Jennifer Sawyer Hathaway was never plugged into Harford County Public Schools affairs. She’s not a “political girlie,” as she put it. That changed last week when she saw a Facebook post from a teacher at her kids’ school.

“Please consider letting your voice be heard to share how important it is that Darlington Elementary stay open,” Jen Nealy, a second grade teacher, posted, adding that Darlington was just one of all the schools in Harford County affected by the suggested budget.

Now Hathaway is attending meetings to find out more and spreading the word about what parents fear could be the school’s demise.

The superintendent’s proposed school budget hasn’t been published yet, but he’s already warning the community that hard decisions are ahead. The school system is facing a $60 million deficit “after two years of nearly unchanged funding from the county,” an October news alert stated. To fill the hole, trade-offs must be made, the superintendent continued, and that means jobs are at risk, class sizes will grow and closing a school is on the table.

“No one’s going to be happy with many of the decisions, and that’s unfortunate,” Superintendent Sean Bulson said at a budget information meeting on Wednesday. “But we’re trying to get a sense of really what we can live with.”

The struggles mirror the budget challenges Maryland school systems faced earlier this year as federal funds dried up and state education reform took effect. But this time, Harford’s superintendent and county executive are blaming each other for the deficit.

What stays and what goes is largely in the hands of those who fill out a survey. That’s what Bulson said he’s relying on for the budget he plans to present to the school board in January. Meanwhile, educators are pleading for better resources and parents are grappling with what seems to be a bleak 2025-2026 school year.

The teacher’s Facebook post caught Hathaway off guard. And the survey sent to Harford families around the same time only raised more concerns.

Respondents are forced to play “would you rather” for budget priorities: Would you rather maintain high-quality teachers or have smaller class sizes with less experienced teachers? Invest in student needs across all areas or focus on reading and math?

One question asked if the school system should close a small school or implement a new model, like having one teacher for two grades. That’s already the reality at Darlington, where one teacher is responsible for fourth and fifth grade, parents said.

Only 92 kids were enrolled in Darlington Elementary last school year, according to state data. Hathaway, who has two kids at the school, said they’re now up to 96. It was cause for celebration at the beginning of the school year.

Now there’s worry. Parents like the slow pace and rural life of the community. A closed school could mean transferring to a town with more hustle and bustle. Hathaway said she and her husband were forced to consider moving sooner than expected.

The mom of three had the idea to start a Facebook group. She shared information about upcoming budget meetings and how to register to speak at school board meetings. This was all new to her, but she was learning as she went.

Pleading to the school board

Over 30 people registered to speak at Monday’s school board meeting, including Hathaway and a handful of Darlington parents.

“Is closing Darlington Elementary school going to make a dent in the budget deficit?” asked Andrea McClintock, a parent. “From what I know, it wouldn’t make a dent. But closing the school would leave a giant hole in Darlington and in our county.”

Also speaking that night were staff from Joppatowne High School advocating for the budget to include more safety resources. They were still reeling from a shooting that killed Warren Curtis Grant on Sept. 6.

The 15-year-old was returning that semester as one of Kristin Doehring’s students; so was the student charged with killing him. The two were in her English class together an hour and a half before the shooting, she said at the board meeting.

After the gunfire, she didn’t hear when the school was placed on lockdown because the announcement speaker didn’t work in her classroom. Staff have asked “over and over again” for walkie-talkies, Doehring told board members. She doesn’t have one for her classroom. She said she could’ve used it when the student who allegedly killed Grant was in two fights in her classroom last school year.

Principal Melissa Williams told board members that Joppatowne requested new lockers during last year’s budget season. She expected them to arrive in July, but they were cut during budget negotiations. “A casualty of our underfunded system,” she called it.

Not everyone had a locker at Joppatowne, forcing students to carry backpacks. The gun that allegedly shot Grant was carried around in a backpack that day. After the shooting, the new lockers were installed.

Hathaway, the Darlington parent, was in the audience listening to it all and quickly realized what else is at stake for an underfunded budget. It only motivated her to stay informed and alert others to what’s happening. The next step was to attend a budget meeting on Wednesday led by Superintendent Bulson at Aberdeen High School.

Who’s to blame?

In an interview before Wednesday’s budget meeting, Bulson said he sees closing Darlington as a “last resort.” Elementary school classrooms are already full and transferring Darlington kids wouldn’t necessarily help the school system. He said he’s also committed to funding safety resources, but that commitment only makes budget decisions harder.

The superintendent stood in front of a few dozen parents that night explaining what the deficit means and why they’re faced with hard decisions.

A big reason for the hole is lack of funding from the county, he said. The county government is responsible for nearly half of the school district’s $653 million general operating budget. Local governments in Maryland are required to give at least the same amount of money to the school system as they did the year prior, though they often give more.

The state, however, allowed county governments a one-time opportunity to give less — a chance to reset after funneling extra money to schools during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In fiscal year 2023, Harford gave $324 million to the school system, $30 million more than it did the year before. But the next year, it didn’t have to meet that minimum. County Executive Bob Cassilly’s administration gave schools $314 million in fiscal year 2024, $10 million less than the year prior.

Schools got $321 million in fiscal year 2025, and are anticipating the exact same amount in 2026.

In Bulson’s view, the county should have given consistent 5% increases to schools over the last few years. By his estimation, the school system should have $54 million more in 2026 than what’s projected.

A spokesperson for Cassilly disputed that idea in an email, saying county funding returned to a “normal rate of increases” that matches what the district has seen for the past 15 years. With expenses in the state going up and revenue expected to drop over the next five years, the only way to fill the school budget gap is by increasing state taxes “and/or pushing state costs onto the counties,” he wrote.

But Bulson doesn’t buy it.

“There’s funds here, but the county has chosen to spend those funds on other things,” the superintendent said.

Cassilly won’t raise taxes in the county, the spokesperson wrote. So he’s kept funding flat in Harford for two years, except for increases in the school system and public safety.

“If he [Bulson] believes we should eliminate ambulances and defund the police and give all increases to the schools, he should say so, but even those increases would not have been enough to close the gap he created,” the spokesperson wrote.

Cassilly, a Republican, blames the school system budget deficit on a top-heavy administration and using one-time federal COVID relief funds on more than 100 new positions.

Bulson said in an interview that Cassilly is misinformed and doesn’t seem to understand the importance of the positions he’s suggesting to cut. It’s “an easy talking point,” but the central office needs people to manage human resources and payroll, the superintendent said.

The $60 million deficit is equivalent to 600 teaching jobs, Bulson said. That’s 21% of the teaching staff. Increasing class sizes by one student saves $6.8 million, by two saves $14.4 million and adding three puts $21.4 million back in the budget. Parents at Wednesday’s meeting said class sizes are already too big.

Bulson wanted to end the meeting on a positive note and highlighted improvements in reading and chronic absenteeism. More students than ever are taking Advanced Placement courses, he said, and there’s more participation in the SAT.

Hathaway said she hopes the positives Bulson mentioned continue.

She asked: “Will it stay that way if they close a school?”

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.