Dozens of residents testified during Howard County Executive Calvin Ball’s second public hearing on the budget, with many calling for the same priority – a fully funded school system.

Howard County Superintendent Bill Barnes spoke March 20 about the need for support of special education programs, school safety, capital projects, investing in educators and improved human resources to help recruit and retain staff.

“Our school system is recognized for its high expectations for learning, for its access to a wide range of differentiated programming, and for its commitment to greatness for each and every student,” Barnes said. “And though we are proud of our reputation, we are in a constant pursuit for improvement.”

Barnes said that while the Board of Education recognized that the county wouldn’t be able to fully fund its recently approved $1.26 billion budget request, members felt it was necessary to build a request that incorporated community demands.

In a letter to the board sent last week, Ball called the request “unattainable and unaffordable.”

Board Chair Jolene Mosley said the school board is aware of the budget constraints the county is facing in addition to the impact of state and federal government financing decisions. But she said funding has not kept up with rising costs due to inflation, with adjusted per pupil funding remaining about the same since 2010.

“While we continue to expand community services for students, we are doing so by stretching and redesigning our existing resources rather than receiving the adequate funding needed to effectively deliver these services,” Mosley said.

Several others at the hearing urged Ball to fully fund the education board’s request, pointing again to a failure to keep up with inflation.

The district has also been facing the impacts of last year’s budget cuts along with growing transportation needs, student mental health and other challenges after the COVID-19 pandemic, Benjamin Schmitt, president of the Howard County Education Association, said. The board’s budget request is lower than years past as county spending for K-12 schools has declined, he said.

“Times of uncertainty call for unity, strong leadership and highlighting what makes Howard County the place to be, not just throwing up our hands,” Schmitt said. “Yes, there’s a host of unknowns in the coming months and years, but even if you think that the outlook is grim, it would be a mistake to underfund the very school system that underpins the county’s tax base.”

In the weeks leading up to approval of the budget request, community members called for more support for special education with educators citing overwhelming caseloads and parents saying the needs of their students aren’t being met. Others called for hiring full-time athletic trainers at each high school after an incident that left a student quadriplegic following a basketball practice.

The board added special education positions and athletic trainers for each high school to its budget request. On Thursday, community members again shared passionate testimony as they urged Ball to fund the items.

“Special education is in crisis,” Board Vice Chair Linfeng Chen said, noting he was speaking apart from his role on the board. “We must invest in special education to meet the legal requirements and support the students effectively.”

Many residents said they were encouraged to move to Howard County due to its school system’s reputation.

However, they said the quality of the school system is beginning to crack. One parent compared county funding for schools to a game of Jenga.

“Imagine that block tower is our vision of Howard County as a sanctuary of educational excellence,” said Corinne Happel. “Each year, the county cuts another block from the foundation of the tower and hopes not to topple the vision.”

The county’s budget season comes as state lawmakers continue working through plans to address a $3 billion budget deficit while also grappling with federal government cuts. Ball addressed the impacts being felt by families in the county while Holly Sun, the county’s budget administrator, emphasized the fiscal uncertainty looming over the region.

With about 11% of the county’s workforce hired directly by federal agencies, Howard County could feel a “sizable” impact on expenditures and a loss of income tax revenue, Sun said. The state’s budget will also shift more costs to the county, she said.

In addition, the county could also risk losing millions in federal grants it planned to receive or applied for, Sun said. About $95 million in federal loans have been awarded but not yet fully dispersed, mainly for the Ellicott City Safe and Sound project, which could also be at risk.

“We know these are tumultuous times in which we are budgeting, but we need to hear your priorities as we try to move forward,” said Ball, who must present to the county council the proposed operating budget by April 1 and the capital budget by April 20.

The council reviews the county executive’s budget, holding work sessions and hearings for public comment and making adjustments. The council then must approve the budget by June 1, with this year’s adoption scheduled during a May 21 legislative session.

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