Baltimore County Public Schools cut more than 400 positions last school year, with most coming from inside the schools. But the system has offered few specifics.

Overall, 438.9 positions were eliminated to save millions, school officials reported. Just over 300 of those positions came from inside schools, the system said in response to questions from The Banner. The rest were from the central office, including 17 supervisory roles in various departments, 10 interpreters, seven paraeducators in the curriculum and instruction division and five psychologists.

Instead of breaking down the number of each job title lost, the school system said only that 301.8 “school-based positions” were cut. Of those, 202.5 were in a general bucket of assistant principals, counselors, general education teachers, English language development teachers, individualized education plan facilitators, staff development teachers and special education teachers. How many of each? The system didn’t say.

The rest of the school-based cuts include 18 math coaches, eight Campfield Early Learning Center staff members (it closed at the end of last school year) and 42.8 positions — the system didn’t specify which ones — that were cut to align with decreased enrollment.

A May report from the Baltimore County government showed 486.9 full-time equivalent school system positions were eliminated to save $36 million. The school system said some of those positions were transferred out of the operating budget and into the grant-funded budget, explaining the discrepancy with the newer 438.9 figure.

Throughout the budget process, Superintendent Myriam Rogers made it clear that cuts had to happen to save money. No staff member was laid off, the school system reported in January. The budget prioritizes students and staff, Rogers said.

A spokesperson denied a request to interview school system officials.

The Baltimore County school system, like other Maryland public school districts, faced a difficult budget landscape as state mandates for education reform ramped up and federal funding was ending.

But, unlike other school districts, Baltimore County has not been transparent about the cuts before the school board approves the budget.

The Howard County Public School System, for example, reported that 39 positions in elementary gifted and talented, 21 elementary media paraeducators and 12 high school secretaries were among the recommended position cuts before the school board approved the budget.

Jane Lichter, chair of Baltimore County’s school board, said over text message that Rogers and her staff have regularly updated the board and community. The budget book, she said, shows staff reductions. She also said the school system keeps a dashboard for families to see what resources their schools have.

The budget book does not list position cuts by job title. For example, the book states special education has 377.5 positions, with 337.6 considered professional staff and 39.9 considered support staff. There were 426.5 positions the year prior, which shows the department slightly shrank. However, there are no details on what the job titles were or where they were housed.

The dashboard shows job titles and number of staff in each school but does not give a comparison to the year prior.

The Baltimore County Council has been calling for more oversight of the school system, citing the budget as the reason. Elected officials want the state to extend the county’s inspector general to the school system, which takes up half of the county’s annual budget.

“Given the very public controversy this year over the County School System’s budget, the Baltimore County Council believes it is now the appropriate time to advance more transparency and accountability in the County Board of Education,” a resolution calling for legislation that grants the additional oversight stated.

Rogers’ fiscal 2026 budget met controversy when she asked County Executive Kathy Klausmeier for an extra $105 million. That was more than requests made in the past, and Klausmeier refused to pay it. She gave $29 million more instead, resulting in school staff not getting the raises they were promised.

Renegotiations resulted in a delayed raise that had part of the increase start this month, with the rest coming in January.

County Councilman David Marks, co-sponsor of the resolution, said he recalls learning from Rogers that the school system tried avoiding cutting instruction staff that works directly with students. However, he wasn’t aware of the total number of position cuts or where the cuts are happening specifically.

“It’s always good to have more information than less,” he said in an interview. “Parents and taxpayers deserve to know how their money is being spent and whether it’s going to the classroom instead of the bureaucracy.”

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.