Harford Executive Cassilly Statement on School Board Funding Request

Harford County Executive Bob Cassilly issued the following statement after last night’s decision by the school board to approve the superintendent’s request for a total of $347.6 million from county government in the fiscal year 2026.

“I would like to thank the Harford County Board of Education for their unanimous approval of a budget request to the county that more closely aligns with our anticipated growth in county revenue next year. My budget team and I will be working hard to fully fund this request.

To be clear, the school system is asking for $26.2 million more from the county in FY2026, which is an 8% increase and nearly double our preliminary estimated growth rate in county revenue, but it does bring the school budget closer to sustainability.

Our goal is to set a budget level for next year that allows for reasonable increases in education funding over the next several years, without raising taxes on households that are already struggling to make ends meet.

We still face a great risk that the state will balance its budget by shifting more costs onto the counties, including unfunded mandates from the state’s “Blueprint for Education,” which outrageously favors expanding bureaucracies rather than reducing class sizes.

Nonetheless, I look forward to continuing the ongoing collaboration between the school system and my administration, and I would like to thank everyone involved for their sincere efforts.”