Other counties, like Howard and Cecil, are facing layoffs and cuts to extracurricular programs. Carroll County’s school board approved a $460.2 million budget hoping the County Council will fill an $11.8 million funding gap.

Rogers’ budget proposal shaves off $104.1 million in expenses, mostly in benefits and wages through eliminating vacant positions and placing a hiring freeze for BCPS central office staff. There are currently 130 vacancies in secondary schools.

No one will be laid off or furloughed but fewer new teachers will be hired. The proposal calls for transferring some teachers to other schools or assigning them to different classes depending on need. The number of department chairs at schools will also be reduced.

McMillion questioned if specialized educators, such as theater teachers, would be placed in the same role at a different school or moved to teach in a different department.

“They will be in our schools according to their area of certification,” Rogers said in response. She said central office staff has already started the process of reassigning teachers to match enrollment. A job fair will be held to place remaining teachers who haven’t already received their assignments.

“Staffing is largely based on enrollment, and so when you have enrollment shifts, you have to move the staffing to where the students are,” she said.

School administrators will also review class offerings based on enrollment, student interest, staff and school needs.

BCPS agreed to a three-year compensation package with the Teachers Association of Baltimore County union, the longest contract approved in years. School and union leaders hope it will help retain and recruit educators.

Other budget priorities include $10.3 million for creating full-day prekindergarten programs and $7.2 million to add special education chairs to elementary schools. The chairs are tasked with managing students’ Individualized Education Programs, an instructional plan with specialized services for students with disabilities.

The number of community schools, which receive a concentration of poverty grants and have additional neighborhood social support, would increase to 84 schools over the next year with $16.3 million.

Additional funding is allocated for student safety assistants and athletic trainers. Infrastructure costs include school bus contracts and moving costs for renovated school buildings.

“Every school will have the teachers that it needs,” said Tiara D. Booker-Dwyer, the school board chair. “Every school will have the courses that it needs.”

The County Council must approve the budget by the end of June to release funds in July.