Taking a Closer Look at HCPS’ Budget

With the school year about to begin for all of you Harford County kiddos, I figured that I would go over everyone’s favorite topic to talk about, and that’s budgets, specifically Harford County Public School’s budget for the 2022 school year!

Main Points

-Harford County completely funded the Board of Education’s request for $293.8 million, which is $16.9 million more than the previous year’s budget.

-This year’s budget includes funding for an additional 100 teaching and counseling positions.

-A salary and wage package is included and expected to cost $8 million.

Budgets Approved by the Board of Education

Unrestricted Fund: $519,587,597

Restricted Fund: $85,084,718

Food Service Fund: $23,268,929

Capital Projects Fund: $53,111,000

Side Note: Unrestricted funds usually come from the local or state government and are used for the general expenses made by the school district. Restricted funds usually come from the federal government and are used for the programs and purposes they were provided for. Unrestricted and restricted funds together make up the total general fund of the school district, but the purpose those funds are used for differs.

Breaking Down Where the Funds Comes From

Source: Harford County Public Schools

County Government Aid: Includes County allocation that represents Maintenance of Effort level of funding under State Law and additional funding as allocated and approved by the County Executive and County Council.

State Government Aid: Includes Unrestricted fund and Restricted (in the form of grants) funds.

Other Sources: Includes building use fees, gate recipets for athletic events, fees for out-of-county students, interest income, and student fees.

Fund Balance: Includes funds set aside from prior fiscal years to support ongoing operations and one-time expenditures.

Breaking Down Where the Funds Go

Source: Harford County Public Schools

Administrative Services: Includes Board of Education, Executive Administration, Business Services, Human Resources, and the Office of Technology and Information Services.

Student Instruction: Includes Education Services, Mid-Level Administration, Instructional Salaries, Textbooks and Classroom Supplies, Other Instructional Costs, Special Education, and Health Services.

Transportation: Includes fuel for vehicles, system operated buses for special education and contracted bus services for regular students.

Operations and Maintenance: Includes Facilities management of buildings and grounds, utility costs and Planning and Construction expenditures for capital projects.

Additional Information on HCPS’ Budget for FY2022

Unfortunately, I can’t go over EVERYTHING that’s included in HCPS’ budget in a single blog, but if you dare to take a gander at the entire budget yourself, then be my guest. Here are links to the websites that I used to gather all of the information for this blog. Thanks for joining me on another one of my budget breakdowns!

Sources

Anderson, David. “'We're on Our WAY': Harford School Board APPROVES Budget with Nearly 100 Additional Positions for next Year.” Baltimoresun.com, Baltimore Sun, 10 June 2021, www.baltimoresun.com/maryland/harford/aegis/cng-ag-hcps-budget-2022-20210610-q6mqgh32y5hcjogitj7ehpcvka-story.html.

Board of Education of Harford County Informational Report. www.hcps.org/boe/docs/BoardReportDecisionOnFY2022.pdf.

HCPS Budget Proposal Fiscal Year 2022. www.hcps.org/boe/docs/FY22BudgetPresentationBOE'sApproved.pdf.