Harford County schools seek to make up for $60 million budget shortfall

BALTIMORE -- Harford County Public Schools are debating student safety and whether to close the doors of an elementary school as it faces a nearly $60 million budget shortfall for the 2026 fiscal year.

Dr. Sean Bulson, the Harford County School superintendent, said the district is reviewing every option to make up for the budget shortfall, including potentially shutting down Darlington Elementary School.

"We have to make tradeoffs and draw a line somewhere," Bulson said.

Bulson said the district's focus is on school safety, attendance and building stronger trust with families.

The district is asking parents to provide their input on the budget which is open for comment through the end of November. Bulson said the plan is to present the final budget plan to the school board by January. 

Some parents told WJZ that cutting funding from essential areas should not be an option.

"It's a hard question to answer and the way they put it to us, it's a hard way to put it that way," said parent Catherine Willis. 

"Truly a last resort"

Making up for the budget shortfall comes with a price, including potentially closing Darlington Elementary School, which has received pushback from parents.

"I was completely blindsided when they suggested closing the school to fill that gap," said parent Jennifer Hathaway. "It's not fair for the teachers or the kids to take that hit for this budget deficit. 

Superintendent Bulson told WJZ the cost of serving one student at Darlington Elementary School is more than twice the cost of serving a student at their other schools.

"That is truly a last resort," Bulson said about closing Darlington Elementary.

Other options include increasing class size or making transportation cuts.