County Council - Regular Meeting

Good evening. Chair calls to order fiscal year 27   budget public hearings for resolution  01026, resolution 0126, bill 26-006. The sole purpose of this public hearing is to  hear comments concerning bill number 26006,   which is the proposed annual budget and  appropriation ordinance for Harford County   for the fiscal year ending June 30th, 2027. and  also resolution 01026 which proposes to maintain   the current tax rate and resolution 01126 which  is the capital program for the fiscal years ending   June 30th 2027 through June 30th 2032. Council  also accepts and will consider written testimony   submitted in addition to or in lie of verbal  testimony. We are now ready to hear from our   first speaker. Um, do we have anyone signed up?  We have 26 signed up, Mr. President. Okay. So,   with 26 speakers signed up, um, I would  ask you to please, uh, pay attention to   the three minute timeline and to be respectful  of every speaker. Um, call your first speaker,   Christy Crawford Schmick, followed by Brianna  Rutherford, father, followed by Crystal Rufen. Good evening, ma'am. Name and zip code for the  record, please. Good evening. Christy Crawford   Smith, zip code 21132. I'm here this evening to  speak on behalf of the Harford County Education   Association, and we are here once again pleading  for your help. Without your support, HCPS will   need to make drastic cuts to fund to cover  the $15 million shortfall the county executive   have has left them to address. After cutting 150  positions last year to meet Mr. Castile's request,   Finding another 15 million means that the cuts  will be very deep and have a negative impact on  

our schools and community. And I want to be clear,  HCPS was asking for a bare bones budget. Nothing   new. The additional funding that's needed will be  used to support children with special needs and   non-public placement because their needs cannot  be met in a traditional public school setting.   pre-k pared educators to support the pre-k  requirements and a salary package that honestly   barely meets the legal requirements for the  blueprint. That's it. There isn't anything   flashy in this budget, but there is so much  more that the district should be asking for,   things that we need. But we also know that that  would never happen under this administration.   Our class sizes have grown significantly over  the last few years, which does not meet any   educational best practice. But along with with  that, the needs of our students have have grown   much greater. Poverty rate has increased. We  have significantly more students who qualify   for special ed services and 504 supports. We  have more English language learners than ever   before. But most importantly, our su our  students social and emotional needs are at   an all-time high. When you put students in  larger classes who have significant needs,   it is a recipe for disaster. Students needs are at  an all-time high as I stated and and unfortunately   necessarily necessary parental support has become  very sparse in many cases. To put it bluntly,   making additional position cuts would make our  schools unsafe. And I do not believe that that   is the legacy that most of you want to leave.  Students and educators are being assaulted every   day in school. That's not just an HCPS issue.  It is a nationwide crisis. Behavior supports   and interventions and safety protocols are more  important now than ever before to provide safe   and secure learning environments. But all of  those things have a price tag. But remember,   when HCPS has to make difficult decisions and  is forced to make unpopular cuts, there are no   aspects of safety and security that are mandated  by the blueprint. Aside from positions which will   impact safety and opportunity for our students,  we also need to discuss what else is on the  

chopping block. athletics and extracurriculars,  which are necessary to provide our students   a well-rounded education, can expect to see  significant reductions and cuts. In addition,   the athletic fees that this council has had asked  us to remove in the past could be reinstated,   but also probably significantly higher and move  on to other extracurriculars. Transportation   is only necessary to be required by law for  students who receive special education services.   So that means that HCPS could be adjusting the  transportation radius and or potentially charging   fees for this service. Programs and opportunities  will be be cut. No one that speaks to you tonight   will be crying wolf because the situation is  dire. To be clear, we aren't asking for a tax   increase. The money is there. There's more rainy  day funds than ever. And you have two options.   You can tell Cassilly what you want our students  to thrive and provide. To a close. Thank you. Um,   just remember your choice will impact decisions  that are made on election day as well. Thank you. Call your next speaker. Brianna Rutherford. Good evening, ma'am. Name and  zip. Brianna Rutherford 2105. Whenever you're ready. Good evening and thank  you for the opportunity to speak tonight. My name   is Brianna Rutherford and I'm here asking you to  fully fund Harper County Public Schools. I'm not   only a teacher in Harper County Public Schools,  I'm also a product of them. I graduated from   Harper County Public Schools because my parents  believe they could provide me with a quality   education. And they were right. I received  an education that prepared me for college,   for a career, and for life. Now years later, my  own children and even my nephew attend Harper   County Public Schools. Today, my two children  and my nephew are all in Harford County Public   Schools, and I worry about their future and and  the education that they will receive. I worry  

whether they and their classmates will receive  the same quality education that I previous   generations received. I worry about overcrowded  classrooms, limited resources, staffing shortages,   and the increasing strain placed on educators and  students alike. Our ch children are our future.   Every child sitting in a Harper County classroom  today will someday become the nurses, teachers,   police officers, business owners, and leaders  of tomorrow. If we truly value our future, then   we must invest in them now. I'm also finishing  up my 21st year as a special education teacher,   all 21 years right here at Harper County Public  Schools. I love what I do and I care deeply about   my students. But I can honestly say it has become  harder and harder to meet their needs with the   resources available. Like many educators, I spend  a significant amount of my own money to make sure   my students have what they need. Recently,  I updated our sensory room largely using my   own personal funds because I knew my students  needed a safe and supportive space to regulate,   refocus, and succeed during the school day.  I gladly do these things because my students,   they deserve it. But teachers should not have  to continually fill funding gaps out of their   own pockets. And I know this concern goes  beyond educators. I frequently see parents   across Harford County sharing on social media  that their children with disabilities are not   receiving the support and services they  truly need. These families are frustrated,   worried, and exhausted from fighting for  appropriate resources for their children.   Special education is not an option.  Supporting students with disabilities   is not extra. These students deserve every  opportunity to learn, grow, and thrive. Excuse me. Fully funding our schools is not just  about numbers and a budget. It is about people.  

It is about children. It is about giving every  student in Harvard County the opportunities they   deserve and giving educators the tools we need to  help them succeed. Please invest in our students,   support our teachers, and fully fund Harper County  Public Schools. Thank you. Thank you, ma'am. Good evening, ma'am. Name and zip. Um,  Crystal Rufinat 211014. Um, I thank you for   the opportunity to speak tonight. Um, I am a third  generation Harford County resident and educator.   I am here tonight because HCPS will continue  to face devastating cuts if additional funding   um is not secured. Um HCPS put out a  press release in which they stated the   proposed budget is insufficient to cover the  rising costs of maintaining current services,   meeting state requirements, addressing student  needs, and funding the wage package. Contrary   to Executive Castle statements, this budget  does not fully fund teacher salaries because it   doesn't account for the required non-discretionary  funds um including special education non-public   placements and other statutory obligations that  we need to meet first. At a recent board meeting,   it was shared that the trade-offs at  stake include class size and offerings,   employee salary and benefits, athletics,  transportation and safety and security. Um, from my personal experience as an educator,  our current circumstances are very difficult.   Any successes that are attributed to HCPS are  largely in part to educators going above and   beyond. If we worked to contractual hours, the  school system would look nothing like it does.   An in-depth analysis of each of Executive Castle's  budget was provided to educators in a work group  

that I'm a part of. It's my understanding this  report has been made available to you as well.   Please reach out if this is not the case and we'll  make sure that you have it. Um I do have a big ask   of you. Um and that is to find the money. Um the  money is there. It's challenging due to the funds   that are moved between categories. There's  funds that go unspent year-to-year. There's   variances in how planned and spent expenditures  are reported between various documents and audits.   actual unassigned funds and revenue have been  grossly underestimated. Ask the county executive   to amend his budget or if it's within your ability  to move or reallocate funds, please help us bridge   the critical $15 million gap. If you are able  to do this, it will make a huge difference for   us and our community. Thank you. Thank you,  ma'am. Mike Shufo, followed by David Bower. Good evening, sir. Name and zip code,  please. Mike Chufo 211014. Thank you,   Council President and members of the  council for the opportunity to speak   tonight. I know you've spent weeks and longer  probably working through this budget. So much   so that you're probably dreaming about estimated  fund balances and fiscal stabilization funds. So,   I want to start by genuinely thanking you for  your time and your effort. um that you all put   into this important process. But as we discuss the  proposed FY27 budget, I think it's important to   acknowledge a few realities. Um at the federal  and state level, there is significant economic   uncertainty that could impact us locally. And here  in Harford County, we're preparing for a reduction   in income tax distributions from the state after  reportedly receiving over distributions in the   previous two years. Those are real challenges and  should be taken seriously. However, in response  

to these challenges, the administration's  FY27 budget proposes using approximately   $67 million of the county's $96 million in  unassigned fund balance to support operations   while still maintaining a fiscal stabilization  reserve of roughly $45 million and creating an   additional 20 million in revenue volatility fund.  and after setting aside funds for these reserves,   still projecting an unassigned fund balance of  approximately $29 million at the end of FY27.   So that's a lot of numbers, but what that means  in practical terms is that the administration is   proposing to hold nearly $100 million in various  reserve accounts while simultaneously underfunding   education by roughly $15 million. Now, I'm a  CPA professionally, and as a CPA, one could   say I am a fan of prudent financial management.  In fact, I believe my wife would describe me,   well, she would probably say I'm cheap, but uh  I prefer sensible. Um, but having nearly hund00   million of taxpayer money sitting in reserves  when we are underfunding education by 15 million,   to me, that's not sensible. That's irresponsible.  Because on paper and in this budget, education   may indeed be categorized as a line item or a cost  center. But in reality, if we're being honest with   ourselves, we all know education funding cannot  simply be classified as an expenditure. It is   an investment. An investment in our children, in  our workforce, and in the very future of Harford   County itself. So, ladies and gentlemen of the  council, I put it to you. The decisions made   in this chamber over the coming days will help  determine whether our investment in education   pays dividends for years to come. I urge you to  prioritize our students, support our educators,  

and invest meaningfully in the future of our  community. Thank you very much. Thank you, sir. Good evening, sir. Name and zip. Good  evening. I'm David Bowerer, 21009. When   the county administration presented their budget  proposal, Mr. Castle claimed his proposal makes   quote record level investments in public safety  and education end quote. I acknowledge the budget   does contain an overdue 6.2% increase in funding  for the library system, but that still leaves it   well behind the median four-year growth for the  general fund items. The community college gets   a larger increase, but it's been flat funded in  Mr. Castle's previous budgets. So, looking at the   four-year cycle, it's even further behind. Public  safety, as we all know, has risen dramatically.   In fact, every subcategory under public safety  is proposed to increase by a greater percentage   than any line item under education over the  four years of the Castle administration. Now,   my language there is precise. any line item. The  total support to the school systems operating   budget has risen just a little bit more than one  item under public safety. Inspections, licenses,   and permits. Every other item under public safety  has risen dramatically faster than education,   regardless of how you slice it. What state or  federal actions are driving those rapid cost  

increases? Because in reality, education is losing  ground in this budget. Record spending does not   mean record investment. And let's go back to that  line item issue. There is that $6 million board   of education support line which represents a cost  that the state is pushing onto the counties. There   are other costs that the state is pushing onto  our county that aren't shown in the county budget,   but they are real. The teacher salary floor by  itself is driving a bigger cost increase than Mr.   Castley's budget proposals in budget proposals  in total for the school system. There is also   the prek expansion and positions either newly  formed or shifted from the restricted budget to   the general budget. There is no record investment  in our public school system in this budget. The   proposed budget will require cuts. The interim  superintendent gave you a list of potential areas,   but we all know it is going to hit teacher  positions because that is the only part of   the budget that has enough money to absorb this  proposed loss in real funding. Thank you all.   Thank you, sir. Casmira Patterson,  followed by Kathy Kalooi.

Good evening, ma'am. Name is zip. Good evening.  My name is Kajamir Patterson. My zip is 211028.   Good evening, council members. My name is Kajameir  Patterson and I'm a teacher specialist supporting   special educators at Magnolia Elementary School  here in Harford County Public Schools. And I'm   the proud parent of two HCPS alumni. And I am  here this evening to advocate for full funding   for the HCPS budget for the 2627 school year.  As we all know and live every day, everything   has become more expensive for all of us in the  past year. Fuel costs, electricity, and food   have gone up. The same is true for our schools.  Our budget does not go as far as it used to.   At the same time, the needs of our students have  increased, especially the numbers of students   identified for special education and English  language multilingual ASOL services. I see the   impact of this every day. supporting our special  educators, our students with special needs, the   support staff who selflessly show up every day to  do some of the hardest jobs in our school system.   These teachers, administrators, our support staff,  our custodians, our cafeteria workers in our   buildings are doing amazing work for our students  every day in HCPS. but they are struggling to   meet these increased needs. We need a fully funded  budget to continue to provide staffing, services,  

and resources needed to continue the quality of  education that these students deserve. My husband   and I moved here to Harford County so that our  two children could attend Harford County Public   Schools. We are proud of the education that they  received. I am a proud educator for our county and   I want that for the students sitting in front of  me every day. The future leaders of our county are   sitting in the seats of our schools right now.  They are depending on us as educators to teach   them and as you as legislators to pass a budget  that meets the needs of all of our students at   this time. We will start the 2627 school year with  a new superintendent. Regardless of which talented   leader that is, I ask that you provide her a  fully funded budget with which to lead us forward.   our students, the future of Harford County are  depending on you. Thank you. Thank you, ma'am. Good evening, ma'am. Name and zip. My name is  Kathy Kavaleski. My zip is 211050. Good evening.   Thank you for the opportunity to speak. I am a  32-year veteran school psychologist in Harford   County Public Schools. I am here to ask that you  find a way to fully fund the Harford County Public   Schools budget request, which currently falls,  as you know, almost $15 million short. Without   the budget being fully funded, there will be  significant consequences to how our schools   function. Student-f facing position cuts will be  inevitable. We lost many student facing positions  

last year and we will find ourselves in the same  boat again this year. Student facing position cuts   will result in larger class sizes which are  already quite large which impacts student and   staff safety as well as academic achievement. The  research is clear that smaller class sizes result   in greater academic outcomes. Budget cuts may also  result in fees for service as previously mentioned   such as sports and afterschool clubs. So pay to  play may have to once again return. The agreed   upon salary package for next year may have to be  renegotiated putting us at risk of not meeting   the blueprint mandate for starting salaries for  teachers and making us less competitive in the   job market in the middle of an already big teacher  shortage. Harford County Public Schools does not   have the money sitting in the fund balance to  make up for the deficit this year, but it has   been shown that Harford County as a whole does  have the money to fully fund the school systems   request without raising taxes. This council is the  last hope to write this wrong and provide for what   the children of this county need to receive the  education that they deserve. I ask that you help   in any way that you can. Thank you. Thank you,  ma'am. Erica Pansiac, followed by Gina uh Kger. Good evening, ma'am. Name is it. Erica Panzek  210001. As an animal lover, I can't believe I'm   here again in opposition to the Humane Society  of Harford County's requested increase. Over   the past two years, the shelter has proved  that has been financially unreliable at best   and entirely negligent at worst. I would speak to  specific line items from last year, but executive  

director Amanda Hickman has not responded to any  requests to provide the audited financials from   FY2025. They also took wording off the site to let  people know where they can request them. They have   not posted their year-end 2025 stats. These are  the actions of an organization hiding something,   not one proud of their accomplishments. Last  week, they fired their volunteer and foster   rescue managers and said they were eliminating  the positions entirely. These are lifesaving   full-time positions that they're eliminating  before knowing their budget. How can the public   or the animals trust an organization who doesn't  utilize volunteers fully or have someone working   diligently to get pets out of the shelter alive?  Volunteers say that the new vet often works   from home. Is that why so many animals aren't  receiving treatment at arrival and are leaving   the shelter without being spayed or neutered? On  October 21st, 2025, a cat arrived at the shelter.   The medical records indicate that the cat did  not receive any treatment until November 6th.   That is an unacceptable 16 days between arrival  and medical care. Then that cat was adopted out   without being spayed. Unaltered cats leaving the  shelter is nothing but a burden on the community   and even the shelter itself once these pets become  pregnant, return for unwanted behavioral issues,   or develop preventable illnesses like pyometra.  Amanda Hickman said that they plan to apply   for funding through the Maryland Spain neuter  grant. I don't believe she applied. Recently,   there was a cat named Saint that Shadow Cats was  willing to take to quarantine for the person who   sought medical care through the ER and shelter,  thinking that there would be a positive outcome.   The shelter refused to transfer him and instead  killed him out of spite. It would been easier   and better financially to hand him off to a  willing organization rather than kill him.   They could have saved a life for free and  didn't had we trust them with more money.   Last year, former board President George Hidleman  said that they were going to focus on big events.   They didn't. They said the new website was part  of their budget. The website remains unchanged.  

On the FY2024 audit, there was an $18,577 in  unauthorized payroll dispersements from a former   member of management. They plan to pursue criminal  charges after last year's budget was approved.   They also would not disclose a page on the audit  that would give details about other unauthorized   payments or answer questions at the request of  the council, stating that was an ongoing matter   that they wouldn't discuss. They don't have a  funding issue. They have the wrong people in   leadership positions who are running the  shelter into the ground for an unearned   paycheck at the expense of the lives that they've  been entrusted with. Thank you. Thank you, ma'am. Good evening, ma'am. Hi, Gina Kger 211047.  Uh, I'm a Harford County resident and animal   welfare advocate. I am here to ask this  council to pump the brakes before approving   the Humane Society of Harford County's budget  increase. Not because I oppose their mission,   but because I believe the taxpayers of this county  deserve more answers before more of their money is   committed. At the budget presentation, HSHC  leadership was asked a direct question. What   happens if this funding is not approved?  The answer was stark. Staff reductions,   lower care standards, and euthanasia for space.  I want to address each of those in turn. First,   care standards. Maryland mandates minimum shelter  care standards by law. That is not a negotiating   trip uh chip. It is a floor, not a ceiling.  Framing it as a threat to solveny is not a   justification for a budget increase. It is simply  a legal obligation. Second, euthanasia for space   is an open admissions shelter. HSHC does not does  have that option, but it should be the absolute   last resort resort after every other tool has been  exhausted. And I am not convinced those tools have   been exhausted. HSHC says it works with rescue  partners to transfer animals, but which partners?  

They are not named. This council and the public  deserve a concrete list of those organizations,   transfer numbers by year, and what capacity  remains untapped. Transfers to rescues are only   one of the most effective ways to reduce shelter  population without killing a single healthy   animal. Third, fostering. A robust foster  network can dramatically reduce the number   of animals physically occupying shelter space,  lower stress on the animals and improve adoption   outcomes. What is HSHC management actively doing  to grow their foster parent pool? What is their   current number of active foster families? What  recruitment efforts are underway? These are basic   operational questions that should be answered  before a budget increase is granted. Finally,   I want to note that HSHC is currently operating  below no kill status. According to Best Friends   Animal Society, their live release rate stands at  88%. The recognized no kill threshold is 90%. They   are not there yet. That does not make them a bad  organization, but it does mean this council should   be asking what the fund funding will specifically  do to move that number in the right direction.   I'm not asking you to deny this request outright.  I'm asking you to require HSHC to come back with   specifics, the rescue partner list and transfer  data, their foster program metrics and growth   plan, and a clear accounting of how this funding  prevents euthanasia rather than just funding the   status quo. The animals in that shelter deserve  better than vague answers, and so do the taxpayers   funding it. Thank you. Thank you, ma'am.  Megan Fitzgerald, followed by Monica McCale. Good evening, ma'am. Name and zip. Good evening.  My name is Megan Fitzgerald. My zip code is 21009. Good evening, council members, and thank you  for your service. Please do not accept the  

county executive's proposed budget  for Harford County Public Schools.   The county executive's budget cuts $15 million  of support and resources that our children need.   My t-shirt says it all. Children's mental health  matters. Children can't learn if they are anxious,   frustrated, or worried because they don't  understand the lessons being presented.   Cutting the budget by $15 million will result  in less support for children who need it.   It will result in educators having larger class  sizes and diminished resources to meet the needs   of their students. It will result in even more  full-time education support professionals living   below the poverty line. And this year, the  county has so much in excess fund balance   that you've created a whole new category to  store it in with the revenue volatility fund.   This category has never existed before and is  receiving 19.5 million. Even with this new fund,   our unassigned fund balance, the money not  planned to be used towards anything specifically   in the future has grown by 38.2 million over the  last year. If we added the 19.5 million to the   unassigned fund balance, the total growth to this  category would have been 57.7 million. Harford   County has the money it needs to fully fund and  support the agencies and programs that matter most   to us, such as our public school system. And I'm  an HCPS parent. I've got two autistic kids that   do great in the general education environment  because they've received outstanding services   and for that I am so grateful. Um, but this  whole situation also makes me think about um,  

makes me think about surgery that I had a little  over a month ago and it was major surgery. They   they worked on me for five and a half hours and  she came into my room before surgery and uh,   and I said to her, I was like, "How you feeling?"  She's like, "I'm feeling good." I was like,   "Do you have a good breakfast?" She's like, "Yep,  I'm feeling ready to do this." Why don't we think   about our teachers that way? They're working  with our kids. We want them to feel supported.   Or at least I do. I don't want teachers in front  of Harford County's children feeling anxious and   upset and unsupported because that's going to  trickle down. That's going to affect our kids.   And I know that you're going to make decisions  that are going to affect your capacity to be   voted back into your offices. And I can understand  that. What I'd like you to do is to just take a   minute and think about the majority population  of this county. The majority population of this   county is below the poverty line. So I want to  I'd love for you just to take a minute and think   about yourself as a single parent of color trying  to get their child up out of poverty. and think   about how a fully funded school budget would be  instrumental in that. Thank you. Thank you, ma'am. Monica Male. Good evening, ma'am. Name and zip. U Monica Male  211015. Um I'm affiliated with Shadowcats TNR as   a volunteer. Greetings, county councilmen and  council women. I'm coming you today to discuss   the budget as a reflection of its priority  for animals. I would like to make three  

recommendations and present three solutions. I am  a strong animal advocate and currently volunteer   with ShadowCats TNR which stands for trap neuter  and release. We are a cat rescue organization   that operates within Harford County. My first  recommendation today pertains to the Harford   County Humane Society. And as a taxpaying  citizen, I would like to request that we   have more transparency with animal euthanization  rates that should be made available for public   record. It is my understanding that the Harford  County Humane Society leadership has undergone   new management recently and there is a need for  transparency with their numbers. The concern   is that funding cuts will potentially result in  staff reduction and increase in euthanization if   space is beyond capacity and animal caretaking.  Euthanization of healthy animals should be a   last resort. I'm interested in knowing who the  Humane Society partners with for transferring   pets and to request that this be made public  knowledge. Fostering is another great way to   keep the animals in the shelter down. What is  management doing to increase their foster pool?   I'm not sure if it's already being done, but  my understanding is that the Humane Society has   potentially 300 volunteers and whether it's being  asked of them or not to consider fostering animals   until they find homes rather than euthanizing  them. More than 50% of Shadow Cats TNR's monthly   adoptions are coming from foster care. We have  120 volunteers and there are 35 active fosters.   That means roughly 25% of our volunteers foster  regularly and we have even additional fosters that   are not active regularly but are still inactive  volunteers for fostering. I would like to know   what percentage of Harford County Humane Society's  volunteer base are fosters and what recruitment   efforts are being made to increase the foster  pool. Is it possible to ask your volunteers to  

consider fostering rather than euthanizing  animals due to a lack of staff or space? I   would strongly recommend that those volunteers be  asked and give them a chance of getting adopted   rather than seeing them euthanized. My second  recommendation is to the county to hire two   people for weekend shifts. When you call from  9:00 to 5:00 on Saturday for animal control,   that's usually only Monday through Fridays.  Saturday and Sunday, injured wildlife can   be seen on the roads and when you call the county  and get a dispatcher, the the protocol is to reach   the duty officer. There is no one designated to  help animals other than the duty officer from the   sheriff's office on the weekend. I would rather  see a wildlife rehabber or a with in addition   with an animal control officer to be able to  attend to animal needs that are injured and   left to perish on the street. Phoenix Wildlife is  a great local rehab where they can be treated and   and transported safely. Thank you. Thank you,  ma'am. Dawn Saxs, followed by Robert Tucker. Good evening. Name Zip Don Saxs 211050. Uh,  I thank the council for this opportunity   to speak today and I'm here to urge you to  support full funding for the Harford County   Public Schools. It has been stated that  the proposed budget aligns with the HCPS   three-year funding plan presented in January  2005. Unfortunately, as we are all well aware,   things have changed significantly since then. The  federal government has declared war on education,   including clawing back hundreds of millions  in previously approved COVID relief funds for   Maryland schools, as well as tens of millions in  other critical program areas. Meanwhile, the cost  

of pretty much everything continues to rise. The  state and the county are left to fill that gap.   A previous speaker has already articulated that  the budget request is the minimum required and   the negative impacts that will result from  underfunding. I will add that at a time when   federal support is being slashed to the bone and  our schools are still climbing back from earlier   county reductions, references to sugar high  spending and maintained fiscal discipline are   not words that should be applied to the education  of our children. It is more important than ever   that the county fully support our schools and  provide our children the high quality education   that they need to succeed. The county's very  conservative past budgets have put us in the   fortunate position of being able to do so thanks  to the current unallocated fund balance which has   already been spoken about as well. Education is  a top priority for Harford County residents and   it should be a top priority of the Harford County  Council. I thank you for all your service to the   citizens of Harford County and I urge you to  continue and to demonstrate that service by   fully funding the Harford County Public School  budget request. Thank you. Thank you, ma'am. Good evening, sir. Name and zip. Hello. Uh Rob  Tucker 211017. Thank you for the opportunity to   speak tonight. Truly, I am grateful uh for the  service of everyone in front of me. This is no   easy task. I've lived in Harford County for a  couple decades, and I've noticed a troubling   pattern develop in our county budget aotments for  public schools. It is that routinely the school   system asks for an amount that is continually  condemned as too much. This has been true despite  

several cycles of different school boards and  at least five different superintendants in   that interval. But the common response by the  executives every year, with little exception,   has been to bulk. Since 2010, the executive  office has successfully passed through a   maintenance of effort budget five times. And in  all but three consecutive years under Glassman,   budgets have fallen some 8 to30 million short  annually. And the current administration has   accelerated this phenomenon. What may be a bit  more difficult to notice is the difference in   funding that has accumulated uh considerably over  that time. One could call this accumulation a sort   of county debt to the public schools, not unlike  our tracked national debt. And it's ballooning.   I've been tracking this debt casually over the  years. It amounts to some almost a quarter billion   dollars in lost funding um over the last two  decades. It's like somewhere out there there's   a mirror mirror universe where everyone good  is evil and we have 200 million more dollars   in our schools. Pat and Tony have goatees and I  have LED lighting and Edgewood auditori in the   Edgewood auditorium and our special educators  can easily meet our students increasing needs.   On a serious note, to characterize this pattern  as a savings to taxpayers is disingenuous when   there are unnecessary redundancies throughout the  fund balance section alone in this document. Not   to mention assigned year after year positions that  have never been filled. With this kind of waste,   I wouldn't characterize I would characterize this  as theft from children, no less. And a lot of that   money comes out of the pockets of teachers came  out of the pockets of teachers whose salaries   increases could not be met. We paid for this  financial mismanagement by delaying buying houses,   having children, and the general living of our  lives because of undue financial constraints.   And that is what's going to happen this  time as well. It is a pattern after all,   and it is very predictable. It just isn't a  good look. Which is why the Cassley political   apparatus has used the executives's unprecedented  influence and control over the school board to  

reduce this ask to less than what they truly  need over the last few years to something bare   bones this year. So to be utterly clear, for  the past three years, he has had his thumb on   the scale of the budgetary ask of the school  system, and this year he's choosing to still   not fund it. That makes no sense. I submit that  our children are the ultimate rainy day fund.   When something happens and we're in our  sunsets, they are going to be the ones who   will need to take care of us. Right now,  we're looking at ballooning class sizes,   the prospect of reducing our workforce by  another 150 positions, and a real risk of   falling out of compliance with the blueprint  mandates on our county. I ask that we also   take due care of our libraries, an institution  which for me was a second home in my youth,   and help make up for the flat funding received  throughout the tenure of the current cycle. take   care of our first responders and please keep in  mind and prepare for potential professional fire   personnel in the future. Just ask yourselves, is  all this working or are we heading towards a cliff   that we can't avoid? Thank you so much. Thank  you, sir. Caitlyn Hurley, followed by Danny Paz. Good evening, ma'am. Name is it. Hi,  Caitlyn Hurley and it's 211087. Um,   thank you for the opportunity to speak. I'm not a  Harford County resident, but I am a Harford County   teacher and I see every single day what happens  when school budgets fall short. I see it in the   students crammed into classrooms that were not  meant to hold that many kids. I see it in the   kids that need that little bit of extra attention  that the teacher no longer has time for. I see   it in the programs that quietly disappear. The  electives, the interventions, the support staff,   things that don't make headlines but make an  enormous difference in a child's day. They aren't  

abstract budget line items. They're real children  in real classrooms falling further behind. Harford   County families will absolutely feel this. When  class sizes grow, working parents lose confidence   that their child is getting the individ individual  attention that they need. When teacher vacancies   go unfilled, students get substitutes for weeks at  a time. And when special education support is cut,   families of children with disabilities like  myself are left scrambling. These are the   everyday consequences that don't show up in a  budget presentation, but show up at your door a   little ways down the road when constituents start  asking why their kids' schools are getting worse.   I want to talk about something I know that  this administration cares deeply about,   which is keeping Harford County a place  that parents and families want to live   and businesses want to grow. School quality  is one of the top factors families consider   when choosing where to put down their roots.  When they buy a home, where they buy a home,   where they pay property taxes, where they build a  life. When class sizes grow, programs disappear,   and talented teachers leave for better paying  districts, families notice. and some of them   leave too or at least choose not to come here  in the first place. We so often hear how Carol   and Cecil County are held up as our benchmarks,  but they're among the lowest funded districts in   Maryland. Measuring ourselves against the bottom  of the pack isn't the flex that they think it is.   If we genuinely aspire to compete with Baltimore  County, as the county executive has said,   then we need to fund our schools like it.  Right now, we aren't meeting that standard.   Baltimore County invests more per student in  total port invests more per student in total   and the gap will widen if we continue underfunding  HCPS requests year after year. This is a fiscal   argument. The tax base that funds public safety,  roads, and everything else in this county depends   on is directly tied to Harvard's reputation as  a great place to raise a family. Underfunding   our schools is not a savings. It's a cost we pay  later in declining home values, slower growth,  

and families choosing to leave Harford over  Harford County for Baltimore County instead.   Fully funding HCPS's ask isn't spending beyond  our means. It's protecting the investment that   every Harford County taxpayer has already made  in this community. Thank you. Thank you, ma'am. Good evening, ma'am. Name is it. Good evening.  Danny PZ 21040. I want to highlight that our   county finances are in strong shape. The proposed  FY2027 budget shows that we have plenty of revenue   with current year revenue over 50 million above  expectations and spending more than 30 million   below budget. The end of the endofear fund balance  is projected to be higher than ever over 214   million and we're adding millions to our emergency  and rainy day funds. However, despite these strong   financial signs, the administration is not fully  funding our school systems needs. They plan to   only cover the mand mandatory increases required  by law, but not enough to maintain or grow our   educational programs. Last year, our schools  had cut had to cut over a hundred instructional   positions. And this and if this budget stays  the same, more cuts are to come. It's important   to ask why the county is proposing large  increases for other areas but not our schools. We should prioritize funding our schools to  support our students and teachers because   funding education is funding our future. Thank  you, ma'am. Hunter Baker followed by Mac Jaxi. Good evening, sir. Names it Hunter Baker 210001.  Good evening, council president and members of  

the council. Tonight, I would also like to focus  especially on education. Each year, HCPS makes a   budget request to fund their annual operations.  Knowing the Castle administration is never going   to meet their real requests, the school system  sends the administration a bare bones budget,   requesting just enough to cover necessary costs  to operate the schools there in. And not really   expanding on any existing programs. For the  last several years, the administration has not   even met this baseline to continue operations  and meet mandated teacher salary increases.   This means staffing cuts and larger class  sizes for our students and fewer resources   for transportation and extracurricular activities.  HCPS has requested an additional $15 million than   what the county is offering. While the money  is there, our county's revenue has exceeded   expectations, which means the county has a  windfall of tens of millions of dollars. The   administration continues to carve out millions  for a rainy day fund when some of that money   could be used to meet HCPS's budget request.  HCPS lost 160 plus positions last year. Every   1 million of funding is roughly equivalent to  10 positions. That's another 150 positions this   year. Can we as citizens really afford to keep  shedding school employees? These are talented   professionals who are going unemployed, changing  fields, or taking their talent elsewhere, and our   students are suffering for it. I am a non-public  special education teacher with most of my nieces   and nephews attending Harper County Public  Schools. I don't work for HCPS anymore, although   I used to. HCPS pays to send select students  to schools like mine and a few others across   the region that can provide additional services  to kids who need them. This lack of appropriate   school funding could also impact these special  education students who need critical support in  

alternative learning spaces. I plead for the  council to do what's right and help properly   fund our schools and public services because  we deserve better. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Good evening, ma'am. Name is  it. Hi, Mac. Jaxi, uh 211050. Hi. Uh as I just said, uh my name is Mac Jaxi. Um  and I am a first year special educator in Harford   County. I'd like to run you through what my daily  schedule looks like. I wake up at 6:00 a.m. so   that I can get to work by 7:30. Note that this is  an hour before my contracted start time. At 8:30,   students arrive, and from there, I run writing,  reading, phonics, SEAL, and math small groups. I   have planning and lunchtime, but much of that is  spent catching up on stuff that has been added   to my to-do list just that day. After students  leave at 3:50, I try to leave by 4:15. It takes   me 30 minutes to drive home and 15 minutes to eat  dinner. So, by 5:00, I should have nothing nothing   left to do, right? Instead, I sit on my couch and  complete work on my computer. sometimes until 8:00   at night when I have to go to bed so that I can  be up at 6:00 the next morning. On top of that,   I am working up to eight hours on a weekend to  prepare for the next week. I had to host a working   party at my house last weekend just to see my  friends. If we total all of that working time up,   subtracting travel time, I am working  a total of 66 and a half hours a week,   40% of the given hours in a week. Factor in  travel, food, dog walking, hygiene, sleep, church,   and therapy time. That makes 93% of my week filled  up. What am I supposed to do with my remaining 7%.  

Take a moment to breathe, recoup, and get ready  to do it all again, maybe attend a county council   meeting. A lot of this extra work is due to  the budget cuts that the county is making to   our schools. Our educational evaluator positions  have been cut, so now that job falls on me. I am   one human who has to do the work of I would guess  four. One, complete informal assessments and use   that data to write new IEPs annually and progress  reports every quarter for 20 plus students. Two,   plan accommodated lessons for my students who  are unable to access the curriculum. Three,   plan small group lessons for students to work on  prerequisite skills that they don't get a chance   to practice during the regular school day. And  four, now I formally assess students and write   evaluation reports. I have one lovely PAR educator  who helps me as much as she can, but there's only   so much she can do. My school is part of a pilot  program in the county where because we are taking   on the job of educational evaluations, a clerical  staff was hired to help with paperwork. She   is in charge of tasks that used to take special  educators hours to do every week. Her position is   now being cut due to impending budget concerns. Is  this work now going to fall back on me? Am I going   to have a fifth job on top of everything that I'm  already doing? Or will some other person who is   also already overworked do it? This cannot keep  happening. Teachers are becoming more and more   burnt out every day because of decisions that are  being made in this room and rooms like this room.   Students are suffering from a lack of available  staffing and access to needed interventions for   critical life skills. because of decisions that  are being made in this room and rooms like this   room. Only 56% of my students have made quote  unquote typical growth this year in reading. And   it's not for a lack of effort on my part. It's not  for a lack of effort on their parts. It's due to a   lack of effort on the county's part and wanting  to support the future of our county and the  

people who will make it happen. Thank you. Thank  you, ma'am. Joy Clark, followed by Cindy Poper. Good evening, ma'am. Name's  it. Hi, Joy Clark 21009. Good evening, county council president and other  members. Um, I'm a Harford County resident as well   as a Harford County employee and I'm here tonight  on behalf of all of the employees who are part of   the organization of Maryland classified employees  association council 610 with Harford County. Um,   and I'm here regarding the proposed Harford County  budget. We appreciate the difficult work that   all of you are doing. This is exhausting work for  you and just listening to the people who are here   tonight needing more allotted to whatever their  cause may be, I can't imagine how difficult that   must be. Um, we also appreciate your continued  support of all the county employees, particularly   those who provide critical public services  each day, which is all of us. However, we're   deeply concerned with the process surrounding the  wage increases included in this year's budget.   At the time that the budget was submitted,  MCA Council 610 was still actively engaged in   collective bargaining negotiations with the county  administrative as laid out in the county charter.   Despite negotiations not being completed, County  Executive Bob Cassley distributed a countywide   email on April 15th advising all employees of a  predetermined merit increase and cost of living   adjustment, including when employees would begin  seeing those increases reflected in their payubs.   This was done before negotiations were completed.  Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident.   This is now the third consecutive year that the  deter predetermined compensation amounts have been   announced and built into the budget process before  the completion of bargaining despite repeated  

requests from the union asking the administration  not to do so and being promised that it wouldn't   happen again. Unfortunately, collective bargaining  is not supposed to be a formality. It's supposed   to be a meaningful process where both parties  come to the table and negotiate wages, hours,   and working conditions in good faith. Under  the National Labor Relations Act, wages are   a mandatory part of bargaining. The NA National  Labor Relations Board has repeatedly held that   employers violate bargaining obligations when they  bypass the union, deal directly with employees   about negotiable issues, or present decisions as  already finalized before bargaining is complete,   which like I said has happened three years  in a row. Our members are not asking for   special treatment. We're simply asking for  the bargaining process to be respected. So,   we're respectively asking the council to consider  sending the budget back and requiring the county   executive to complete negotiations with us prior  to the final budget approval, including bargaining   in good faith over merit increases and cost of  living adjustments rather than predetermining   those figures without negotiation. Thank you for  your time and consideration. Thank you, ma'am. Good evening, ma'am. Name in Zip code. Cindy  Poper 21040. Good evening, President Vincente   and members of the council. I'm here tonight  as both proud HCPS employee and a citizen of   this county to ask you to find a way to fund the  unfunded portion of the HCPS budget request. There   is a common principle in finance and leadership.  If you want to understand someone's priorities,   look at their budget. In short, a person,  organization, or government's true priorities  

are revealed not by what they say, but by how  they allocate their resources. A budget is a   map of priorities. It shows what is valued, what  is protected, and what is allowed to fall behind.   Unfortunately, nowhere is this disconnect more  evident than in the county executive's budget.   Once again this year, while education  is repeatedly declared a priority,   we find ourselves here yet again begging for the  funding we need just to stay afloat. Mind you,   not to thrive, but simply to survive. This county  cannot continue to underfund our schools. Our   schools represent our children's future, and we  owe them every opportunity to achieve, to grow,   and to succeed. not only here but in whatever path  they choose, be it college or career. Right now,   we are compromising that future. Over the past 25  years, this county has reduced the percentage of   the general fund allocated to HCPS operating  budget by 8%. That may sound small, but it   represents roughly $80 million a year. Today, we  are asking for less than 20% of that amount. We've   all heard the county executive's talking point,  claims that funding HCPS fully would require   tax increases, assertions that the district is  topheavy, and other justifications. But these   arguments are nonsense. The reality is the money  exists. We know it, you know it, and even Mr.   Castley knows it. Those funds are buried within  overbudgeted and underspent categories, layered   reserve funds, and allocations that are never  intended to be used. They are obscured in complex   and inconsistent accounting structures, categories  that appear in one place but not another, or that   lack clear purpose or transparency. It's your  responsibility to cut through this complexity,  

to look beyond the smoke and mirrors, and  to uncover the truth. The funding is there.   Ladies and gentlemen, the children of Harvard  County are counting on you. They deserve your   commitment to their education and their future.  Please find the funding and fully support the HCPS   budget request. Thank you. Thank you, ma'am.  Jessica Riley Hammond, followed by Pam Demer. Good evening, ma'am. Name and zip. Good  evening. Jessica Riley Hammond 2105. Um,   good evening. I'm running for county council  in District C. Over the past several months,   I've been out knocking on doors, attending  meetings, and speaking with residents   across our county. I've spoken with numerous  teachers, principles, and school system staff,   and I keep hearing the same thing, and so are  you right now. Um, our public schools need more   funding to adequately support our teachers and  students, especially those in special education.   We cannot afford to lose more teaching positions,  especially when many classrooms are already   overcrowded. Another major issue is that students  who need para educators or one-to-one support   often cannot get the services they need because  the wages being offered to their assistants are   unlivable. These are incredibly demanding jobs  that often be pay barely above minimum wage. From   my own experience working with people with special  needs, I know these staff members may be hit, spit   on, required to assist with personal hygiene and  behavioral challenges on a daily basis. Special   education is difficult, important work, and all  positions in the classroom deserve compensation   that reflects that. These people should not need  second jobs to live. Too often when adequate   support cannot be provided in the public school,  students are placed in non-public schools with a  

portion of the cost being paid by the county.  Quite frankly, it would save money while also   sparing families a stressful and difficult process  if we invested more in PAR educators and allowed   students to remain in their local public school.  I also believe Harford Transit Link deserves   stronger funding. Expanding routes within the  county, expanding hours and access points would   help residents who cannot drive due to disability,  age, or financial hardships get to where they need   to go. It also helps reduce congestion and  supports a healthier environment. Finally, I   believe we should continue investing in preserving  open space and protecting the character of our   county for future generations. At the end of the  day, I believe in a budget that is efficient,   transparent, and accountable that serves all the  members of the community. Thank you for all the   work that you've been doing on this, and thank you  for the opportunity to speak. Thank you, ma'am. Good evening, ma'am. Neonzip. Good evening,  U County Council. Thank you for allowing us   to speak. My name is Pam Demer. I live in 21014  and I'm here to support adding $15 million back   into the board of education's uh budget. As a  resident of Harford County for over 30 years,   I have watched county execs underfund education  for decades. Last year, Harford County Public   Schools lost a 100 instructional positions.  These jobs are essential for children. If   the proposed budget stands as is, there  will be more cuts coming. Fiscal year   2025 saw 40.3 million increase in revenue.  While the county has seen a budget surplus,  

educators are asked to do more with less. If you  believe in public education, then fully fund it.   And the old saying still goes, if you think  education is expensive, try ignorance. Um,   thank you for your consideration. I have a little  bit time left, so I would like to comment on the   um, Humane Society budget. I think there is um,  a transparency problem at the Humane Society. Um,   and it is asking for about a half a million  dollar more with they show up to your budget   meeting and have no data to support where  that money will go. How can you possibly   vote for that? You need you need information to  why they're asking for a half a million dollars   more money. Thank you for your time. Thank you,  ma'am. Tamara Stickler, followed by Jeff Beck. Good evening, ma'am. Name and zip. My name is  Tamar Lin Stickler. My zip code is 21014. I   want to thank you uh for the opportunity to speak  today. I'm here to express my concern about the   al the possible allocation of an additional um  funds for the Humane Society of Harford County.   Money given to the shelter should be g should  not be given without requiring transparency.   It should not be given without requiring services  to the community once offered and since cut under   the current director be reestablished. lowcost  TNR clinics, TNR and rescue groups clinics. Um,  

all all adopter animals leaving the shelter to  adopters need to be sterilized before leaving   the shelter. Establish a low to no cost spayneuter  services for all pets of Harford County residents.   Private 501c3 groups must currently shoulder  these costs when the shelter refuses to.   Mandatory sterilization co is a cost-effective  proactive measure that saves thousands of dollars   in the future. Unwanted animals cannot that  cannot be born cannot be born as sterilized pets.   Shelters do not have to pay to feed, shelter and  vet and kill unworn dogs and cats that are never   born. Assisting pet owners with being responsible  and sterilizing their pets is just as important   as rabies clinics. No organization that does not  make spayneuter their number one priority should   be granted taxpayer money. Yet the HCH Harford  County Harford Humane Society of Harford County   often allows animals to leave their shelter  intact. The current director has proven time   and again that she cannot make financial decisions  to benefit either the shelter or the animals that   fall under her care. This past spring, an injured  cat was found in Bair in the early morning hours.   With no other option available, it was taken  to local ER on Baltimore Pike. The cat was in   dire knee with a compound fracture, but was  still friendly, non-aggressive despite the   pain. As the cat was chipped by the the  local shelter and adopted out by them,   its fate was unfortunately in their hands.  myself and a local vol vet volunteered in   the early morning hours to assume the care of  this animal and the funds to treat them as and   was urged on social media without attempting to  access the shelter records to whom the shelter   adopted the cat too. Miss Hickman opted to have  the animal euthanized at the ER. The shelter would   have assumed that cost instead of allowing the  animal to be transferred to another animal group  

willing to vet and quarantine them with zero cost  to the shelter. Irsighted to shelter management is   necessary as the current director has failed  in her duties of leadership. Money cannot be   entrusted to her without strict oversight. Um the  failure, this is currently its failure to serve   the residents of Harford County means that our  countyy's residents must raise the money again to   fund public rescues and TNR groups to to do what  the county shelter is failing to do. This is not   only physically irresponsible, it's redundant  and exhausting. Thank you. Thank you, ma'am. Good evening, Mr. Beck. Zip code, please. Jeff  Beck, 21085, Japa Town, Maryland. Good evening,   council and council president. U politely  direct uh Mr. Bennett, your uh public outcry   last week about the lack of attendance paid  off. I appreciate it. It's good to see. I'm   happy. Thank you. Um I'm here to talk about um  the capital budget that no one's really touched   on so far tonight. Uh half the speakers signed  up have already talked on uh HCPS. Uh capital   budget is one that rarely gets attention. Um  two years ago, a little over two years ago,   uh Harford County in conjunction with uh state  and federal grants as well as Harford Land Trust   acquired 129 acres in Japtown with the sole  intent of preserving and building a community   center and some ball fields. To date, shovel has  yet to hit the ground. We are told it is still   in the development and engineering phase. Two  years later, it is now, according to the capital   budget for 2027, still an outyear project.  That is disappointing to say the least. Uh,  

Japa Farm Road is in I won't call it quite dire,  but it in in severe need of uh resurfacing um   complete restructuring and rebuilding of the  uh paved roadway. I have been told for months   on end now at CAB meetings that it is uh that  it was planned to to start this spring. It is   now the end of May, middle of May. Uh we're two  months into spring and according to the budget,   it is in preliminary engineering study phase  with uh the next large expenditure I'm assuming   for construction not until 2029 budget. Um both  of these things are extremely disappointing. Uh   Japa Town for the 20 years that I've lived  here has been the armpit of Harford County.   It has uh been a dumping ground and it has been  neglected uh by the county, by the council, by the   administration, and by a lot of other people  throughout the county. Uh and quite frankly,   we're tired of it. We'd like to see just a little  bit of investment capital speaking uh on these two   particular projects. While I'm here, and I've got  a few seconds, I appreciate everyone's passion on   u the Harford County Public Schools budget.  I would simply ask that that same passion   uh be directed equally uh at the state and  at the school board to make sure that the   state is funding adequately with the blueprint  and the mandates that is forced and the school   board that they are writing a sufficient budget  that prioritizes the students and the teachers   first and foremost. Thank you. Thank you sir.  Jean Salvatore followed by Barbara Kramer. Good evening, ma'am. Name and zip. Good evening,  Jean Salvatore. My zip is 211015. Um, before I   get on my main topic, and again, I appreciate  the opportunity to speak. I do want to say as  

a person who did not go to Harford County public  schools, who has no children or grandchildren in   Harford County Public Schools, I fully support  everything I've heard here about why we have to   fully fund Harford County Public Schools. But I'm  here to say that I um sat in on the presentation   that the Humane Society of Harford County made  on their budget, their proposed budget, and I   was struck by the enormous increase that was being  asked for, which as other people have pointed out,   had really no details to support that. I have a  lot of questions, and I'll probably email them   all to you because I can't cover them in three  minutes. But let me tell you what I didn't hear.   You didn't hear anything at all about what they  were doing at HSHC to partner with more people so   that they could do more. I didn't hear anything at  all from HSHC about what they were going to do in   order to make sure that every animal that leaves  the shelter is already spayed or neutered, which   currently is not happening. We are finding people  coming to us afterwards, us being rescues in the   area, to get that done, including at least one cat  that delivered kittens. I didn't hear anything at   all about what was being done to get more grant  money. There's $900,000 or so available through   the state for spayneuter grants. I didn't hear  anything at all about the change to the charter,   which thank you uh councilwoman no um Nolanda  for doing to say that you can now at the shelter   officially fix sterilize pets at low cost and hear  anything at all about any of that. I really feel   that the transparency or lack thereof is really  a problem in this county. And you might be aware  

that yesterday in Baltimore County, the county  executive signed four animal welfare bills to make   sure people are more responsible for their animals  to require or to give more assistance to animal   control. Haven't read through them all now, but I  really applaud that is leadership when it comes to   animal welfare. I would love for this county to  take a leadership role in animal welfare causes.   I'm not seeing that. I will continue to help press  for that. I will work for that along with anyone   here willing to do that. And if if you haven't  listened to the budget presentation, it is very   telling as to where the priorities are at the  shelter right now. So, I would urge you to listen   to that audio because it is very distressing to  those of us who do an awful lot to care for very   many animals in this county and want to see better  done. Thank you for your time. Thank you, ma'am. Good evening, Miss Kramer. Could I have  your zip code, please? Uh, good evening,   ladies and gentlemen of the council. My name  is Barbara Osborne Kramer, and I live at 21101. I am a member of the third county council. My  picture with our group is the third one on the   wall. The picture is fading, but I'm not. I am  a candidate, a Democratic candidate for county   executive and I'm a member of the Democratic  Central Committee and have been for seven terms.   First, I want to talk to you about augmenting  the educ education budget. I understand you   put additional money in and it's the only  category where you can add budget funding,   but I urge you to go back and take another look  as you've been urged by so many people tonight,   but consider it's not just a comparison  with last year. It's a comparison with  

when the number of staff positions were cut so  severely that class sizes had to rise. And I   can tell you as a former English and creative  writing teacher at Belair High School, rising   class sizes in itself impairs the educational  process. One year I had 186 students every day. So I'm urging you to go back and restore funding  to the levels that will restore those staff   positions. And I would note also that when I was  a member of the county council, we not only raised   our comparative position in funding from 22nd in  the state to 14th, but we also spent 54% of the   county budget on education alone. Second, while I  realize you cannot raise this category directly,   I think you can have a big influence on  how the libraries allocate the funding.   Precoid the libraries all the libraries were  open from 1 to 4 on Sundays. Now no libraries   are open. They have not been reopened since COVID.  It's a serious deficiency in delivery of service. So in addition, third, there is a crying need  for meeting space in Hartford County in the   evenings between the libraries and parks and  recreation. I urge you to do some negotiating   so that there would be three meeting places open  in Harford County every weekn night until 5:15   p.m. I mean 9:15 p.m. And the reason I say this  is it is a creep of meetings being earlier and  

earlier and earlier and it's probably because of  limitations in meeting spaces. But people commute   long distances in our county and they need a  chance to get home and have dinner with their   supper rather with their families and then  go to their evening meetings. So the meeting   places need to be more accommodating and I think  three per week night is a good place to start. Thank you, Miss Kramer. Your time's I just Oh,   I've used my time. Thank you.  Thank you, ma'am. Jen Burn. Am I the last speaker? Oh, save the best for  last. Good evening, ma'am. Name is it? Uh,   Jen Burn 211085. Um, it's my birthday today and I  decided spent to spend it here with you guys. Um,   thank you for allowing me the opportunity to  speak on my birthday. Um, I'm an art teacher.   I'm a middle school art teacher. I've been  teaching for 29 years. And I'm not originally   from Harford County. I'm from the Eastern  Shore of Maryland. And when I arrived here,   I was really impressed with all that our Harford  County had to offer. It was big time. And lately,   I have not been so impressed. Every year, I feel  like we're in the same spot. So, I'm here to ask   for you guys to reconsider fully funding and  putting that extra 15 million in because I've   been putting in extra often to replace consumable  goods that the art room uses. Supplies cost more.   I am very lucky that I have an administration that  is very supportive of our art program. But still,   when I look at our budget and I look at the  cost of art supplies, I don't know how I'm  

going to make ends meet. Another issue we've been  talking about program cuts and staff cuts and that   has personally affected me. Um, we now have art  teachers teaching CTE classes. So, if you're a   seventh grade student and you want to take an art  class, you have a very low chance of getting into   an art class because our art teachers are teaching  CTE, careers, technology, and engineering. We're   not certified to teach that, but we can teach  out of our area according to contract. So,   um, we are also in a very old building. It's  aging. I've taught in old buildings before. Um   I was previously at Homestead Wakefield. I'm now  at Bellair Middle. Um we basically have a moat   that goes down the hallway outside my classroom  when it rains. And you know with budget cuts,   it just doesn't seem like anything's going  to get fixed. I will say our custodian is   excellent at getting on those issues, but it's  an aging building. So Mr. Vincetti, I um had the   pleasure of attending a sculpture opening with you  recently. Um, as an art teacher, I like to get out   and to attend cultural events. We had a sculpture  dedication of the amazing work of Brent Kthers in   Herty Grace. And I went to that and I saw these  sculptures that were larger than life being   dedicated in the arts district in Herty Grace. And  I thought to myself, what is the future of our art   program and our schools in Harford County? Will  there be another visionary sculptor like Brent   Kruthers? Not if schools aren't funded because  Brent Kruthers in the seventh grade would not have   had that opportunity because his art teacher would  have been teaching a CTE course. So it really does  

have a fallout. So please reconsider. Thank you.  Happy birthday. Oh, thank you Michelle Johnson. Good evening, ma'am. Name and it Michelle Johnson  211084. Good evening, council members. I'm here as   a parent to two HCPS students who want to see our  schools fully supported. Right now, as you have   heard all evening, there is a gap between what our  schools need to maintain current services and what   has been proposed. This is not about expansion.  It's about maintaining what already exists.   The reality is that rising cost and increased  student needs absorb much of that funding,   leaving less flexibility to maintain current  services. Just like families across our county are   feeling the impact of rising grocery and energy  costs, our schools are facing these same issues.   A concern I've heard is declining enrollment  while budget requests continue to increase.   Harford County student population has changed and  the cost of serving those students has changed   with increases in special education, economically  disadvantaged students, and English learners. The   budget needs to reflect today's students and how  their needs have changed over time. When staffing   is reduced, class sizes increased, which impacts  both student learning and teacher effectiveness.   When funding falls short, the impact is  practical. larger class sizes, fewer supports,   and increased strain leading to higher costs.  When we underinvest now, costs don't disappear,   they shift into more expensive areas later, like  out of district placement, staff turnover, and   more intensive interventions. Cutting positions  doesn't eliminate responsibilities. Things like   transportation, special education compliance,  and daily operations still have to be managed,   and those costs often shift into more expensive  areas later on. Some HCPS schools are performing  

well, but that success depends on maintaining the  staffing and support systems behind it. There are   also schools where outcomes remain a concern,  and in those schools, improvement comes from   stability and targeted support, not from reducing  resources. That's why this request matters.   It's about ensuring schools can continue  succeeding as student needs, special education   costs, transportation, and staffing requirements  rise. If there is room to bring funding closer to   what is needed, it would help maintain stability  and avoid higher costs in the future. We are all   in this room because we care about our community  and we all want the same outcome as strong,   stable, well-managed Harford County. Supporting  our schools responsibly is in the best interest   of our students, our community, and our  future. Thank you for your time. Thank you,   ma'am. There are no more speakers. Uh with no  more speakers, this will conclude uh tonight's   public hearing and actually uh conclude the public  hearings in general for this budget cycle. So,   I thank you uh for your input and  uh this meeting will be adjourned.