ELLICOTT CITY, MD – Howard County Executive Calvin Ball today submitted a budget amendment to the proposed Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) budget to increase funding to the Howard County Public School System. Ball’s full statement is below:
“Today, we submitted a Budget Amendment to the proposed FY26 Operating Budget, which will add $14.5 million in critical one-time funding from the County’s Policy Reserve toward the Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) Howard County Public School System (HCPSS) Operating Budget.
This amendment reflects several weeks of dialogue and close collaboration with Howard County Public Schools Superintendent, Bill Barnes, and our Board of Education to help meet the school system’s $29.2 million funding threshold needed to avoid program and staffing reductions next year.
This amendment appropriates $14.5 million from the County’s excess surplus revenue to the HCPSS Operating Budget. This funding will be drawn from the County’s Policy Reserve, which we fully implemented in FY21. Our Policy Reserve sets aside approximately three percent of the budget on top of the Rainy Day Fund as a fiscal strategy to prepare for emergencies and unforeseen fiscal challenges that may arise.
While this additional funding is drawn from our Policy Reserve as a one-time measure to provide support to HCPSS in FY26, this $14.5 million will support operating expenses for HCPSS and be added to the Maintenance of Effort (MOE) budget, committing the County to provide this level of funding support in future years. Our original proposed budget reflected a 5.1% increase of $39 million in new recurring county funding for HCPSS, exceeding the state-mandated Maintenance of Effort by approximately $39.3 million. With this proposed amendment, our new Maintenance of Effort funding will reach approximately $53.8 million above MOE in FY26.
We do not take this action lightly. This emergency authority to spend one-time funds has been previously used for the operating budget, including when Howard County directed $7.5 million in one-time funds to cover operating expenses during the COVID-19 pandemic. This underscores the significance of this proposed budget action, which is intended to ensure HCPSS can meet core services in the upcoming year.
We are also weighing this budget decision carefully especially with the news that the State of Maryland’s AAA bond rating was recently downgraded by Moody’s. We remain committed to directing these additional resources to HCPSS, while also responsibly balancing the County’s many other fiscal obligations.
Coupled with our strong financial practices, our Rainy Day Fund and Policy Reserve help Howard County maintain our local AAA bond rating from the three credit rating agencies. This AAA bond rating for Howard County ensures that we keep the lowest available interest rates on bonds that support critical capital projects, including school construction and deferred maintenance needs. In FY26, we are directing a combined $100.6 million in County and State funding to support the HCPSS Capital Budget, fully funding the school construction budget for the fourth consecutive year.
Together, we will continue to make responsible and prudent financial decisions that place our county government and our community in the best position possible to deliver excellent services and high-quality public education to our residents and families.”