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Superintendent flags complexity of Blueprint 'minimum school funding' reporting, may seek waivers
Summary
Superintendent Barnes told the board HCPSS must align nearly 400,000 expenditure lines to the Blueprint minimum-school-funding categories by FY27 or apply for waivers by Dec. 1; he said many districts are likely to seek waivers because the process is school-by-school and funding-area-by-funding-area and carries risk of misleading narratives about school-level resources.
Superintendent Michael Barnes updated the Howard County Board of Education on Nov. 6 about implications of the Blueprint for Maryland's Future, focusing on the state’s new "minimum school funding" reporting requirement in the Blueprint’s governance pillar.
Barnes said the state requires school systems to report how funds are distributed to schools by student needs (e.g., students with disabilities, English learners, students in high-poverty schools, pre-K) and that HCPSS staff are attempting to align nearly 400,000 expenditure lines to the nine funding areas before the FY27 compliance deadline. He warned that the waiver process is unusually granular — districts must apply for waivers by funding area and by individual school — and that waivers may be necessary if the accounting exercise cannot be completed well by the state deadline.
The superintendent said the district will weigh the pros and cons of applying for waivers and will pursue a comprehensive communications and professional-learning plan to educate school leaders and the public; he promised to report back at the Nov. 20 meeting with a recommendation about waivers. Barnes also noted conversations with the state Accountability Implementation Board and Maryland State Department of Education about timing and implementation concerns.
Board members asked about statewide waiver likelihood and advocacy with the county delegation; Barnes said many districts are likely to request waivers and the AIB is discussing whether the Dec. 1 deadline is appropriate. The superintendent emphasized the district’s priority: aligning budgeting practices with the spirit of the law while avoiding false narratives that a waiver could create about a school's resources when accounting at the school level is primarily a central-office exercise.
Next steps: district staff will continue the accounting process, finalize a public-education plan, and return to the board with a waiver recommendation and any targeted schools/funding areas under consideration.
