Baltimore School Board Approves $1.39B Budget Thursday
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- The Baltimore Board of School Commissioners voted to approve the city school district's $1.39 billion budget for the 2021-22 school year Thursday.
The district's priorities, according to a statement, for the school year include:
- Investments to meet the needs of Covid recovery and the reopening of school buildings, such as testing, air quality maintenance, personal protective equipment and more custodians. The majority of these investments are being paid for by one-time recovery funding from state and federal sources.
- Continued investments in the Blueprint for Success. This includes expanding the BMore Me curriculum to elementary and high schools, expanding mental health services for students, and adding incentives for model teachers to teach in communities with a history of low investment.
- Continued operational investments in things like technology, staff recruitment, and translation services.
District officials said the majority of next year's budget will be spent directly in schools or in support of schools. This year, about 83 percent of the budget went to schools.
District officials also said they kept public input in mind when they drafted and adopted the budget and ask the public to continue to share their thoughts at one of the upcoming Reconnect, Restore, Reimagine engagement sessions.
