For the third year in a row, Baltimore County Public Schools is facing another difficult budget season.

Despite the $169 million of cuts in the last couple of years, tough decisions continue to plague Superintendent Myriam Rogers, who plans to present a balanced budget to the school board Jan. 13.

She has to keep her promise of raising staff salaries and she’s asking the county government for less money than she did last year. But since the school district lost over 2,000 students, state money will decrease as well.

Meanwhile, the 11-member school board has been divided, voting in two blocs — six on one side and five on the other. They’ll need seven votes to approve the budget.

Here’s a closer look at fiscal 2027 budget challenges.

Salary raises

School system employees from five unions are due for a 5% salary increase next year — the final increase in a three-year deal they negotiated in 2023.

Budget challenges last year revealed that the school system did not have a funding plan for the compensation package before agreeing to it, resulting in delays to the promised raises.

Rogers said her 2027 budget will include the agreed-upon salary increases. To do that, “we have to bring reductions forward,” she said at a Dec. 2 board meeting.

Last year, that meant moving mental health staff from being 12-month to 10-month employees and eliminating over 400 positions.

Help from the county?

At the same board meeting, Rogers said that County Executive Kathy Klausmeier is expecting to give the school system only 2% more than the county gave last year.

County funding was a big part of last year’s dramatic budget process. At the time, Rogers asked the county executive for an unprecedented 11%, or $100 million, more than what the county gave the year prior. The money would have covered the second year of salary raises at a cost of $61 million.

State law requires local governments to give more money to their school districts each year; the superintendent’s request last year, however, was too high for Klausmeier, who said no before the request officially reached her desk.

After the back and forth, the county did give 3.5% more for the current fiscal 2026 budget.

Enrollment decline

Baltimore County, the third-largest school district in Maryland, has 108,017 students. That’s 2,049 fewer kids than the last school year, reflecting a statewide trend.

Maryland lost over 11,000 public school students this school year, which is much more than state leaders expected. Baltimore County officials’ estimates were off by more than 2,700 students, a report showed.

It’s unclear what is causing the enrollment decline. What is clear, however, is the trouble it causes. Enrollment dictates how much money Maryland gives each school district. Fewer kids means less money.

A divided board

The county’s school board has repeatedly voted in two groups. Although one group has six members and the other has five, the board needs more than a simple majority to pass the budget.

The board has 12 seats, but one remains empty after former member Tiara Booker-Dwyer left to become a deputy superintendent in Virginia.

Last month, the 11-member board failed to pick a new chair and vice chair after multiple rounds of voting that kept resulting in a 6-5 split. They need seven votes to approve something, according to their policies.

Neither of Rogers’ last two budgets received a unanimous vote. Those in opposition have critiqued the lack of detail presented to them or disapproved of passing a budget the county executive said she wouldn’t fund.

If the voting blocs remain the same, Rogers’ budget could face an impasse.

Cuts continue

With rising salaries to pay for, and less funding from the state and county, Rogers will have to find more to cut. She’s already shaved nearly $169 million from the last two budgets by cutting hundreds of positions, ending some academic programs and freezing central office hiring.

She’s also turned to the Baltimore County community for input. In an annual budget survey, school officials asked parents and staff whether the district should continue funding Omnilert, the artificial intelligence-powered weapon detection software.

The technology came under fire in the fall after a false alarm resulted in police pointing their guns at a teen who was only holding a bag of chips. School officials said Omnilert was working as intended and committed to retraining staff.

The district has a three-year, $2.6 million contract with Omnilert that ends in 2027.

About the Education Hub

This reporting is part of The Banner’s Education Hub, community-funded journalism that provides parents with resources they need to make decisions about how their children learn. Read more.