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CBS News
4 days ago
- Politics
- CBS News
Baltimore County teachers to rally again Tuesday over promised pay raises
The Teachers Association of Baltimore County (TABCO) is set to rally again Tuesday evening, continuing to push Baltimore County Public Schools to adhere to the terms of a previously approved three-year pay raise agreement. TABCO calls for promised pay raises In April, Baltimore County Public Schools teachers began re-negotiating a three-year pay raise that had been previously approved. Baltimore County Public Schools (BCPS) had initially committed to a 5% raise for educators as part of a three-year compensation package. However, after the district received less funding than requested from County Executive Kathy Klausmeier's budget, the offer was reduced to 1.5%. On May 28, TABCO protested at three major intersections, including Liberty and Milford Mill roads. There, educators voiced their frustrations over what they are calling a broken promise. "Everybody's frustrated, teachers are angry," Cindy Sexton, president of TABCO, said. "I go through the county, and you can see some schools are holding up signs outside. You know they want the agreed-upon money that we were guaranteed. Other counties around us are doing a better job and making better offers." After further negotiations, BCPS announced a revised compensation timeline. Under a revised agreement with four of the five unions representing district employees, teachers would still receive the full 5% raise, but not until Jan. 1, 2026. The original raise was set to take effect July 1, 2025. While closer to the initial agreement, the teachers' union says the existing proposal falls short of the compensation that was previously agreed on. TABCO has not accepted the new deal. The union is expected to vote on whether to declare an impasse — a formal process that could lead to third-party arbitration to resolve the issue. But as of last week, Sexton said TABCO members were still too angry to take that step forward. "Our members are definitely not in the position to do that," Sexton said. "They are still very angry. They still want to keep showing up every day in these walk-ins, walk-outs, and work-to-rule actions." Tuesday's rally is set to take place at 5:30 p.m.
CBS News
21-05-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Baltimore County school leaders scramble to fund teacher raises and close budget gap
Baltimore County Public Schools is working to finalize its budget ahead of a key vote by the County Council on Thursday. Superintendent Dr. Myriam Rogers said her team has spent the past few months pushing for a larger budget. But they received only a portion of what they asked for from the county executive, forcing the district to rework its financial plans. "Tomorrow afternoon, the Baltimore County Council will vote on the fiscal year 2026 operating budget," Rogers said. Rogers' staff has been analyzing numbers to close a wide funding gap and determine how to honor a previously negotiated three-year compensation package for teachers. "We have been hard at work night and day. The budget team has run and re-run numbers," Rogers said. No specific dollar figures have been shared before the Thursday vote. Rogers and her team are expected to present the revised proposal to the Baltimore County Council before the vote. Rogers added that every dollar in the request is essential. "As every dollar in the request is needed to deliver the best possible education for 110,000 students and to move our system forward," Rogers said. Baltimore County teachers seek salary increases Cindy Sexton, president of the Teachers Association of Baltimore County, said educators are feeling the strain. "There are teachers who are ready to resign, so a lot is going on, and of course, money is not the only issue," Sexton said. "We know that teaching is hard work." The compensation package was meant to increase salaries over three years, but financial uncertainty at the state and federal levels has put that promise at risk. "There is anger, there is angst, there is disappointment, there is frustration," Sexton said. "There are all of those things because, as I just said, we had a three-year deal." Still, Rogers remains optimistic. "With the additional state funds we have confirmed are available to BCPS for FY26 and further savings measures, I am confident that we will decrease the funding gap and finalize a compensation package for our dedicated BCPS staff members that is comparable to county government," she said.
