HARFORD, Md. — “What we're trying to help everyone understand is flat funding equal service cuts," that's Harford County Superintendent Dr. Sean Bulson. He says flat funding is what the budget reflects.
Harford County Executive Bob Cassilly is denying the request for 40 million dollars for the school budget. Because of that some programs may be at risk.
Lashea Davis-Williams, whose son is in elementary school, says she is worried about what the school system will look like beyond the next school year.
“Safety and security is a high priority. A lot of those additional supports though that are in classrooms to help all children be successful, I'm concerned about those being cut as well," says LeShea Davis-Williams “Hearing a lot of what was even shared tonight, I'm envisioning and thinking about how is that going to impact my son, how is that going to impact his friends," says Williams.
The Harford County School System wants feedback from the community on potential changes for the 2025 budget.
That's why the superintendent held a budget information session Wednesday night.
Superintendent Bulson says while he supports "Maryland’s Blueprint for Education", he does think it needs some revision since there are a lot of programs not supported within the legislation.
“The messaging to those jurisdictions has been the school systems have enough you know you don’t need to give them more and it has enough to pay for the blueprint piece but it doesn’t have enough to pay for all of these things we value in this system and its part of how we educate our kids," says Dr. Bulson.
The school system is now looking to make cuts in certain areas.
Things like after-school programs, summer school, athletics, and employee positions may have to change or be cut to make more room in the current budget.
County Executive Cassilly says he is making the best decisions for the overall county budget. In a statement, he says:
“My fiscal year 2025 budget calls for Harford County Public Schools to receive $314,852,402 next year, which is the largest share by far of our general fund revenue and the same amount we provided for their operations in the current fiscal year.”
But with potential changes to programming, parents, and teachers say the school system should get more funding.
"Again, thinking about my experiences as a child and the things that I was exposed to, they have all helped define who I am today, so I want him to have as many opportunities and access to learning as much as possible," says Williams.
The County Executive also says the school system has a tax reserve they can use to cover expenses, he says quote:
“While I would have preferred to do more, I will not ask taxpayers for more of their paychecks when HCPS is sitting on immense untapped savings.”
“There is a reserve. The amount that is available in that reserve right now is around $50 million. So yes, we could cover the entire budget request with that reserve, but that’s one-time money, and so there would be nothing left," says Dr. Bulson.
Williams says she hopes that by the time the final budget is approved, the county and the school system will make the best decision for the student's future.
“We owe it to them to do everything that we can to make sure that they receive the best education and their needs are met while they are in school to help prepare them for the future, and I hope they keep that in mind.”
The superintendent will host another budget information session on Monday.
After that, the school board will present its proposed budget to the county council on April 29th.
