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Howard County Education Association praises contract talks, highlights budget advocacy
Summary
The Howard County Education Association told the Board of Education it ratified a three-year contract by 93% and described extensive budget advocacy — including emails, rallies and pickets — aimed at securing additional county funding for the school system.
At the May 20 Board of Education meeting, a representative of the Howard County Education Association (HCEA) told the board the union ratified a three-year contract by 93% and thanked board members, central office staff and community supporters for coordinated budget advocacy.
The HCEA representative said negotiations resulted in a three-year contract that membership ratified by 93% and that the union and supporters pursued a wide-ranging advocacy campaign with county leaders. "Although the length of negotiations were longer than HCEA had hoped, they resulted in a 3 year contract that our membership ratified by 93%." the representative said.
The speaker described meetings with the county executive and council members, participation in the county budget process, coordinated email campaigns and in-person actions. The representative said nearly 9,000 emails were sent for each campaign phase, a picket at Merriweather drew nearly 30 participants, and a rally outside the Columbia Mall "attracted well over 60 folks." The speaker thanked board members and superintendent Barnes for mobilizing central-office staff and for what the union described as a more transparent budget process.
The HCEA representative said the advocacy helped the board request more county funding "above maintenance of effort" than in previous years and urged continued collaboration between the union, the board and county leaders. No formal board action followed the presentation.
