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School safety liaisons say new duties and pay lag as district budgets for metal detectors and SSLs
Summary
A school safety liaison told the Feb. 5 input session that Harford County's school safety liaisons were assigned new search duties and have not received commensurate compensation, while the county executive identified $1.1 million for school security upgrades.
At the Feb. 5 public input session on the FY26 superintendent's proposed budget, a school safety liaison described increased duties for School Safety Liaisons (SSLs), said the district has not matched that added work with corresponding pay and urged the board to advocate for higher compensation.
Tina Graff, who identified herself as a school safety liaison at Boston High School, said the county executive identified roughly $1,100,000 to enhance school security this year but that SSLs had not been fully included in the allocation decisions. Graff said SSLs are “the front line” and described new responsibilities that include running metal‑detector searches and other duties she characterized as outside the traditional scope of her post. “I did not sign up to be a TSA agent,” Graff said, adding that SSLs have since been required to complete the same mandatory state training as school resource officers despite differing roles.
The budget presentation included a recurring cost estimate of almost $400,000 for detection systems. Graff also said SSLs have seen only small recent pay increases (she cited an extra $19 in her last paycheck) and asked that the board advocate for a salary increase that reflects the new responsibilities and risks SSLs now bear.
Board members did not vote at the input session. The superintendent's proposed budget lists staffing and equipment costs related to school safety that the board will consider at its Feb. 10 business meeting.
