Baltimore County superintendent proposes budget with tough decisions in mind

Baltimore County Public Schools says it's working with a tough budget cycle for the third year in a row. 

Superintendent Dr. Myriam Rogers laid out a $2.49 billion operating budget proposal on Tuesday. 

Parents concerned

Kim Crosby, who lives in Baltimore County and has a son now in college, said she remains concerned about the school district after learning about the proposed changes to classroom sizes.

"Sometimes you have kids that are very, I want to say, disruptive, and that sometimes that has set the tone for the classroom, not just think there's way too much," Crosby said.

Superintendent Rogers' 2027 budget proposal recommends cuts to make up for the lower revenue coming in. 

"This is the third consecutive year where we were faced with a tough fiscal landscape because of the continued expansion and implementation of the Blueprint and anticipated lower federal, state and local revenue," Rogers said.

Rogers continued, "It is important to note that the operating budget primarily focuses on the general and special revenue funds. The proposed FY 27 budget represents an overall $57.3 million increase in the general fund budget, and includes a projected increase of $19.9 million in alignment with the targeted increase from the Baltimore County Government."

Classroom size proposal 

The plan overall asks for a 2% increase from the Baltimore County government. In addition to a net reduction of nearly 600 positions, through staff allocation. Through staff allocation, the teacher-to-student ratio in grades 1-12 may increase to one teacher for every 25 students.

The county Board of Education leaders said they cannot comment on the budget proposal because they have not yet discussed it as a full board. 

However, leaders explained it is important to note that these proposed ratios pertain only to general education, which is funded through the Operating Budget. Special education staffing formulas remain unchanged from FY26.

Rogers' budget also includes a hiring freeze at the central office, a review of all contracts, no new initiatives unless required, and a 73% decrease in new spending.

"With these targeted efforts, we identified $62.1 million in cost savings and reductions to fund the FY 27 priorities," Rogers said. "It preserves investments in our key priority areas, namely, academic achievement, safety and climate and infrastructure, while prioritizing the recruitment and retention of employees."

Kelly Olds, president of the Teachers Association of Baltimore County, said the FY 27 proposed budget does honor the third year of the negotiated agreements as a fixed cost. But the union's concern is now that educators could lose their ability to give one-on-one attention to students.

"It doesn't mean that now we'll only have two more kids per class, because we know, if you ask any teacher in the system, there are many classes that are already well over those staffing allocation numbers," Olds said. "Not every, not all of the adults that are counted in that formula are classroom teachers, because they serve other really important roles and resources for students."

Rogers said the district focus remains on "providing high quality instruction and care to all of our students."

Old believes there is a way to compromise on the new budget.

"A big piece is we really need to go to the county executive and the county council and ask for a little more," Olds said. "We, you know, I know that the school system is a large part of the county's budget, and I know that an investment in education is really powerful."

There will be a public hearing on the budget proposal at 6:30 p.m. on January 20.

Public comments will be heard by the Board of Education about the superintendent's FY27 proposed operating budget.  

Those wishing to comment can register online until 3:00 p.m. on Monday, January 19.

The county board of education will have a chance to discuss the budget, including staffing allocations during the budget work session scheduled for January 27. A later vote is scheduled for February 10.