Howard's student transportation policy update and fiscal 2025 budget to be revealed at Thursday meeting

Jan. 9—By Thomas Goodwin Smith — thsmith@baltsun.com

PUBLISHED:January 9, 2024 at 3:04 p.m.| UPDATED:January 10, 2024 at 11:48 a.m.

During the course of three to four virtual meetings this month and next, a new advisory committee is set to review the Howard County Public School System's transportation policy governing the safe transportation of eligible students to school buildings.

The policy was last revised in May 2022.

The committee's members have not been finalized, said school system spokesperson Brian Bassett, but it will include at least one member of the general public.

The student transportation policy, also known as Policy 5200, governs the safe transportation of eligible students to school buildings, and establishes criteria regarding which students are eligible for busing services.

To implement later start times at the beginning of the current school year, the school board approved a series of transportation overhauls, including expanding student walk zones. The change resulted in about 1,350 elementary schoolers, 800 middle schoolers and 1,200 high schoolers losing bus service this school year, Bassett said. In addition, bus stops can now be placed up to 1 mile away from home for elementary schoolers, 11/2 miles for middle schoolers and 2 miles for high schoolers, whereas students previously only had to walk up to a half-mile to bus stops.

The changes drew criticism from community members, several of whom claim their child's walk to school is unsafe.

More information about the policy will be presented at the county Board of Education meeting on Thursday afternoon, according to Bassett.

The school board meeting will be held in two portions, the first starting at 4 p.m. The student transportation policy report is scheduled to occur at the end of the 4 p.m. part of the meeting.

The second part of the meeting will begin at 7 p.m., and the school board is set to review the system's proposed fiscal 2025 operating budget at that time. Although an initial copy of the proposed budget will not be available until Thursday, the school system will use the approved fiscal 2024 $1.1 billion budget as a starting point in calculating revenues and expenditures for next fiscal year, which begins July 1. Acting Superintendent Bill Barnes will present the school system's proposed budget.

The majority of the budget is provided by Howard County, and the county's contribution to the school system's fiscal 2025 operating budget must meet or exceed $720 million, which is what the county contributed for fiscal 2024, according to the HCPSS website.

Nearly 85% of the school system's budget, $934.9 million, goes to pay salaries and benefits of HCPSS employees, according to the system's website. The $52.3 million transportation budget is the second-highest expense.

Following a series of five budget work sessions this month and in February, the school board is scheduled to vote to adopt the requested budget on Feb. 22.

Board of Education meetings are broadcast live on Verizon 42 and Comcast 95 and live streamed online at https://hcpsstv.v3.swagit.com/events/21429.

Share this:

— Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)

— Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)

—