Howard County School District to Receive Nearly Full Funding Request
Howard County schools secure near-full funding with record $57M boost
If what's proposed goes through, Howard County's school district will get nearly its entire funding request granted.
Howard County Executive Calvin Ball unveiled his allocation for public education Monday afternoon, ahead of revealing his full proposed operating budget for fiscal year 2027.
Typically in the budget season, how much the Howard County Public School System (HCPSS) gets can be a bit of a sore topic. But, given the smiles seen when Ball announced this allocation, it appears the school district will be able to get everything it wants.
Public school funding
Ball is pitching to give more than $871 million to HCPSS, which would cover 99.3% of the school district's funding request.
He said it's an increase of $57 million from the last budget, making it the highest growth budget-to-budget.
"In a tough budget year, we knew this was a substantial ask, yet we also know the needs of our school system and our students are great, as is our priority of public education," Ball said.
When Howard County Board of Education chair Jen Mallo took to the mic at a news conference about the allocation, she exclaimed, "Yowza!"
"This is fantastic," Mallo said. "This funding allocation provides stability while protecting essential programs."
The Board of Education voted in February to send Ball's office a more than $1.6 billion operating funding request. With federal funding, the total allocation to public schools will be nearly $1.3 billion.
HCPSS superintendent Bill Barnes said there won't be an issue to fill the gap, saying Ball's proposed budget "provides a clear path forward, allowing me to recommend with great confidence a solution...that leverages updated projections and available unassigned fund balance."
Ultimately, it's up to the Howard County Council exactly how much will go to HCPSS. The first public hearing for the county's operating budget is Monday, April 27, at 6 p.m. at the George Howard Government Building.
Building this year's budget
In his initial proposal this budget cycle, Barnes pitched a $1.3 billion budget that reallocated many positions, namely paraeducators.
The staffing reallocations, as well as other investments, were aimed to bolster services and experiences for special education students and students who are multilingual. Barnes said those students, historically, underperform year after year.
The reallocations caused a lot of community backlash, which lead to the Board of Education restoring all the positions in its request.
With the staffing restorations looking to stay, Barnes said it'll help the school year end on a high note.
"Instead of [having a school year end] filled with anxiety, concern and questions," Barnes said.
In his proposed capital budget, Ball is looking to fully fund HCPSS's $116.6 million capital funding request.
This is the fifth year in a row Ball has done this.
