Baltimore Co. schools to renegotiate salary raises for staff

Kristen Griffin

The Baltimore Banner

April 29, 2025

Officials at Baltimore County Public Schools are rethinking salary increases for staff, something Superintendent Myriam Rogers committed to during her first year on the job.

In a Monday evening email to parents, Rogers stated that the school system “will reopen negotiations for compensation increases with all five union bargaining units.” The five unions represent all of the systems’ 20,000 employees, which include teachers, principals and building service workers.

A spokesperson for the school system said staff raises for the next school year are still on the table, but district leaders will have to work with the unions “to determine what is possible given the fiscal challenges.”

That’s disappointing to Cindy Sexton, president of the Teachers Association of Baltimore County, the teachers union. It’s not as if the renegotiation will result in more money, she said.

“Everyone knew that the amount was for three years,” Sexton said of the union’s contract, lamenting that the school system and county government had time to budget for it, but didn’t.

She acknowledged, though, that things have changed since the deal was negotiated.

In 2023, school district staff had celebrated a compensation deal that would increase salaries for all 20,000 employees for three years. That same year, new teacher pay jumped by over $5,500, making first-year teachers in Baltimore County among the highest paid in the state. The average county teacher now makes $84,300, a bit less than the state average of $87,409.

Baltimore County Public Schools staff got 1% raises this school year, the first year of their three-year contract. Their salaries were due for 5% raises next school year and the year after.

The three-year deal was supposed to bring peace of mind to teachers who wouldn’t have to worry about their salaries in the coming years. That would help with retention, Sexton said, an advantage for the school system during a nationwide teacher shortage.

Since then, the school system has been up against rising expenses, potential federal funding cuts and uncertainty about state funding. The $61 million compensation package is the priciest item in the county’s nearly $3 billion budget.

Rogers made a big request from the county government, 10.4% more than what it got last year. County Executive Kathy Klausmeier, however, made clear that ask wouldn’t be fulfilled. She gave the school system a 3.5% increase instead.

In anticipation of the shortfall, school system leaders found other places to save money, according to Rogers’ message to parents: Additional supervisory positions in central office were eliminated; the hiring freeze for central office’s non-school building positions was extended; funding for supplies and materials was reduced by $14 million; and the district is “implementing additional cuts to division and department budgets.”

The County Council will review Klausmeier’s proposal before finalizing the county’s budget in May, according to Rogers’ email.

In the meantime, Rogers said she will work closely with the County Council to talk about what the county executive’s proposed budget will mean for the school system “and continue to advocate for Team BCPS and the resources we need to continue our forward progress.”