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

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

CBS News27-05-2025
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."
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Trump signs executive order to 'protect' college sports
Trump signs executive order to 'protect' college sports

Politico

time10 hours ago

  • Politico

Trump signs executive order to 'protect' college sports

The Departments of Justice, Education, Health and Human Services, as well as the Federal Trade Commission will have to develop a plan to effectuate Trump's policy within 30 days. It is not immediately clear how the White House intends to enforce such a directive, but the Trump administration has been aggressive in pushing its agenda on universities before, such as its efforts to bring colleges to heel for their handling of campus antisemitism. The NCAA and universities have lobbied Congress to pass legislation that would cement their authority over the college athletics system. Two House committees on Wednesday advanced a bill that would bar student-athletes from being considered employees and, similarly to the executive order, shield intercollegiate sports officials from federal antitrust law. Three of the committee chairs leading that effort praised Trump and said the legislation, known as the SCORE Act, 'will complement the President's executive order, and we look forward to working with all of our colleagues in Congress to build a stronger and more durable college sports environment.' Trump's executive order comes hours after Charlie Baker, the head of the NCAA, said such action would be largely insufficient to address the structural issues with the collegiate sports industry. 'Our focus for now really needs to be on trying to get this stuff dealt with through the legislative process because that, at the end of the day, is really the only vehicle we feel can deal with those issues,' he said at the National Press Club in D.C. After Trump's order was issued, Baker issued a statement saying that the NCAA 'appreciates the Trump Administration's focus on the life-changing opportunities college sports provides millions of young people and we look forward to working with student-athletes, a bipartisan coalition in Congress and the Trump Administration to enhance college sports for years to come.'

Parents seeking religious exemptions to school vaccines win reprieve in a West Virginia county
Parents seeking religious exemptions to school vaccines win reprieve in a West Virginia county

Hamilton Spectator

time11 hours ago

  • Hamilton Spectator

Parents seeking religious exemptions to school vaccines win reprieve in a West Virginia county

A West Virginia judge on Thursday allowed the children of three families in one county to attend school this fall without required vaccinations, the latest move in a showdown between Republican Gov. Patrick Morrisey and the state Board of Education. Raleigh County Circuit Judge Michael Froble issued a preliminary injunction less than a month before the start of the new school year. The ruling involves children whose parents sued and are claiming religious exemptions to a long-standing school vaccine mandate. Morrisey issued an executive order upon taking office allowing such religious exemptions. But the board voted last month to direct public schools to ignore the order and instead follow school vaccine requirements that are laid out in state law and prohibit the exemptions. Froble's ruling came in a lawsuit that was filed June 24 . The injunction was limited to the three children of the plaintiffs who sued the state and local departments of education, and has no impact statewide. Morrisey, who served as West Virginia's attorney general from 2013 until he was sworn in as governor in January, said he believes the religious exemptions to vaccinations should already be permitted under a 2023 law passed by the Legislature called the Equal Protection for Religion Act . 'Today's ruling is another legal victory in the fight for religious freedom,' Morrisey said in a statement. 'No family should be forced to choose between their faith and their children's education, which is exactly what the unelected bureaucrats on the State Board of Education are attempting to force West Virginians to do.' The board said in a statement that it was disappointed by the ruling and that its members 'will decide next steps in the near future.' The original lawsuit doesn't explain what specific religion the families follow. It was filed on behalf of parent Miranda Guzman, who identifies as a Christian and said that altering her child's natural immune system through required vaccinations 'would demonstrate a lack of faith in God' and 'disobey the Holy Spirit's leading.' The suit was later amended to add two other parents. Most religious denominations and groups support medical vaccinations, according to the American Bar Association . Vaccination mandates for public schools are seen as a way of to prevent the spread of once-common childhood diseases such as measles, mumps, whooping cough, chickenpox and polio. But due in part to vaccine hesitancy, some preventable and deadly diseases are on the rise. For example, the U.S. is having its worst year for measles spread in more than three decades. Medical experts have long heralded West Virginia's school vaccination policy as one of the most protective in the country for children. State law requires children to receive vaccines for chickenpox, hepatitis B, measles, meningitis, mumps, diphtheria, polio, rubella, tetanus and whooping cough before starting school. Several states grant medical exemptions from school vaccinations. At least 30 states have religious freedom laws modeled after the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act, signed in 1993 by then-President Bill Clinton. It allows federal regulations that interfere with religious beliefs to be challenged. On Wednesday, a Kanawha County judge dismissed a separate lawsuit against Morrisey's executive order because it didn't give the required 30 days' notice prior to being filed. That lawsuit, filed on behalf of two Cabell County parents, will be allowed to be refiled. It alleged that only the Legislature, not the governor, has the authority to make such decisions. During their regular session that ended in April, lawmakers failed to pass legislation that was introduced to allow religious exemptions for school vaccine mandates.

Parents seeking religious exemptions to school vaccines win reprieve in a West Virginia county
Parents seeking religious exemptions to school vaccines win reprieve in a West Virginia county

Washington Post

time11 hours ago

  • Washington Post

Parents seeking religious exemptions to school vaccines win reprieve in a West Virginia county

A West Virginia judge on Thursday allowed the children of three families in one county to attend school this fall without required vaccinations, the latest move in a showdown between Republican Gov. Patrick Morrisey and the state Board of Education. Raleigh County Circuit Judge Michael Froble issued a preliminary injunction less than a month before the start of the new school year. The ruling involves children whose parents sued and are claiming religious exemptions to a long-standing school vaccine mandate.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store