BEL AIR, Md. — A $1.2 billion budget sits before the Harford County Council to vote on next month, but cuts in education have people in the community upset.
Thursday evening, the Harford County Council heard public comment on the proposed 2024 budget. It brought a crowd together that marched in solidarity through Bel Air, showing concern for the future of education in Harford County.
The crowd bonded together in red, holding signs that expressed their requests.
This comes after County Executive Bob Cassilly proposed about $305 million for Harford County Public Schools. School officials say it's about $19.5 million less than they got last year.
"Our hope is that they hear our voices, they hear the. Demands that we need to send Bob Cassilly and his team back to the drawing board, and they need to create and budget that suits our needs,” said Chrystie Crawford-Smick, who is the Harford County Education Association President.
The group marched down the sidewalk to the county council chambers. To teachers, those steps and chants mean they are fighting for their own needs as well as the children's.
"We are fighting for our budget; without the money, we are unable to provide for our students. I'm a special educator; she's a music teacher; we both have programs that need to be funded in order to help our kids,” said a Meadowvale Elementary School teacher.
The teachers say they fear their classes will double in size. That’s because they say teacher salaries won’t compete with the surrounding counties, pushing teachers elsewhere.
The proposal was a surprise to some that brought out strong emotions.
"We just feel like it's a slap in the face, it's been a tough couple years for the kids, for educators and I really thought Mr. Cassilly would respect that and understand that and fund our schools. And I’m hoping he changes his mind,” said Karen Yancone, who is a Churchville Elementary School Teacher.
"We're grateful to be able to express how important the funding is to HCPS and the community. We have an amazing county, and we need to keep it that way. We want Harford County to be a place where people want to live and work, and we should invest in our children's education,” said one HCPS employee.
In a statement to WMAR last month, Cassilly claimed HCPS has about $90 million in unspent funding from prior years that would fully fund the HCPS budget. He stated the county is facing an uncertain economic future and that he will not raise taxes on hard working taxpayers to provide additional funds.
The Harford County Council will hold one more hearing next week on May 10 for public comment.
