Rising Budgets, Falling Proficiency: A Crisis in Baltimore County Schools

Presentation to Baltimore County Board of Education 2.24.26

By RWBC President Louise Baker

Baltimore County Public Schools employs more than 20,000 people and serves approximately 111,000 students. Yet fewer than half of those employees are classroom teachers roughly 9,000 to 9,500.

At the same time, academic outcomes remain deeply concerning. Grade 3 math proficiency is 39%. That means 60% of our third graders are not proficient in math.

Grade 7 English language arts proficiency is 44%. That means 56% of our students are not proficient in reading, writing, speaking, or listening.

Those are not small gaps, those are failures.

Over the past decade, spending has increased and non-teaching staffing has increased. Yet proficiency remains below state averages. As Board members, your role is governance — not day-to-day personnel management. Discussions about individual resignations, hires, and internal staffing matters belong to the Superintendent. Your responsibility is strategic oversight.

If more than half of our students are not proficient, then the focus should be clear:

·         Prioritize the students.

·         Reduce the number of non-teaching positions.

·         Tie budget decisions directly to measurable academic outcomes.

And if funding is tight, how does the budget contain a $24 million line item labeled confidential spending?

Parents deserve transparency. Taxpayers deserve accountability. Most importantly, students deserve proficiency not excuses. The trajectory we are on will define this Board’s legacy. I urge you to make student achievement the central metric of success.

When a majority of students are not proficient, that is not a funding issue - it is a leadership issue.

Watch the presentation here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZOgJf1ag08&t=7490s Start at Hour 2:06:40