Millions In Emergency Funding Sought By County Exec To Support Howard Co. Public Schools

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — Emergency legislation has been submitted by Howard County Executive Calvin Ball, asking for up to $14.5 million in additional funding to support the Howard County Public School System's fiscal year 2026 operating budget.

The request goes before the Howard County Council, which will consider the proposal as they finalize their budget on May 21. Pending the final budget adoption by the County Council, the Board of Education will hold a work session to consider ways to close any remaining gap and balance the budget. The emergency budget legislation would authorize Howard County to draw upon one-time funding from the county’s policy reserve to direct toward the FY26 school budget. A copy of the legislation, Council Bill 45-2025, can be found on the Council’s website here.

“Our proposed fiscal year 2026 budget dedicated a significant funding increase to the Howard County Public School System, totaling $45.7 million toward HCPSS expenses. While approximately 64% of all new revenue growth in our proposed budget is already directed toward HCPSS, we recognize that the school system is facing additional fiscal challenges in the year ahead,” Ball said in a statement.

“As we have continued to navigate another difficult budget season, there has been a strong urgency from members of the Board of Education, County Council, the county executive, our bargaining units, myself and many members of our school system community to continue working together to close the substantial gap between anticipated new revenue and our significant funding needs ... I am grateful for this positive development and will continue to work with the Board of Education to close the remaining gap in a way that prioritizes student and staff outcomes," said Bill Barnes, superintendent of the Howard County Public School System.

Released on April 21, 2025, Ball’s original proposed fy26 operating budget for HCPSS reached $800 million, contributing to a total HCPSS budget of $1.2 billion when combined with other funding sources. This reflected a 5.1% increase of $39 million in new recurring county funding for HCPSS, exceeding the state-mandated maintenance of effort by approximately $39.3 million, due to the stagnant student enrollment. Ball also directed an additional $6.7 million to cover educator pension liabilities, a new cost passed on to the county from the state this year, leaders noted. Howard County proposed a total of $45.7 million in new revenue for HCPSS expenses this year, representing approximately 64% of all new general fund revenue growth in FY26. In addition to the significant portion of general funds, Ball included one-time PAYGO funding of $1.5 million toward the HCPSS budget to implement school safety and security needs, which recently was approved by the Maryland State Department of Education.

"Since the announcement, I have received questions from several staff and community members about what this means and next steps," said HCPSS Superintendent Bill Barnes. "In short, yesterday’s announcement provides the board of education with more viable options to balance the FY2026 operating budget. At this point, the difference between anticipated new revenue and the amount needed to fund our existing service commitments and the compensation and benefits requirements is $14.7 million. The budget balancing options we consider will reflect recommendations detailed by the county executive in a letter to the board last week and include the use of fund balance, a reassessment of investment income projections, scrutinizing budget additions, and exploring operational efficiencies."