Superintendent: Harford needs $3.7M more for teacher raises

Haas told the council the school system couldn’t afford a 3 percent cost-of-living raise and a merit raise being negotiated with the union without the additional money in the county’s $210.9 million share of the schools budget.

The gap appeared when school officials discussed how to reconcile their original budget request with what County Executive David Craig proposed in late March.

“When we add up our cost of doing business — everything it takes to keep the lights on — and our wage increases, that’s where we come up with that $3.7 million shortfall,” said Joseph Licata, assistant superintendent for operations.

He pointed to expenses eating up funding that would have gone toward the raises: rising fuel and transportation costs; adding another grade to Patterson Mill Middle and High School; increasing costs of health insurance; and continuing special education positions formerly funded by grants.

Less state funding also increased the squeeze — a requested $9 million increase was reduced to $2.8 million, he said.

“If we’d gotten that state funding,” Licata said, “this wouldn’t be a problem.”

The Board of Education had trimmed the schools’ spending, resulting in 56 teaching positions going unfilled next year as retirement, transfers or other attrition vacate them. The County Council can add school funding to the executive’s proposed budget, but must cut an equivalent amount elsewhere, raise property taxes or find some other revenue source. After the council makes its changes, the board shuffles the allocation once more.

“We’ll take one more crack at reconciliation after the council sets the budget in May,” schools spokesman Don Morrison said.

Craig also is proposing a 9 percent raise for eligible county employees outside the school system and for the Sheriff’s Office.

msantoni@baltimoreexaminer.com