Howard County Public Schools, Maryland
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Contents |
Website evaluation
In 2011 Howard County Public Schools earned a Sunny Award for having a perfect website transparency score.
This Web site was most recently reviewed 2013-03-19.
- Main article: Evaluation of Maryland school district websites
The good
- Budget
- The most current budget is listed.
- Budgets are archived for 13 years.[1]
- Administrative Officials
- Department heads are listed for each department.[2]
- Contact information for administrative officials is provided including a mailing address, phone number, and personalized email.
- Elected Officials
- Elected officials are listed with a mailing address, phone number and group email.[3]
- Personal emails and contact information can be found after clicking on the picture of each board member.
- Meetings
- Audits
- The most recent audit is posted.
- Audits dating back to 2007 are available.[6]
- Contracts
- Public Records
- The public information officer is identified and maintained by the Public Information Office. This person provides a mailing address, phone number and personalized email.[10]
- A fee schedule for documents is provided.
- Taxes
- Tax revenues are broken down by federal, state, and local funding in the budget.
- Local taxes, like property taxes, are available online.[11]
- Academics
- Academic performance reports for the school are posted online.[12]
- Background Checks
- The criminal background check policy and teacher certification requirements are posted online.[13]
The bad
- Elected Officials
- Board members do not have individualized email addresses.
Board of education
The Board of Education of Howard County is responsible for setting local education policy consistent with state and federal laws governing public education. At the direction of the Board, the Superintendent and the school system's administrative staff develop procedures and administrative regulations to support policy decisions. The Board is composed of seven members elected at-large for four-year terms, and a student member elected by students for a one-year term. [14]
Board Responsibilities[14]
- Expressing and representing the views of the community in matters affecting education.
- Determining educational standards and goals.
- Exercising leadership for the operation of schools.
- Allocating money for school operational needs and building programs.
- Authorizing specific expenditures from county, state, and federal sources.
- Authorizing curriculum development and revision.
- Appointing and setting the salaries of the superintendent and, based on the recommendation of the superintendent, all professional personnel.
- Interpreting the educational program and needs of the school system to the community.
Below is a list of current Board of Education members.[15]
| Member | Term Expires |
|---|---|
| Frank J. Aquino, Vice Chairman | 2014 |
| Allen Dyer | 2012 |
| Sandra H. French, Chairman | 2014 |
| Ellen Flynn Giles | 2012 |
| Brian J. Meshkin | 2014 |
| Janet Siddiqui, M.D., Chairman | 2012 |
| Cynthia L. Vaillancourt | 2014 |
| Cole Rosenberg, Student Member | 2012-2013 |
Teacher contracts
School budget
FY 2012 Budget
Expenditure Highlights: The fiscal 2012 operating budget request totals $682,806,920, an increase of $7,459,270 or 1.1% over the fiscal 2011 budget.
Major Sources of Change in the Fiscal 2012 Budget:
- Enrollment Related Costs: Adds $3.0 million and 46.2 positions due to enrollment growth.
- Mandatory Increases: Adds the interscholastic athletic program for students with disabilities (Allied Sports Program). Covers increases in fixed charges such as retirement costs, unemployment costs, tuition reimbursement and workers’ compensation.
- Funding to Continue Ongoing Programs: Adds $5.7 million and 4.5 positions to continue ongoing programs at their current level of service. Decreases in Federal and State grant funds require movement of staffing and funds from restricted grants to the unrestricted operating budget. Student transportation anticipates a $2.0 million increase in the cost of bus contracts and route changes. The budget increases user charges for the Technology Fund in order to support data systems and to upgrade the school system’s integrated financial system.
- Program Enhancements: Provides funds for planning a World Language Program at the elementary level.
- Reductions to Support Mandatory Increases: Reductions total $3.3 million and include a decrease of 9.0 positions. The largest savings are due to reduced salary costs, which occur when retirees are replaced by less senior staff or positions are vacant. Special Education summer services moves from five (5) weeks to four (4) weeks. The postage account has been reduced based on increased use of technology.
Revenue Highlights:
- The County requested allocation of $467,617,041 represents an increase in the level of Maintenance of Effort funding as provided for in State Law (based on an increase of 311.25* students), an increase of $2,908,253 or 0.6 percent.
- Estimated State funds are $209,794,569 which include $4,983,853 in Geographic Cost of Education funds, an increase of $4,799,997 or 2.3 percent.
- Other sources of funding include $370,000 in Federal funds, and various fees, tuition and interest which amount to $5,025,310. Together these other sources comprise 0.8 percent of the budget.
- The Howard County Public School System receives 68.5% of its operating budget from Howard County government and 30.7 percent from the state of Maryland.
Approved Budgets
Past three budgets:[16]
| Fiscal 2009 | Fiscal 2010 | Fiscal 2011 |
|---|---|---|
| $655,440,420 | $656,694,110 | $675,347,650 |
Academic performance
Maryland measures academic progress each year by administering the Maryland School Assessment, the Alternate Maryland School Assessment (for students with disabilities), and the Maryland High School Assessments.[17]
HSA performance
The chart below details the percentage passing the following subjects:[18]
| Grade | Overall | Algebra | Biology | English | Government |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 12 | 99.9% | 98% | 94.9% | 94.3% | 97.6% |
| Grade 11 | 97% | 96.4% | 94.3% | 91.4% | 96.7% |
| Grade 10 | 95.6% | 96.2% | 93.4% | 89.8% | 95.1% |
MSA performance
The chart below details the percentage passing the following subjects:[18]
| Grade | Math | Reading | Science |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 8 | 84.7% | 90.9% | 85.6% |
| Grade 7 | 87.9% | 92.1% | - |
| Grade 6 | 88.2% | 91.4% | - |
| Grade 5 | 87.5% | 94.3% | 76.4% |
| Grade 4 | 92.1% | 93.5% | - |
| Grade 3 | 89.5% | 91.2% | - |
Unions
The Howard County Education Association is made up of over 4,400 teachers, counselors, psychologists, pupil personnel workers, interpreters, therapists (speech, occupational, physical and school mental health therapists), school social workers, secretaries, clerks, registrars, assistants (instructional, media, special education, health, food service, security and student assistants), and central office technical, management and technical employees at the HCPSS central office. HCEA is the professional association and also the exclusive representative in collective bargaining for all teachers and most education support professionals in Howard County.<refHCEA</ref>
School choice
A public charter school operates under the authority of the Board of Education of Howard County. A public charter school must abide by the provisions of all laws, policies, and regulations governing other public schools, except as otherwise provided in policy or state law.[19]
Lobbying
- Main article: Maryland government sector lobbying
The school district has stated that it does not have a contractual relationship with lobbyists.[20] It is a member of the Maryland Association of Boards of Education, a government sector lobbying association.[20] Howard County Public Schools has hosted legislative receptions, a form of government sector lobbying.[20]
External links
References
- ↑ Howard County Public Schools, Budgets, Accessed: Jan 21, 2013
- ↑ Howard County Public Schools, Staff Directory, Accessed: Jan 21, 2013
- ↑ Howard County Public Schools, Elected Officials, Accessed: Jan 21, 2013
- ↑ Howard County Public Schools, Meeting Minutes and Agendas, Accessed: Jan 21, 2013
- ↑ Howard County Public Schools', Meeting Videos, Accessed: Jan 21, 2013
- ↑ Howard County Public Schools, CAFR, Accessed: Jan 21, 2013
- ↑ Howard County Public Schools, Negotiated Agreements and Salary tables, Accessed: Jan 21, 2013
- ↑ Howard County Public Schools, Bids, Accessed: Jan 21, 2013
- ↑ Howard County Public Schools, Contracts, Accessed: Jan 21, 2013
- ↑ Howard County Public School System, Public Information Requests, Accessed: Jan 21, 2013
- ↑ Howard County Public Schools, Budgets, Accessed: Jan 21, 2013
- ↑ Howard County Public Schools, Test Scores, Accessed: Jan 21, 2013
- ↑ Howard County Public Schools, Background Check, Accessed: Jan 21, 2013
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Board of Education
- ↑ HCPSS BOE
- ↑ 2011 budget document
- ↑ MD State Testing
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 [1]
- ↑ board policies charter schools
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 Howard County Public Schools FOIA response
