Schools

Teachers Union: Baltimore County School Staffing Will Be Hit Next Year

Union, superintendent differ on assessment of staffing for the 2012 fiscal year budget.

Teachers waiting to see what level of funding the Baltimore County Public Schools will receive for next year are suffering "angst" about how budget cuts will affect class sizes, a representative of the teachers union told the Board of Education Tuesday night.

Cheryl Bost, president of the Teachers Association of Baltimore County, said many high schools are seeing a drop in their projected staffing numbers for next year.

“There’s a lot of angst right now on how this will impact these highly successful schools,” she said.

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

Schools Superintendent Joe A. Hairston said, however, the shifts in staffing will not dramatically increase class sizes and that suggesting such negative consequences was out of line.

“Nothing has been reduced,” he remarked. “No teacher has been laid off and there are no furloughs.”

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

In the school board’s $1.6 billion budget for the 2012 fiscal year, a total of 196 teaching positions were to be left vacant.

Hairston said at this stage no school knows for certain what level its staffing will be at this point. He also said he does not expect class sizes to grow to the level that Bost predicted.

“It’s irresponsible for someone to sit here and say the sky is falling,” he added.

Bost said she has been told by staff that many schools are in a holding pattern on making staffing decisions but that current information indicates many high schools in particular would see class sizes increase significantly.

“Parents in the community are not going to feel the impact of this until the fall,” she said.

Also at Tuesday’s meeting, Board President Earnest E. Hines responded to  criticism the board faced for enforcing the , which has moved many longtime community events from school property.

Hines said the board will discuss the matter at its retreat on March 19.

“We are listening to citizens’ concerns.”


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