Howard County Board increases FY26 compensation request, approves several budget add‑backs amid state funding uncertainty

The Howard County Board of Education on Feb. 27 voted to increase its FY 2026 above‑maintenance‑of‑effort (MOE) request and approved several proposed program and staffing additions while staff warned that proposed state budget changes would reduce projected revenues.

Brian Holt, chief financial officer for Howard County Public Schools, told the board the superintendent's proposed FY 2026 operating budget totaled $1.22 billion with $74.3 million in new expenditures and an above‑MOE request of about $67.1 million. Holt said a set of developments since the superintendent's January proposal — including the governor's proposed budget and preliminary estimates from the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) — combined to increase the board's above‑MOE request by roughly $18.2 million, to about $85.3 million.

"The combined impact on our projected revenue is a decrease of approximately $6,200,000," Holt said, and "the combined impact on our projected expenditures is an increase of about $12,000,000." He described a likely range of outcomes depending on county action and the final state budget, and said some items in the request remain contingent on legislative outcomes.

The board approved a staff motion, 7–0, directing staff to: incorporate potential impacts of the governor's proposed budget into the FY26 requested operating budget and the above‑MOE request; raise the employee compensation marker; and make several technical amendments. The motion combined three staff requests and passed unanimously.

The board then considered a sequence of board members' budget amendment motions. After discussion and requests for staff to validate costing estimates, the board approved, among other items: - Funding for 32 elementary special education student assistant positions targeted to schools with 500 or more special‑education weekly hours (vote: 6–1). - Funding for eight additional middle school assistant principal positions (vote: 6–1). - Addition of non‑instructional special‑education instructional team leads (ITLs) at elementary schools that host regional special‑education programs (vote: 7–0).

Board members and staff repeatedly noted the significant uncertainty created by the governor's proposed changes, including a proposal described by staff that would delay the Blueprints per‑pupil collaborative time initiative and shift additional nonpublic placement and pension costs to local governments. Darren Conforti, executive director of budget, told the board that the governor's proposal could add roughly $6.8 million in pension‑related liabilities for Howard County if enacted as drafted.

Board members emphasized two tradeoffs: asking for needed resources now so the county and public understand the full request, and the likelihood that the final adopted budget will require adjustments once county and state actions are finalized. Several board members said they wanted staff to return precise cost validation for each approved add‑back before March 4, when the board will vote on the proposed FY26 budget.

Votes at a glance - Staff combined motions (incorporate governor impacts; raise compensation marker; technical amendments): passed 7–0. - Ricks motion: add 32 elementary special‑education assistants (schools with 500+ weekly hours): passed 6–1. - Ricks motion: add eight middle school assistant principals: passed 6–1. - Motion to add non‑instructional special‑education ITLs to elementary schools with regional programs: passed 7–0.

What this means The board increased the district's ask of the county as a hedge against state proposals that would reduce state aid or shift costs locally. Staff said they will return final validated cost estimates for each add‑back and recommended items that passed, and the board will consider final adoption of the FY26 budget on March 4.

The board emphasized that most of the governor's proposals remain subject to change during the General Assembly session; staff said they expect final legislative outcomes in April and will adjust the request if the state changes the cost allocations.

Speakers - Brian Holt, Chief Financial Officer, Howard County Public Schools (government) - Darren Conforti, Executive Director of Budget, Howard County Public Schools (government) - Superintendent Michael Barnes (identified in transcript as Superintendent Barnes) (government) - Board members (as recorded): Miss Watts; Doctor Chen; Miss McCoy; Miss Chamblee; Miss Ricks; Miss Mallow; Miss Mosley (government)

Authorities referenced - MSDE preliminary state aid estimates (referenced by Brian Holt) - Board policy references (internal budget/policy process) — referenced by staff

Actions - kind: budget_adoption; identifiers: {agenda_item_id: "budget_deliberations"}; motion: "Approve and direct staff to incorporate the potential impacts of the governor's proposed budget into the FY26 Board of Education requested operating budget, increase the employee labor compensation marker, and make the necessary technical budget amendments"; mover: Miss Watts; second: (recorded: second); vote_record: [{"member":"Miss Watts","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Doctor Chen","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Miss McCoy","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Miss Chamblee","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Miss Ricks","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Miss Mallow","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Miss Mosley","vote":"yes"}]; tally: {"yes":7,"no":0}; outcome: "approved"; notes: "Combined staff technical amendments, compensation marker increase, and governor impact inclusion; staff to return validated cost estimates before March 4."

- kind: budget_adoption; identifiers: {agenda_item_id: "Ricks_3_elementary_sped_assistants"}; motion: "Incorporate additional funding for elementary special education student assistance for schools with 500 or more special education weekly hours, including 32 positions"; mover: Miss Ricks; second: (recorded: second); vote_record: [{"member":"Miss Watts","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Doctor Chen","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Miss McCoy","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Miss Chamblee","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Miss Ricks","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Miss Mallow","vote":"no"},{"member":"Miss Mosley","vote":"yes"}]; tally: {"yes":6,"no":1}; outcome: "approved"; notes: "Cost to be validated by budget office."

- kind: budget_adoption; identifiers: {agenda_item_id: "Ricks_4_middle_school_APs"}; motion: "Incorporate additional funding for middle school assistant principals including 8 positions"; mover: Miss Ricks; second: (recorded: second); vote_record: [{"member":"Miss Watts","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Doctor Chen","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Miss McCoy","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Miss Chamblee","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Miss Ricks","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Miss Mallow","vote":"no"},{"member":"Miss Mosley","vote":"yes"}]; tally: {"yes":6,"no":1}; outcome: "approved"; notes: "Cost estimate to be confirmed by budget office."

- kind: budget_adoption; identifiers: {agenda_item_id: "non_instr_ITLs_elementary_regional"}; motion: "Add elementary school non‑instructional special education instructional team leads (ITLs) to schools with regional programs"; mover: (motion recorded); second: (recorded); vote_record: [{"member":"Miss Watts","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Doctor Chen","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Miss McCoy","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Miss Chamblee","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Miss Ricks","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Miss Mallow","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Miss Mosley","vote":"yes"}]; tally: {"yes":7,"no":0}; outcome: "approved"; notes: "Applies to 17 schools with regional programs; exact costing to be validated."

Discussion vs. decision - Discussion: staff presented revenue scenarios and the effect of the governor's proposed budget on state aid and pension cost allocation; board members asked for verification of cost estimates and raised concerns about ability to afford all requests if county funding is lower than requested. - Direction: board directed staff to include governor impacts and to increase the compensation marker; staff was asked to return validated cost estimates for each added item. - Formal action: multiple motions described above were approved by recorded votes.

Clarifying details - Category: pension_shift; detail: "Governor's proposed shift of additional teacher pension costs could add approximately $6,800,000 in county liability for Howard County (staff estimate)."; source_speaker: "Brian Holt". - Category: above_MOE_total; detail: "Board above‑MOE request increased by approximately $18,200,000, moving total to about $85,300,000 (staff estimate)."; source_speaker: "Brian Holt". - Category: compensation_marker; detail: "Board directed increase of compensation marker (staff cited figure ~$36,600,000 as new marker)."; source_speaker: "Brian Holt".

Proper names - {"name":"Howard County Public Schools","type":"agency"} - {"name":"Maryland State Department of Education","type":"agency"} - {"name":"Blueprints initiative","type":"program"}

Community relevance - geographies: ["Howard County, MD"] - funding_sources: ["County general fund","State education aid (MSDE)"] - impact_groups: ["K-12 students","students receiving special education services","school staff"]

Meeting context - engagement_level: {"speakers_count":10,"duration_minutes":130,"items_count":1} - implementation_risk: "medium" - history: [{"date":"2025-01-09","note":"Superintendent released proposed FY26 budget."}]

searchable_tags:["budget","FY2026","MOE","special education","compensation","Howard County"],

provenance:{"transcript_segments":[{"block_id":"block_1022.96","local_start":0,"local_end":190,"evidence_excerpt":"Good afternoon, chair Moseley, members of the board of education, superintendent Barnes, deputy superintendent doctor Turner Little. I'm Brian Holt, chief financial officer. Over the past 7 weeks, the board has heard from the superintendent and staff about the proposed budget.","reason_code":"topicintro"},{"block_id":"block_5470.85","local_start":0,"local_end":40,"evidence_excerpt":"Motion carries 7 0.","reason_code":"topicfinish"}]},

salience:{"overall":0.85,"overall_justification":"Major fiscal decisions and staffing additions with county and state funding implications; multiple recorded votes."}