$8M In Bonuses For HCPSS Educators Earmarked By Howard County Executive Ball

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — Educators with the Howard County Public School System will receive at least $8 million in bonuses through the American Rescue Plan. Howard County Executive Calvin Ball on Monday requested an additional $8 million in a match from the board of education's $43.5 million federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund III to match the county’s pledge of $8 million commitment to support educators.

"Our educators have served as a lifeline to our students and their families through the pandemic, managing the demands of switching from virtual to hybrid modes of instruction, all the while caring for the health and safety of their own families. For our teachers and support staff, these past two years have been especially grueling, and I believe we must retain those committed educators that make our school system among the best in the nation," Ball said.

The Ball administration provided bonus pay to approximately 2,700 full-time and contingent employees, including public safety workers, members of the health department, and others on the front line of the pandemic. Last month, Ball also committed $2 million in ARP funding to provide retention and signing bonuses for school bus drivers.