Baltimore County Schools staff say morale is low. Can the new superintendent fix it?

Morale among Baltimore County school staff is low. That was the sentiment from about 40 employees who shared what they wanted to see in the district’s new superintendent who will be selected later this month.

Ray and Associates, the search firm responsible for finding candidates for the school board to interview, visited three schools around the county and organized a virtual meeting to hear what parents and staff want to see in the new leader. Though the input sessions were public and recordings are posted online, many who spoke did not identify themselves by name.

Employees recounted their struggles with failed contract negotiations, rising class sizes and budget cuts that force them to do more with less. They want a new leader who works well with unions, collaborates with staff to save money before making cuts and retains educators.

Their feedback will be shared with the school board before interviews begin next week. Twelve people have applied so far to replace Superintendent Myriam Rogers on July 1, according to Ray and Associates. Baltimore County’s new superintendent will be responsible for 108,000 students and 20,000 staffers.

Here’s how staff say their new superintendent can boost morale.

Fewer cuts and smaller classes

Baltimore County school officials should be asking its superintendent candidates how they’d rebuild relationships with staff, one employee said at the George Washington Carver Center for Arts and Technology last month.

“There are a lot of feelings” about job cuts and salary negotiations over the last few years, said the staffer, who did not identify herself.

Hundreds of positions have been cut under Rogers as the school system faced financial strain, in part to pay for union raises. Over 400 jobs were axed from next school year’s budget, and the school system changed its staffing formula, which will result in increased numbers of students for middle and high school teachers. Staff and parents have reported that classrooms are already bursting at the seams.

“Healing is needed, and healing will not come from polished statements and presentations from leaders who are part of dismantling offices, eliminating programs and reducing resources,” another employee said that night. The educator, who did not share her name, wants the new leader to examine how those decisions affected workloads and employee burnout.

Keith Kelsey, a Deer Park Middle Magnet School band teacher who spoke at an input session at Milford Mill Academy last month, said that he doesn’t want the new superintendent to think the teacher-to-student ratio is normal. He said the school’s fine arts department is shrinking while the student body is growing. Every class is over capacity, he said.

Another educator who did not identify herself said one of her special education classrooms is overflowing.

“There can be no learning in there when there are lots of behavior issues that are being dealt with,” she said.

Jeannette Young, president of the union that represents support staff, said the school system relies too heavily on unreliable contractors to fill roles like substitute teachers and classroom assistants. Contractors don’t always show up, she said.

Better pay and less turnover

Jenna Guglielmini, a school psychologist, said the new superintendent shouldn’t get a raise when the school system is making cuts elsewhere. Last year, school psychologists and counselors moved from year-round to 10-month jobs, which came with pay cuts.

The school board gave Rogers a 5% salary increase that year.

“We deserve a superintendent who will boost morale in this county,” she said at a virtual input session last month.

Fellow school psychologist Genevieve Yaegar said at the same session that colleagues leave Baltimore County for jobs at neighboring districts where pay for psychologists are higher and caseloads are smaller. State data shows the average salary for Baltimore County psychologists is $96,435. It’s $114,701 in Baltimore City and $128,148 in Howard County.

Staff repeatedly brought up turnover at every input session, including the recent revolving door of superintendents. The next superintendent will be the fourth in nine years. Rogers is leaving a year before her contract ends.

A paraeducator at the Milford Mill session who did not share her name suggested that the superintendent should take a pay cut so that other employees can be paid more.

An educator who spoke at a Red House Run Elementary input session last month wants the next superintendent to negotiate with unions in good faith.

The last round of contract negotiations was bumpy. Rogers promised three years of raises for all employees in 2023, but she didn’t have a plan to fully fund the increases. It led to an impasse, mediation and staff receiving less than they had bargained for.

The next round of negotiations will set the tone for the relationship between the new leader and staff and determine whether many employees choose to stay or go, said the educator, who did not share her name.

About the Education Hub

This reporting is part of The Banner’s Education Hub, community-funded journalism that provides parents with resources they need to make decisions about how their children learn. Read more.