Despite warnings about a looming state budget crisis, Anne Arundel County Superintendent Mark Bedell on Wednesday unveiled a $1.65 billion spending plan for next school year with hefty proposed investments in special education, teacher collaboration and pay raises for staff.

Bedell acknowledged Gov. Wes Moore’s recent comments about a projected multibillion-dollar state budget shortfall during his presentation to the school board. But since the scope of the problem is not yet known, he stressed that the district must remain flexible as it waits for more information.

“Behind every single number I have mentioned tonight, and the thousands contained in the full budget recommendation book, is a child, a precious child, whose future we hold in our collective hands,” Bedell said. “Our children, each and every one of them, are depending on us to obtain the necessary resources and use them to shape that future.”

The fiscal year 2026 budget Bedell presented Wednesday is 9% larger than the district’s current spending plan. It relies on a projected $39.9 million bump in state revenue and a $94.4 million increase in county revenue. The superintendent projects that federal funding for the school system will remain flat.

Noting that the number of students with special needs has jumped by 5% each of the last two years, Bedell proposed using $16.3 million to boost the number of special education and early intervention staff positions across the county.

He wants to hire 91 more classroom teachers, 28 individualized education plan facilitators and 26 “birth-to-5” services workers.

Bedell said the district badly needs staff members devoted to special education students’ individualized education plans, or IEPs, which have become increasingly complex. Dedicated staff to manage those plans will help students and alleviate classroom teachers’ workloads, he added.

Kristina Korona, president of the Teachers Association of Anne Arundel County, praised Bedell’s budget, noting that additional staffing in special education is desperately needed right now.

“All school year, our special educators have been raising concerns about their struggles to keep up with the pressing demands of federal special education requirements and the difficulties of managing student behaviors, especially in the elementary schools,” she wrote in a statement.

Bedell’s budget also sets aside $13.4 million would give teachers more “collaborative time” out of the classroom to work on curriculum planning, grading and professional development. It’s a key part of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, landmark education reform legislation aimed at making the state’s schools the best in the nation.

But Moore last week said he may pause that provision to save money. He’s expected to unveil his state spending plan in January.

The largest chunk of new spending in Bedell’s proposed budget is the nearly $57 million he has set aside for employee compensation increases, including a 3% cost-of-living adjustment for all employees. Bedell also used the budget presentation to tout other employee benefits and perks, like generous health care and flexibility to work remotely the Tuesday before Thanksgiving.

“It has all been designed to relay a simple message to our employees. We want you here. We appreciate you,” he said.

Other key elements of the spending plan include: $3.5 million in operating and capital budget costs to construct more security vestibules at schools, enhance school security camera systems throughout the county, and launch a pilot program to install noninvasive weapons detection systems at two yet-to-be-determined schools.

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