Howard County Executive Calvin Ball said Friday that the school board’s $1.26 billion funding request is “unattainable and unaffordable.”

In a letter to the school board Friday morning, Ball wrote that “against the backdrop of the uncertainty of the future of all federal aid and the projected state budget deficit … it is surprising that the Board of Education proposed a budget that does not take into consideration all of these external and extenuating circumstances.”

The Howard County Board of Education approved an approximately $1.26 billion operating budget last week. The approval included nearly 20 budget amendments, making the funding request $107.3 million above what the county is legally required to contribute.

The county’s Spending Affordability Advisory Committee — which annually presents budget recommendations to the county executive — gave “a stark economic outlook” ahead of the fiscal year 2026 budget season.

The committee’s report estimates the county could expect $58.4 million in new revenue. These new funds would need to support any additional needs of the school system, Howard Community College, recreations and parks, libraries, the police department, public works, the health department, state’s attorney’s office and the sheriff’s office.

The committee “advised budgetary caution, warning that mass reductions in employment and spending at the federal level will continue to have an oversized impact on Howard County,” Ball wrote to the school board.

Maryland’s Maintenance of Effort law mandates that funding per pupil be equal to or greater than what was provided in the previous year. Last year, the county government’s approved spending plan included $766 million for the school system’s operating budget, $52 million above what the county was legally required to provide.

Across the last five years, despite the school system’s enrollment decreasing by 1,312 students, the county has provided a total of $175 million above what is legally required.

“Due to our commitment to public education, we maintained this important progress every year even as stagnant enrollment persists,” Ball wrote.

Meanwhile, the state’s aid is likely to decrease by $6 million, Ball said. And bills pending in the General Assembly would transfer teacher pensions costs to the county from the state, driving up those expenses to nearly $13 million.

School board Chair Jolene Mosley said Friday that her and her colleagues are fully aware of the changing funding situation. Frankly, she acknowledged, the board expected that not everything would be funded.

The budget and the requested large increase was meant to show the community that members heard what they wanted, Mosley said.

“Our priorities are always the students and staff,” Mosley said.

The board’s request “was not intended to put any pressure or heat on the county executive,” she added.

Next month, Ball will present his budget to the County Council, which will include funding for the school system. Then, the County Council will hold a series of public hearings and work sessions before adopting the final county budget.

Mosley acknowledged that the work ahead of the school board will be difficult as “there are so many changes and unknowns we have to work through,” with Ball and the County Council.

She added that Ball is very engaged with and responsive to the school board.

The school board is slated to adopt the final operating budget on May 22.