Politics & Government

Teacher Raises Cost County 66 School Positions, $10 Million

The Harford County Board of Education and Harford County Education Association reached an agreement Monday.

While some Harford County teachers can expect a raise starting July 1, the increases come at a cost of 66 positions and $10 million.

Days after , the , representing 3,200 Harford County Public Schools employees, reached an agreement with the .

The revised wage package of $10 million, which is funded in part by a $3.3 million reduction in expenses and $3.9 million from the elimination of 66 positions, was approved during Monday's school board meeting.

Find out what's happening in Bel Airwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The Board of Education adopted the $427,768,507 budget containing the negotiated increases at Monday's meeting, before HCEA members voted to ratify the agreement at their schools Tuesday and Wednesday.

A copy of the board report and Fiscal Year 2013 budget changes can be found in the attached document.

Find out what's happening in Bel Airwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

A statement from the Harford County Board of Education said a lack of funding for the salary increases will be supplemented by "significant reductions in staffing and other programmatic areas throughout the budget to include professional development, overtime, meetings and conferences and equipment."

The agreement gives teachers and members of the HCEA a 1 percent cost of living raise for the next school year, a step increase raise for eligible teachers and longevity increases for more experienced teachers, according to a release from the school system.

According to a story on ExploreHarford.com, the school system said members of four other school system employee unions also get increases.

"Although our teachers undoubtedly deserve a fair pay raise, this proposal also comes with a cost—the loss of both administrative and teaching positions," Harford County Executive said in a statement.

HCEA also tentatively agreed to a Memorandum of Understanding that "resolves the outstanding 2011-12 collective bargaining issues," the release from the school system states.

The union had , which found that HCPS had been negotiating in bad faith with HCEA, Patch reported in April.

The Labor Board found that HCPS failed to honor parts of the previously negotiated contract agreement with the teachers and failed to follow the agreed upon advertised salary schedule.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here