BEL AIR, Md. — Harford County Executive Bob Cassilly and the Board of Education have reached a compromise on the school system's operating budget for Fiscal Year 2024.
The new agreement increases total yearly funding to $25 million.
Of that amount $15 million will come from the school system's reserve fund, which previously Cassilly said was more than $90 million.
In turn the County will contribute an additional $10 million aimed at raising teacher salaries and/or reducing class sizes.
That money will come from an overall 2.5 percent cut Cassilly proposed countywide in his annual budget.
In April Cassilly drew criticism for initially proposing $305 million towards school funding, which is the minimum required by state law.
School leaders claimed Cassilly's original proposal would've been a $19.4 million reduction from fiscal year 2023, and $39 million below what the Board of Education requested. They equated that to about a $1,000 loss for each student.
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There was also concern teacher wages would become less competitive and classes would grow in size.
At first Cassilly pushed back on those claims, saying the school system would end up receiving more money than prior years when combining county tax dollars and increased state funding.
As part of this new plan, Cassilly and the Board of Education say they will follow a budget process that includes year-round collaboration on budgeting.
