March 31, 2025 Staff and Community Update: Highlights from the Superintendent’s March 2025 Press Conference
Watch the press conference
Dr. Myriam Rogers held a media availability today, March 31, to share updates and information for Team BCPS.
Fiscal Year 2026 Operating Budget
- Last month, the Board of Education voted to approve a $2.98 Billion Fiscal Year 2026 operating budget request. Since the Board’s vote, Dr. Rogers has continued to meet weekly with the County Executive, her budget team, and members of the County Council.
- Dr. Rogers has also met with Board of Education members to provide updates and gather input, and she plans to provide a comprehensive update for the community at the Board of Education meeting on April 8.
- Ahead of the April 8 update, Dr. Rogers shared that BCPS has made progress in narrowing the gap in funding and will continue to work with county leadership to find an option that will ensure we receive the funding we needs to meet the needs of all students.
- This work has required reductions in central office positions at all levels and contractual services, maintaining a central office hiring freeze, as well as other adjustments in costs, supplies and non-labor expenses. We have implemented additional strategies including freezing central office hiring, consolidating departments, trimming contracts, pausing automatic contract renewals, and approved fund balance use.
- The County Executive will present her recommended FY 2026 operating budget on April 11. Dr. Rogers thanked her for her commitment to Team BCPS, recognizing that there are competing interests and limited funds at the local level as well.
Chronic Absenteeism
- With the continued implementation of our “Here for It” campaign and bolstered efforts from school communities, we continue to see improvement in chronic absenteeism. The percentage of students attending school consistently has increased significantly, while the percentage of students who are chronically absent has decreased. Approximately 60 percent of our students attend school with consistency compared to less than 50 percent two years ago.
- Every dollar we request as a school system is critically important for the work that we do to support students, combat chronic absenteeism, empower students and families, and reduce barriers to school attendance.
- For the last school year, we were highlighted and recognized by the Maryland State Department of Education as having the number one improvement in the reduction of chronic absenteeism across schools in the state.
- When we dug into that data, we saw that our improvement in chronic absenteeism was not only in the aggregate, but we also saw improvement across all school levels, in all geographic zones, and for all student groups.
- Last year, roughly 28 percent of students were chronically absent. This year, we are down to 26.7 percent of students who are chronically absent, and trending toward an end-of-year reduction. We reviewed our year-to-date data last week and noted that in addition to the significant reductions in chronic absenteeism last year, 74 schools are doing even better this school year as compared to the same point in time last year.
- This did not happen by chance, it happened because of the tremendous efforts of our staff—teachers, administrators, support staff—and students, families and community partners. We thank our students, schools and parents for this continued progress.
Safety is A Shared Responsibility
- With roughly 2.5 months left in the school year, we want to share important safety reminders to ensure all students complete the school year strongly and on a positive note!
- Dr. Rogers thanked students and staff for the work they have done this school year to build and sustain positive and supportive learning spaces, and acknowledged that the majority of students come to school ready to learn and engage with their peers and adults.
- It is essential that every member of our community understands the role they play in supporting student and staff safety and well-being.
- For our students and families, your role includes coming to school prepared to fully engage in the instructional program, reporting any safety concerns to teachers or administrators, and being respectful and responsible towards peers and staff.
- For our community, that includes modeling positive behaviors in the community, alerting school administrators and staff when an ongoing community issue may cause problems in the schoolhouse, volunteering and developing partnerships and programs that help meet the needs of students and families.
- When we work together and commit to upholding our roles, we create safe and welcoming spaces where students can maximize learning and experience all that our schools have to offer.