Howard School Board adopts $1.5 billion budget; now it goes to the county

The Howard County Board of Education adopted a nearly $1.5 billion fiscal year 2025 budget Thursday evening that reduces the number of looming staff cuts and restores popular school programs.

The approval comes after weeks of public hearings and work sessions, including one budget deliberation earlier in the week that a board member said was “like a bad dream.”

The fiscal year 2025 operating budget passed 5-0. School board members Linfeng Chen and Vice Chair Yun Lu were not present at the vote.

Of the $1.5 billion, the school system is requesting a $1.14 billion general fund.

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The school board was first scheduled to adopt a budget on Feb. 29, then it was moved to Tuesday and finally, Thursday. Confusion permeated Tuesday’s work session, with school board members repeatedly asking for clarifications and questioning aspects of the budget. After not reaching a consensus on any of the proposals, the budget adoption vote was pushed to Thursday.

Acting Superintendent Bill Barnes proposed a $1.13 billion general fund spending plan in January. To address the school system’s then-$103.8 million budget gap, Barnes suggested nearly 348 staff cuts, eliminating well-liked school programs and increasing class sizes by two students. (The budget gap in the superintendent’s proposal has since slightly fallen to $99.3 million, based on updated revenue numbers from the state).

The school board’s spending plan eliminates approximately 132 school-based positions and 92 non-school-based positions.

Unlike the superintendent’s proposal, the budget approved Thursday includes increasing class sizes by one student in each class at middle and high schools, with no increase at the elementary level. The board’s spending plan also restores many proposed eliminations community members rallied to protect the past several weeks, including library media specialist positions, the Howard County Conservancy teaching position and high school science paraeducators.

The community also pushed back on the proposals to defund a third grade orchestra and reduce Gifted and Talented offerings to elementary schoolers. The board restored both programs to elementary schools with free and reduced meal percentages equal to or above 40% of the school’s overall student population.

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“I think we have heard a lot from our community about how we really need to consider equity and we need to tend to equity, and I think sometimes equity and equality are getting conflated. This budget that draws a line at 40% is focusing on the students that need it the most,” said school board member Antonia Watts. “It is not an equality-based budget. It is an equity-based budget.”

From here, the school board’s operating budget goes to County Executive Calvin Ball, who will submit his own budget proposal, including funding for the school system, to the County Council in late April. After the council deliberates Ball’s proposal, they will approve a final county budget at the end of May, and then the school board will adopt its final operating budget.

The school board is asking the county government for an additional $55.2 million, $8.2 million more than what Barnes proposed.

Between now and May, funding levels can change based on how much the school system receives from the county and the state.

“You have my commitment that staff and I will stay fully engaged with you between now and May, when the County Council determines our final funding allocation, so we are prepared for the conversations and decisions that will need to occur in a much more condensed window of time,” Barnes said.

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Barnes took the helm of the school system after Superintendent Michael J. Martirano retired Jan. 10.

The school board also approved a $75.7 million fiscal year 2025 capital budget request, a $522 million fiscal year 2026-2030 capital improvement program request, and a $1.1 billion fiscal year 2025-2034 long-range master plan.

This story has been updated to reflect that the school system is requesting a $1.14 billion general fund from the overall $1.5 billion budget.

Jess Nocera

jess.nocera@thebaltimorebanner.com