Although nearly every speaker acknowledged some sort of “budgetary stress,” “dark economic times” or “hold-the-line budget year,” they gathered nonetheless last night to plug programs in the county school system’s proposed budget.

About 20 people, including students, parents and representatives of community organizations, testified before the Howard County Board of Education at a public hearing about Superintendent Sydney Cousin’s proposed spending plan for the coming year. Speakers asked the board to maintain funding in a variety of areas, including the fine arts, media resources and Gifted and Talented research programs.

Cousin has proposed a $659 million operating budget for 2010 — a 0.3 percent increase over the current budget that doesn’t yet include salary increases. Salary negotiations with the county teachers union are expected to conclude later this month.

Cousin’s spending plan adds 44 teaching positions and dedicates more staff to the system’s English for Speakers of Other Languages program, while figuring in higher utility costs and cutting or deferring several projects, such as filling some office vacancies, reducing conference funding and putting off vehicle replacement and some maintenance projects.

Under Cousin’s plan, about 70 percent of the budget would be funded by the county and about 30 percent by the state. County school officials are not yet sure how much aid they will receive from the state, as state officials are recalculating their allocations in light of a recently approved federal stimulus package. The most recent projections indicate that Howard schools would receive from the state about $4.4 million less than what they had previously anticipated, according to Raymond Brown, Howard schools’ chief financial officer.

The Board of Education will review Cousin’s plan and possibly amend it before sending the request to the county executive later this month. The fiscal year begins July 1.

Needs still exist

“In a time of economic strain, this is a very responsible budget,” Jane Chambers, a representative of the Arc of Howard County, told the board at the hearing.

Despite citing the need for fiscal restraint, Chambers and others representing the Howard County Autism Society and the Special Education Community Advisory Council urged the board to maintain funding for students receiving special education services. Speakers highlighted the benefits of early intervention services, inclusion of students with disabilities in regular education classrooms, and extended school year programs.

Kim Manning, executive director of the Howard County Autism Society, commended the system’s commitment to inclusive education, but said she was disappointed to see funding for conferences decreased in the proposal. She said such conferences are integral to teachers receiving proper training, support and the most recent methodologies.

PTA Council president John Hannay said a point of concern for the council was the deferral of maintenance projects, which he feared could lead to “significant deterioration of facilities.”

Members of the Community Advisory Council also voiced concerns over deferred maintenance. CAC chairman Chris Wertman also asked that the board consider holding a second public hearing once salary negotiations and funding projections were more certain, since the current proposal is in a “state of flux.”

School bus contractor Timothy Woods urged the board to increase pay for bus drivers. Under his calculations, drivers work an average of six hours a day at a rate of about $16 an hour, amounting to a 180-day school year salary of a little over $17,000, he told the board.

“To ensure we can keep the experienced drivers we already have, while attracting new drivers, we need to be competitive with what we pay,” he said.

Russ Poch, a physics professor at Howard Community College and also a member of the system’s science advisory committee, urged the board to cap enrollment in laboratory science classes at 28 students to create a safer environment and allow teachers to better instruct students.
 
The school board will hold a series of work sessions on the budget, beginning with one Feb. 5 at 7 p.m. To view the proposed budget, go to the school system’s Web site at www.hcpss.org/aboutus/budget.shtml.

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