Howard County's public schools look into staff cuts, class increases to balance budget

The Howard County Board of Education is working to balance the public schools' budget, after it was given less than what it requested from the county.

The Howard County Council adopted the county's FY2026 operating and capital budgets last Wednesday. The final allocation for the Howard County Public School System ended up being $816 million.

It's more than what was initially proposed by County Executive Calvin Ball, but it's millions less than what school district leaders, staff, and families wanted.

The Howard County Board of Education can make final adjustments until its June 4 work session. The budget will be adopted on June 12.  

What will be cut?

The seven-member Board of Education held its first work session Tuesday morning since the county budget was adopted.

HCPSS Superintendent Bill Barnes started the work session off with a presentation, which showed the school district officially faces a shortfall of around $15.3 million.

To fill the gap, Barnes recommended eliminating what's been deemed as other budget priorities, which include security assistants and some human resources positions.

Barnes also advised potentially leveraging some school system funds, which, per his recommendations, would bring the shortfall to just under $9 million.

To balance the budget, Barnes presented two scenarios, both of which eliminated more than 100 positions. One of the scenarios also increased class sizes in middle schools and high schools.

Several board members expressed concerns about the recommendations.

"I am really concerned about cutting special education service levels, knowing that...we already are not meeting all the needs of students," said board chair Jolene Mosley.

Board member Antonia Watts expressed frustration, feeling like Barnes and the central office were withholding information until Tuesday's work session.

"I don't understand why we're having this work session when we don't have the information that board members have requested to show our priorities in a scenario being built out," Watts said.

Cat Carter, a member of the PTA Council of Howard County and a mother of five, has advocated for more funding for years. She was disappointed with this year's budget season and plans to run for the Howard County Council next year.

David Yungmann, who has represented District 5 on the county council since 2018, doesn't plan to run for re-election in 2026.

"We wouldn't be in this situation if the county council did the right thing, because our county has a spending problem and a priority problem," Carter said.

Educators' contract at risk

During the work session, board member Jacky McCoy suggested cuts could be coming for teachers.

"If we care about our children, if we care about their education, every single one of us is going to have to sacrifice," McCoy said. "Even our teachers."

The Howard County Education Association, or HCEA, just recently ratified a multi-year agreement for salary.

"It went out to a membership vote, it was passed off by the Board of Education before it went out to a membership vote," HCEA president Benjamin Schmitt said. "It's been passed."