PERRY HALL, Md. — Educators with the Teachers Association of Baltimore County called on County Executive Kathy Klausmeier to honor their wage agreement Wednesday night.
Teachers rallied in front of Perry Hall High School, where the Baltimore County Council Budget Town Hall took place, chanting, "Want us to stay, increase our pay."
VIDEO: Baltimore County teachers rally to keep their wage agreement
In 2023 they won a three-year wage deal with Baltimore County Public Schools that included a total raise of 14% over three years.
But uncertainty from the federal government could threaten that agreement, especially with President Donald Trump set to shut down the Department of Education.
TABCO President, Cindy Sexton, told WMAR 2 News teachers want to make sure they're not caught in the crossfire.
"We had all taken a lower amount on that first year because we knew years two and three were going to be more beneficial, and we're concerned. Since my first day as president, my concern has been about recruiting and retaining our educators, and we can't do that if promises made to them aren't kept," Sexton said.
Baltimore County Executive Kathy Klausmeier responded to their worries at the budget town hall meeting immediately following the rally.
She said difficult times, including the $3 billion budget deficit in the state, may call for some tough decisions.
"This uncertainty means that we are facing challenges to continue funding ongoing programs and new initiatives. We are proud of what we've delivered, but we want to continue to paint a realistic picture of the challenges we are facing and the difficult decisions we will need to make," she told the crowd.
The Director of the Office of Finance and Budget for the county, Kevin Reed, painted that realistic picture.
He said county government is concerned about the around $400 million they expect to receive from the federal government.
And on top of that, there is a $62 million gap between the money allotted for the county budget and the total requests they've received.
So what do county teachers plan to do if they don't like what they see when the budget is released?
"Depending on that, we may, all five bargaining units, may have to go back to the negotiation table. We are hopeful that the county council and the county executive will tell the school system, Look, we're giving you this money; you need to keep the promise to the bargaining units first and then figure out the cuts because we know it's a tight budget year," Sexton said.
Klausmeier will submit the budget to the council on April 11th.
The council will then review it for about a month before they approve the budget at the end of May.
