More Mental Health Workers Requested For Anne Arundel Schools

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, MD —The Anne Arundel County Board of Education requested funding for 19 more mental health workers. The ask is part of the board's $1.4 billion budget request, adopted Wednesday night.

The new positions and upgraded emotional resources account for $18.4 million of that request. If approved, the school system would get an additional:

• Seven school counselors
• Seven school psychologists
• Five social workers

To make way for these potential employees, school officials reduced the number of teachers requested to decrease class size. Instead of 129 new educators, Anne Arundel County Public Schools now seeks 100.

Altogether, the school board asked for 220 new positions. About 97 percent of those prospective staffers will have daily contact with students.

The board will dole out $41.8 million in raises. That's $16.7 million more than AACPS Superintendent George Arlotto suggested in his December budget proposal. The technical details of the pay increases are available in this press release.

This year's total request is $82.8 million greater than last year's approved budget. That's a 6.3 percent increase. State grants will help fund $12.1 million of that bump.

Next Steps

The board must now send its request to County Executive Steuart Pittman by March 1. Pittman will then recommend his version of the budget to the county council by May 1.

The council will vote on Pittman's draft on June 16. Council members will forward the budget back to the Board of Education.

School officials may then shift the money around, but they may not add funds. The board must give final approval by June 30.

The budget will fund AACPS for fiscal year 2022, which runs from July 1 to June 30, 2022.

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RELATED:

• Mental Health Positions, Superintendent's Recommedations Added
• AACPS' $1.4B Budget Inches Toward Approval: Here's What's Left
• $1.37B FY22 Operating Budget Unveiled By AACPS Superintendent
• Arlotto's Budget Recommendation, Anne Arundel County

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