HCPSS Acting Superintendent Presents 2024-2025 Operating Budget Proposal

January 19th, 2024

Howard County Public School System Acting Superintendent William J. Barnes presented his proposed operating budget for fiscal year 2024-2025 (FY 2025) to the Board of Education on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024.

The FY 2025 budget proposal totals $1.13 billion, representing an increase of $25 million, or 2.3% over FY 2024. The proposed budget seeks to balance a $103 million dollar gap stemming from a $32.1 million deficit from previously utilized one-time funds and $71.7 million in mandated and priority expenditures in addition to adding 132.3 new positions.

The $71.7 million in new costs are tied to legal mandates of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future legislation; contractual commitments to support existing obligations such as prior negotiated pay and benefits; and priorities that support existing policies along with defined goals and objectives. Of the 132.3 new positions, 55.6 are tied primarily to prekindergarten expansion requirements related to the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future that increases participation for eligible 4-year-old children from low-income families. The majority of the remaining positions (55) are added in Special Education to ensure students receive the legally mandated services they deserve and require.

The proposed budget is based on a $47 million above Maintenance of Effort request of the Howard County Government, the use of $10.2 million in anticipated available fund balance and $46.6 million in budget cuts to existing non-mandated services, including a reduction of 347.85 existing positions.

“This year’s budget process has been very different than past years,” stated Barnes. “We have listened and responded to the feedback of our Board and County partners and are doing the work now that we have historically done in May. We know the shift in process is extremely difficult and unnerving for hundreds of staff who are currently learning that their positions are being proposed to be eliminated. The recommendations contained in this budget characterize our collaborative and strategic work over the past several months to balance the budget based on revenue assumptions and current information available to us. The proposed budget represents only one budget balancing scenario and I look forward to collaborating with the Board to address our structural deficit.”

The full Superintendent’s Proposed FY 2025 Operating Budget, along with a budget timeline is available online. A public hearing is scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 25 at 7 p.m. Members of the public who wish to testify at the public hearing can register by telephone (410-313-7194 or 410-313-1584) or via online form. All comments, questions and feedback, including written testimony about the budget can be submitted to budgetfeedback@hcpss.org.

Budget Additions

Highlights of this budget’s investments include:

Mandates – $8.9 million and 55.60 new positions are added to meet cost increases to continue implementing the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future

• $3.0 million and 55.60 new positions for Prekindergarten Expansion.
• $3.5 million for new instructional technology funding requiring per pupil funding of $63 to be used for student devices, broadband, and/or technology staffing.
• $2.1 million for national board certification pay.
• $200,000 for College and Career Readiness costs.
• $31,446 for Workforce Development.

Commitments – $22.7 million and 2.00 new positions are being added to address funding commitments

• $19.7 million for financial obligations, the bulk of which is for actuarially projected health insurance cost increases at about $18.6 million and the remainder for property, liability, workers’ compensation, and other insurance increases.
• $9.0 million for student transportation contract cost increases.
• $2.9 million as a marker for the benefits (pension, FICA, and health) costs related to any new positions added in the budget.
• $302,109 and 2.00 new positions and athletic supplies to add Grade 11 at the new Guilford Park High School.
• $(9.2) million in Year-over-year Personnel Cost Change, an adjustment that appears in all program budgets that have budgeted personnel. As part of developing the budget, a detailed analysis of salary costs for existing positions has been completed to compare the assumptions of budgeted costs in the prior year to the baseline assumptions for the budget year. This analysis is done before any new positions are added or assumptions for salary increases are applied. It is essential this analysis be done due to the time lag between budget planning and the beginning of each fiscal year. The staffing profile used to develop budget salary estimates is pulled in September of each year, a full 10-month period before the beginning of the fiscal year. During that period, actual salary costs will move from budget assumptions based on staffing changes in vacancies, turnover, position recruitment, pay and classification, and final negotiated salary schedules. In some instances, the salary cost increases, in other instances the cost decreases.

Priorities – the budget adds $40.2 million and 74.70 new positions to advance priority needs

• $25.8 million is included as a marker for employee compensation increases. This amount covers a marker for increasing teacher salaries as required by Blueprint Pillar 1, which requires all school districts to increase the minimum teacher salary to $60,000 by July 1, 2026. The minimum teacher salary currently is $58,477 with HCPSS ranking 3rd in the state for starting teacher salary.
• $7.3 million and 51.50 new positions are added to meet the instruction needs for students in Special Education services.
• $2.6 million is included for utility cost increases.
• $1.8 million to maintain the student device instructional delivery model and other technology cos increases.
• $1.5 million and 13.00 new positions to maintain services that were supported by expiring COVID-Relief grants.
• $559,470 and a net increase of 7.20 positions for staffing adjustments driven by enrollment changes.
• $537,935 and 3.00 new positions for other priorities and budget changes.

Budget Reductions

To help offset some of the cost increases for the budget additions and to put forward a county funding request that is consistent with last year’s new funding amount of $47 million, the budget includes $(46.6) million in budget reductions to existing services and (347.85) in reductions to existing positions. These reductions have been grouped into two major groupings:

• Programmatic School-Based are reductions directly affecting school instruction and operation; and
• Programmatic Non-School-Based are reductions to Central Office services and systemwide costs that support students, staff, and the operation of schools.

Programmatic School-Based reductions total $(24.6) million and (245.80) existing positions. Each division summary in the budget book provides detailed information about the reductions. Highlights of reductions include:

• $(9.5) million and (144.90) positions in reductions related to increasing class size ratios by 2.0 at all levels.
• $(4.2) million and (1.0) position for reductions in the area of Special Education.
• $(2.2) million for reductions in summer school programs.
• $(2.2) million and (5.00) positions in reductions related to other supports such as behavioral supports, health services, psychological services, and pupil personnel services. This grouping also includes reductions for last year’s one-time funding related to opening Guilford Park High School.
• $(1.6) million and (23.40) positions in reductions related to period scheduling for Instructional Team Leaders.
• $(1.3) million and (20.00) positions in reductions related to Elementary Gifted and Talented programming.
• $(795,600) and (12.00) positions in reductions for Music programming.
• $(782,621) and (16.00) positions in reductions for Custodial services.
• $(707,387) and (1.00) position in reductions for College and Career Development programming.
• $(593,686) and (7.50) positions in reductions for Library Media programming.
• $(358,020) and (13.00) positions in reductions of high school Secondary Science Paraeducators and High School Testing Assistants.
• $(292,301) in reductions for curricular field trips.
• $(77,520) and (2.00) positions in reductions of Teachers’ Secretary positions.

Programmatic Non-School-Based reductions total about $(22.0) million and (102.05) positions. Each division summary in the budget book provides detailed information about the reductions. A summary of these reductions by divisional areas include:

• $(5.1) million and (37.00) positions in the Division of Operations programs.
• $(1.3) million and (7.00) positions in Internal Service Fund programs Print Services and Technology Services.
• $(1.2) million and (8.50) positions in Human Resources and Professional Development programs.
• $(1.2) million and (10.00) positions in the Department of Special Education programs.
• $(1.1) million and (4.00) positions of reductions in Executive function programs.
• $(1.1) million and (6.00) positions in Division of Administration programs.
• $(911,828) and (8.00) positions in the Division of Academics central office functions.
• $(879,864) and (10.00) positions in the Department of Program Innovation and Student Well- Being for central office functions.
• $(837,920) and (8.00) positions in the Department of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment for central office functions.
• $(775,000) in reductions to Fixed Charges for a reduction to the employee benefit credit.
• $(615,206) and (3.55) positions in the Division of School Management and Instructional Leadership central office functions; and
• $(6.9) million in Fixed Charges reductions as a marker for benefit (FICA, pension, and health insurance) cost reductions related to position reductions.

A summary schedule of these budget changes by grouping and full-time equivalent (FTE) change in positions is provided below.