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HCPSS Minimum Wage Raised to $14 per Hour

February 17th, 2022

During a recent closed meeting, the Board of Education voted to raise the minimum wage for hourly Howard County Public School System staff to $14 per hour. The new wage will be implemented for the pay period beginning on Feb. 24, 2022, and will be funded as part of the HCPSS FY22 Operating Budget.

All staff currently receiving hourly wages below $14 will receive the increase. Among the staff directly impacted by this change are elementary lunch and recess monitors who serve an invaluable role in all our elementary schools.

Recently, the Howard County Council passed legislation, effective in April, to increase minimum wage. The Board’s increase aligns to the County’s new rates for 2023 but implements the increase prior to the County’s start date of April 1, 2022.

“The Board has made it a priority to compensate the people who have worked tirelessly to help the school system navigate through a most challenging time; this includes our critical hourly staff who support our schools,” said Board of Education Chair Vicky Cutroneo. “It is important that we continue to provide competitive pay scales and rates to both attract new employees and retain current staff.”

“The employees and temporary staff who support our students, schools and classrooms are an essential part of our organization, particularly as we have navigated the challenges brought on by the pandemic,” said HCPSS Superintendent Dr. Michael Martirano. “In alignment with the recent increases in pay for substitute teachers, this hourly wage increase benefits our essential temporary staff and helps retain and attract more candidates to HCPSS.”

HCPSS has included $234,000 in the FY23 budget to support increased wages in FY23, which would support any additional costs for the minimum wage change. This is based on current pandemic-level staffing for these positions. The budget office will monitor staffing levels to adjust budget authority as needed.