The superintendent presented a proposed fiscal year 2026 operating budget of $1,219,000,000 — a $74,300,000 (6.49%) increase over the 2025 budget — at the Howard County Board of Education meeting on Jan. 9, 2025.

The proposal prioritizes retaining all current employees, expanding special education staffing, increasing compensation and benefits, enhancing safety and security on school campuses and implementing enhanced student transportation services while maintaining existing programs, the superintendent said.

The budget presentation matters because the board must submit a requested budget to the county and state that reconciles rising costs, mandated program funding and local revenue constraints. The superintendent told the board that prior one‑time funding used to balance FY2025 creates a structural hole the FY2026 budget must fill before any new programs can be added.

The superintendent said the FY2026 request includes a net addition of 68.1 positions, with new roles concentrated in special education and safety and security. The superintendent proposed adding 35 new special education positions and prioritizing filling 114 existing special education vacancies — for a stated goal of adding 149 special education staff next year. To bolster campus safety the proposal includes 33 new unarmed, nonuniformed safety and security positions, described as one position for every middle and high school.

On revenue assumptions, the superintendent said the administration used the Howard County Spending and Affordability Committee's March 2024 projection of $52.9 million in new county revenue as a planning guideline. The presentation assumes a county revenue request of $67,100,000 above maintenance of effort (including $61,800,000 more than the total allocation in the 2025 fiscal year) and anticipates a projected $24,800,000 increase in state funding. After those assumptions, the administration identified a remaining gap of about $7,000,000 and proposes closing that gap by using one‑time funding from the technology service fund.

The superintendent said an available fund balance is currently projected at $7,600,000 but that the recommendation does not rely on drawing that balance because the projected year‑end fund balance would be below the 1% reserve threshold in Board policy.

The presentation listed other priorities that were considered but not included in the proposed FY2026 request, including hiring athletic trainers, expanding central office human resources capacity, adding a full‑time manager for the Passages program, additional dual‑enrollment supports, more custodial and maintenance positions, literacy and math specialists, and deferred maintenance (noted as primarily a capital budget issue). The superintendent said those items could be reconsidered if the district receives funding above the $74.3 million requested.

The superintendent framed the request in long‑term context: per‑pupil spending in 2010 was just above $13,000 and is closer to $20,000 today in nominal terms, but adjusted for inflation the district's spending per pupil is roughly unchanged at $13,620, the presentation said. The superintendent called out rising expectations for schools — including increased mental health needs, special education services, and school safety — and noted several federal and state compliance changes the district must address, including new federal guidance tied to Title IX, Title VI and Title II, effective April 2026.

Budget book technical changes were described: the administration realigned program pages to move fixed costs (pensions, health insurance, FICA) into individual program pages and reallocated some funds at division chiefs' requests. The superintendent said the realignment increases transparency but will make some program pages appear larger year over year even though the total net change from realignment was small.

The superintendent invited the public to participate in upcoming work sessions and public hearings. The first work session is scheduled for Jan. 16, and the board's requested FY2026 operating budget is planned to be adopted Feb. 27, 2025.

Votes at the meeting: the board approved the meeting agenda before the presentation. The motion carried 6–0 (Ms. Watts, Dr. Chen, Ms. McCoy, Ms. Chamblee, Ms. Ricks and Chair Mosley voting yes).