The Board of Education of Anne Arundel County tonight unanimously approved a new contract with the Teachers Association of Anne Arundel County (TAAAC), marking the first time in at least a decade that agreements with all four employee bargaining units have been reached prior to the adoption of the ensuing year’s budget.
The agreement with TAAAC calls for eligible Unit I employees to receive a step and for all Unit I employees to receive a 6 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). The agreement is separate from one announced earlier in the day which utilizes $3.1 million made available by County Executive Steuart Pittman and the County Council to increase starting teacher salaries teacher salaries by approximately $8,000 to $58,161 beginning July 1, 2023.
“These two agreements are tremendous news for our teachers, our students, and our entire school system,” Board President Dr. Joanna Tobin said. “We have put an immense amount of time and energy into advocating for the critical need to increase compensation for our employees and it is an incredible relief to be on strong footing with all of our bargaining units prior to the start of the next fiscal year.”
FISCAL YEAR 2024 BUDGETS
Shortly after approving the agreement with TAAAC, the Board unanimously gave formal approval to operating and capital budgets that fund key priorities for the coming fiscal year. The $1.65 billion FY2024 operating budget contains $79.5 million in compensation increases for employees while addressing more than $20.6 million in mandates required by the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future law and funding needs for three new schools: Old Mill West High School and West County Elementary School, both of which will open in the 2024-2025 school year, and the Chesapeake Science Point Public Charter Elementary School, which will open in the upcoming school year.
The operating budget contains funding to extend the work day for teaching assistants by 30 minutes, to provide Unit I special educators with a $2,000 bonus, to increase pay for substitute teachers, and to provide the second consecutive 10 percent COLA for contracted bus drivers.
The budget also allocates more than $5 million for career counseling to be done by the Anne Arundel Workforce Development Corporation and $2.9 million to go toward community schools as designated by the Blueprint.
Also funded are 45 positions to continue and enhance prekindergarten education for 3-year-olds as mandated by the Blueprint, 10 English Language Development teachers to address the needs of AACPS’ fastest-growing student population, six assistant principal positions, three school psychologists, three school social workers, two school counselors, two community ambassadors, and one pupil personnel worker.
The $200.6 million capital budget contains $132.4 million for major capital projects that include construction at the following schools, in priority order:
- West County Elementary School construction, $12.6 million
- Old Mill Middle School South construction, $37.3 million
- Center of Applied Technology – North construction, $58.4 million
- Old Mill Middle School North design/construction, $11.4 million
- Old Mill High School design/construction, $12.7 million
The Old Mill High School request is for a new facility on the school’s current Patriot Lane site and separate from the construction of Old Mill High School West, which is being built on the former Papa John’s Farm in Severn.
“I cannot say enough about the partnership shown by County Executive Pittman and the entire County Council in making difficult decisions to provide our school system with what we need as we continue to move forward,” Dr. Tobin said. “I truly believe we are on the precipice of becoming a great school system and our partnership with county government is a necessary ingredient to make that a reality.”