Harford County schools superintendent shares expectations amid budget concerns
BALTIMORE -- Harford County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Sean Bulson discussed his plans and expectations for this school year and his ongoing concerns with the district's budget.
Bulson told WJZ he has three priorities -- student achievement, how prepared the students are and strengthening their special education programs.
"We need to focus on the rigor of the courses our students are taking," Bulson said. "I want to make sure they're getting the best possible preparation for life beyond our walls."
Focus on special education
Bulson added that it's the district's responsibility to ensure that students with special education needs have the resources to thrive.
"There are so many things that need to be addressed in special education, but we need to make sure they have the resources they need to be successful and that we remove the barriers that are in place in some cases to their success," Bulson said.
On a budget
Bulson spent the summer break preparing for students to start the new year, which includes the budget and making sure there's enough funding for the district.
"Budget is very difficult," Bulson said. "Locally, we've now seen flat funding, essentially the last couple of years, the state funding has gone up, but the to-do list from the blueprint has gone up even more."
Bulson previously spoke with WJZ as he was fighting for more funding from county leaders. The school district received some funding, but not enough.
"We reached into our reserves to balance this year's budget," Bulson said. "It allowed us to minimize the number of cuts we had to do. We did some but they weren't very deep. But the amount of reserves we have appropriated for this year's budget is more than we would have to use next year. So we can't use that same amount of reserves again."
Facing funding challenges
Bulson highlighted that his district and others across the state are facing challenges making ends meet with the rising cost of inflation and now that COVID-19 funding has expired.
"There's a reckoning that kind of needs to happen at the state level to ensure that we can make the blueprint sustainable," Bulson said. "I think we're making great gains academically toward our goals here in our county, but it's hard to sustain those if the funding isn't coming along to make sure that's able to stay on track."
