Minimum Wage Increased For Hourly Howard County Public School System Employees

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — During a recently held closed meeting, the Howard County Board of Education voted to raise the minimum wage for hourly Howard County Public School System staff to $14 per hour. The new wage will be implemented for the pay period starting Feb. 24 and will be funded as part of the HCPSS fiscal year 2022 operating budget.

Recently, the Howard County Council passed legislation, effective in April, to increase the minimum wage. The board’s increase aligns with the county’s new rates for 2023 but implements the increase prior to the county’s start date of April 1, 2022.

“The board has made it a priority to compensate the people who have worked tirelessly to help the school system navigate through a most challenging time; this includes our critical hourly staff who support our schools,” Howard County Board of Education Chair Vicky Cutroneo said. “It is important that we continue to provide competitive pay scales and rates to both attract new employees and retain current staff.”

“The employees and temporary staff who support our students, schools and classrooms are an essential part of our organization, particularly as we have navigated the challenges brought on by the pandemic,” added HCPSS Superintendent Michael Martirano. “In alignment with the recent increases in pay for substitute teachers, this hourly wage increase benefits our essential temporary staff and helps retain and attract more candidates to HCPSS.”

All staff currently receiving hourly wages below $14 will receive the increase. Among the staff directly impacted by this change are elementary lunch and recess monitors who serve an invaluable role in all our elementary schools.

HCPSS has included $234,000 in the fiscal year 2023 budget to support increased wages in fiscal year 2023, which would support any additional costs for the minimum wage change. This is based on current pandemic-level staffing for these positions.