Harford County Public Schools is proposing the elimination of 150 positions and lower raises for employees next year as school officials work to reduce a $60 million budget deficit.

The deficit that has plagued the district’s FY26 budget comprised a $20 million salary package, $10 million in cost increases and $30 million needed to make up for the $30 million the school system pulled from its savings account to cover its operating budget last year.

Based on current revenue projections from the state, county and other revenue sources — all of which are subject to change — Harford County Superintendent Sean Bulson proposed that the system reduce its salary package from $20 million to $13 million, reduce 150 positions equaling a savings of $15 million, and use $10 million in savings as opposed to $30 million.

“We are at a place where we have to make tough decisions,” Bulson said during his presentation to the Board of Education on Monday night. “This proposal is based on the financial health of the school system and what I think is the best path forward for the school system.”

Bulson emphasized that he is confident the school system will be able to cut the 150 positions through turnover with staff retiring or not returning to the district next year. However, he said the reduction will impact students.

“Unequivocally, yes this will impact student achievement,” Bulson said. “I can’t balance this budget in a way that doesn’t impact student achievement.”

Last year, Harford’s school system cut 22.2 full-time equivalent positions and most summer programs to lower expenses by $7.6 million and balance its budget.

The school system’s request for funds from the county last year was $354.91 million, in order to stave off layoffs and allow the school system to operate identical to the year before. Harford schools received $321.35 million from County Executive Bob Cassilly — leaving the school system with a deficit just over $30 million that was filled primarily by the school system’s savings.

Bulson noted Monday night that using the school system’s savings to fund recurring expenses is not sustainable and that the Board of Education has been working to lower the amount of savings needed to fund the operating budget.

With the proposed FY26 reductions, Harford schools’ funding request to the county government is projected to be about $347.6 million — an increase of $26.24 million compared with last year and a reduction of about $33.76 million to the $60 million deficit.

In a statement Tuesday, Cassilly called the $26.24 million increase a “step in the right direction” but said it still outpaces the county’s estimated 3% revenue growth.

Cassilly has cited the state’s less than 1% revenue growth as a burden to county revenue as Harford County is part of a “regional economy” which he said suffers when state revenue growth is low.

With low revenue growth and larger funding requests, Cassilly said the county is working to reduce costs and create a balanced budget without increasing taxes. However, Cassilly noted in his statement that Harford could face an additional $6 million in new funding mandates linked to teacher salaries and pensions from the statewide funding imitative, Blueprint for Maryland’s Future.

“Considering these challenges, I encourage the school board to carefully review the superintendent’s requested budget, as we all continue working together on behalf of the citizens we serve,” Cassilly said in his statement.

On Monday night, Bulson also pointed out many issues he said superintendents across the state have with Blueprint for Maryland’s Future. Many of Bulson’s concerns focused on the initiative’s plans to fund expensive programs and areas of education budgets that he said do not yield a return on investment.

Citing the high cost of Blueprint, Bulson said he would like to see things like college and career readiness be more of a funding priority in the Blueprint and a reduction in spending in other areas to allow school systems the ability to fund initiatives to hire more teachers and lower class sizes.

“The way [the Blueprint] is currently designed, this is the blueprint to increase class sizes in the state of Maryland,” Bulson said.

Since the start of FY26 budget conversations, school officials have pitched the idea of implementing fees for athletics, transportation and magnet schools, along with closing smaller schools like Darlington Elementary, to save money.

Bulson said his proposal does not include closing any school facilities or implementing fees other than the system’s already existing “use of facility” fee that he said he would like to get up to market rate.

Bulson explained that he is opposed to passing fees on to parents and students because it would generate more angst than revenue significant enough to fill the school’s budget deficit.

Bulson said he is focusing on cutting costs to ensure that Harford schools come up with a sustainable budget that delivers the most to students given the current fiscal realities of the state and its low revenue projections.

The proposed budget is subject to change based on school board deliberations and fluctuating revenue projections.

On Feb. 6, the Board of Education will host a public input session on Harford schools’ fiscal 2026 budget at 6 p.m. at the A.A. Roberty Building at 102 S. Hickory Ave. in Bel Air.

Board members are set to vote on the proposed budget Feb. 10.

Have a news tip? Contact Matt Hubbard at mhubbard@baltsun.com, 443-651-0101 or @mthubb on X.