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Harford County Public Schools, Maryland

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Harford County Public Schools
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Bel Air, Maryland
District details
Superintendent: Sean W. Bulson
# of school board members: 9
Website: Link

Harford County Public Schools is a school district in Maryland.

Click on the links below to learn more about the school district's...

Superintendent

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 		This information is updated as we become aware of changes. Please contact us with any updates.

Sean W. Bulson is the superintendent of Harford County Public Schools. Bulson was appointed superintendent on July 1, 2018. Bulson's previous career experience includes working in Montgomery County Public Schools as an ESOL teacher, principal, and director of school performance.[1]

Past superintendents

  • Barbara P. Canavan was the superintendent of Harford County Public Schools from 2013 to 2018. Canavan's previous career experience included working as a teacher, assistant principal, and executive director of middle school development in the district.[2][3]

School board

The Harford County Board of Education consists of nine members who serve four-year terms. All nine members of the board were appointed by the governor until a 2009 state law that changed the board's composition to six elected members and three appointed members. The first election for this hybrid board composition took place in 2011 with three seats up for election. Each elected member represents a specific geographic district.[4]


Elections

See also: Harford County Public Schools, Maryland, elections

Six out of nine board members are elected to four-year terms on a concurrent basis.

Six seats were up for election in 2022. A general election was scheduled for November 8, 2022. A primary election was scheduled for July 19, 2022.


Ballotpedia covered school board elections in 367 school districts in 29 states in 2024. Those school districts had a total student enrollment of 12,203,404 students. Click here to read an analysis of those elections.


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Public participation in board meetings

The board maintains the following policy on public testimony during board meetings:[5]

School board meetings

The following articles were produced by Citizen Portal using artificial intelligence to analyze public meetings. Citizen Portal publishes articles based on the availability of meeting broadcasts, so the number of articles provided may vary by district. Although these articles are not produced or edited by Ballotpedia, they are included here as a supplemental resource for readers.

School board meeting articles (click to collapse)


District map

School district map

Budget

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[6]

Revenue, 2021-2022
SOURCE AMOUNT AMOUNT PER STUDENT PERCENT
Federal: $85,437,000 $2,253 12%
Local: $373,422,000 $9,848 53%
State: $251,380,000 $6,629 35%
Total: $710,239,000 $18,730
Expenditures, 2021-2022
TYPE AMOUNT AMOUNT PER STUDENT PERCENT
Total Expenditures: $643,447,000 $16,968
Total Current Expenditures: $576,098,000 $15,192
Instructional Expenditures: $352,714,000 $9,301 55%
Student and Staff Support: $53,272,000 $1,404 8%
Administration: $52,105,000 $1,374 8%
Operations, Food Service, Other: $118,007,000 $3,111 18%
Total Capital Outlay: $43,944,000 $1,158
Construction: $34,824,000 $918
Total Non El-Sec Education & Other: $785,000 $20
Interest on Debt: $9,982,000 $263


Teacher salaries

The following salary information was pulled from the district's teacher salary schedule. A salary schedule is a list of expected compensations based on variables such as position, years employed, and education level. It may not reflect actual teacher salaries in the district.

Year Minimum Maximum
2024-2025[7] $56,658 $109,517
2023-2024[8] $55,821 $107,950
2019-2021[9] $53,851 $90,067

Academic performance

Each year, state and local education agencies use tests and other standards to assess student proficiency. Although the data below was published by the U.S. Department of Education, proficiency measurements are established by the states. As a result, proficiency levels are not comparable between different states and year-over-year proficiency levels within a district may not be comparable because states may change their proficiency measurements.[10]

The following table shows the percentage of district students who scored at or above the proficiency level each school year:

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific Islander (%) Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native American (%) Two or More Races (%) White (%)
2021-2022 27 48 9 15 20-29 23 33
2020-2021 22 42 9 14 11-19 16 27
2018-2019 45 68 21 34 30-39 39 53
2016-2017 50 72 29 36 30-39 42 57
2015-2016 52 75 30 41 40-49 44 59
2014-2015 51 73 30 38 30-39 42 57
2013-2014 83 94 67 79 80-84 79 88
2012-2013 85 96 70 80 80-84 84 89
2011-2012 87 95 74 84 80-84 86 90
2010-2011 84 94 71 81 80-84 81 88

The following table shows the percentage of district students who scored at or above the proficiency level each school year:

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific Islander (%) Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native American (%) Two or More Races (%) White (%)
2021-2022 50 72 30 36 40-49 45 58
2020-2021 39 59 24 30 30-39 34 44
2018-2019 51 68 29 41 50-59 42 58
2016-2017 52 74 31 40 40-49 44 58
2015-2016 56 76 36 45 50-59 46 62
2014-2015 60 79 40 52 50-59 51 66
2013-2014 88 93 76 84 85-89 86 91
2012-2013 89 95 78 85 75-79 87 92
2011-2012 89 94 77 85 85-89 87 92
2010-2011 89 94 76 87 80-84 87 92

The following table shows the graduation rate of district students each school year:

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific Islander (%) Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native American (%) Two or More Races (%) White (%)
2021-2022 89 >=95 80 70-74 >=50 80-84 94
2020-2021 89 >=95 80 80-84 >=50 80-84 93
2019-2020 90 >=95 83 75-79 PS 85-89 94
2018-2019 90 >=95 82 75-79 >=50 85-89 94
2017-2018 89 >=95 82 75-79 >=50 80-84 92
2016-2017 89 >=95 83 80-84 PS 85-89 91
2015-2016 89 90-94 83 85-89 >=50 80-84 91
2014-2015 90 90-94 84 85-89 >=50 85-89 91
2013-2014 90 90-94 83 85-89 >=50 80-84 92
2012-2013 90 >=95 83 85-89 >=50 85-89 91
2011-2012 88 90-94 80 75-79 >=80 80-84 91
2010-2011 87 90-94 80 80-84 >=80 85-89 90


Students

Year Enrollment Year-to-year change (%)
2023-2024 38,105 0.2
2022-2023 38,037 0.3
2021-2022 37,920 1.5
2020-2021 37,333 -2.9
2019-2020 38,429 1.6
2018-2019 37,826 0.1
2017-2018 37,780 0.9
2016-2017 37,426 -0.1
2015-2016 37,448 -0.2
2014-2015 37,536 -0.8
2013-2014 37,842 -0.1
2012-2013 37,868 -0.9
2011-2012 38,224 -0.4
2010-2011 38,394 -0.6
2009-2010 38,636 0.1
2008-2009 38,610 -1.5
2007-2008 39,172 -1.0
2006-2007 39,568 -1.6
2005-2006 40,212 -0.2
2004-2005 40,294 0.2
2003-2004 40,200 -0.1
2002-2003 40,252 0.7
2001-2002 39,966 1.1
2000-2001 39,520 0.5
1999-2000 39,334 0.0
Racial Demographics, 2023-2024
RACE Harford County Public Schools (%) Maryland K-12 STUDENTS (%)
American Indian/Alaska Native 0.2 0.3
Asian or Asian/Pacific Islander 3.4 6.8
Black 21.2 32.5
Hispanic 9.4 22.8
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 0.1 0.1
Two or More Races 7.7 5.3
White 57.9 32.2

Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.


Staff

As of the 2023-2024 school year, Harford County Public Schools had 2,681.41 full-time classroom teachers. The student-teacher ratio was 14.21.

Teachers, 2023-2024 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF TEACHERS
Prekindergarten: 40.00
Kindergarten: 144.00
Elementary: 1,421.60
Secondary: 1,075.81
Total: 2,681.41

Harford County Public Schools employed 135.80 district administrators and 148.00 school administrators as of the 2023-2024 school year.

Administrators, 2023-2024 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF ADMINISTRATORS
District Administrators: 135.80
District Administrative Support: 87.00
School Administrators: 148.00
School Administrative Support: 341.00
Other staff, 2023-2024 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF OTHER STAFF
Instructional Aides: 582.00
Instruc. Coordinators & Supervisors: 180.40
Total Guidance Counselors: 105.00
Elementary Guidance Counselors: 53.00
Secondary Guidance Counselors: 52.00
Librarians/Media Specialists: 62.00
Library/Media Support: 30.00
Student Support Services: 306.90
Other Support Services: 754.49


Schools

Harford County Public Schools operates 55 schools. They are listed below in alphabetical order.
List of schools
SCHOOL NAMENUMBER OF STUDENTSGRADES
Aberdeen High1,4659-12
Aberdeen Middle1,0586-8
Abingdon Elementary674PK-5
Bakerfield Elementary452PK-5
Bel Air Elementary514PK-5
Bel Air High1,4199-12
Bel Air Middle1,0806-8
Center For Educational Opportunity876-12
Church Creek Elementary722PK-5
Churchville Elementary376PK-5
C. Milton Wright High1,3029-12
Darlington Elementary92KG-5
Deerfield Elementary714PK-5
Dublin Elementary216PK-5
Edgewood Elementary415PK-5
Edgewood High1,4179-12
Edgewood Middle9946-8
Emmorton Elementary556KG-5
Fallston High1,0479-12
Fallston Middle School1,0606-8
Forest Hill Elementary475KG-5
Forest Lakes Elementary420KG-5
Fountain Green Elementary456PK-5
G. Lisby Elementary At Hillsdale516PK-5
Halls Cross Roads Elementary443PK-5
Harford Academy At Campus Hills139PK-12
Harford Technical High9839-12
Havre De Grace Elementary603PK-5
Havre De Grace High8709-12
Havre De Grace Middle5876-8
Hickory Elementary664KG-5
Homestead/Wakefield Elementary1,057PK-5
Jarrettsville Elementary476KG-5
Joppatowne Elementary495PK-5
Joppatowne High9009-12
Magnolia Elementary527PK-5
Magnolia Middle7246-8
Meadowvale Elementary544PK-5
Norrisville Elementary213KG-5
North Bend Elementary448PK-5
North Harford Elementary404PK-5
North Harford High1,1619-12
North Harford Middle8676-8
Old Post Road Elementary892PK-5
Patterson Mill High School8269-12
Patterson Mill Middle School7676-8
Prospect Mill Elementary592PK-5
Red Pump Elementary School753KG-5
Ring Factory Elementary544KG-5
Riverside Elementary465PK-5
Roye-Williams Elementary449PK-5
Southampton Middle1,1946-8
Swan Creek School4022-12
William S. James Elementary475KG-5
Youths Benefit Elementary1,114PK-5

Contact information

Harford County Public Schools logo.jpg
Harford County Public Schools
102 South Hickory Ave.
Bel Air, MD 21014
Phone: 410-838-7300


About school boards

Education legislation in Maryland

Bills are monitored by BillTrack50 and sorted by action history.

See also

Maryland School Board Elections News and Analysis
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External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Harford County Public Schools, "Board of Education Members," accessed March 29, 2021
  2. ↑ Harford County Public Schools, "Board of Education of Harford County," accessed June 18, 2014
  3. ↑ Baltimore Sun, "Harford school superintendent Canavan to retire in June," January 8, 2018
  4. ↑ The Baltimore Sun, "Five Harford school board members run for election; four don't," February 26, 2014
  5. ↑ Harford County Public Schools, "BOARD OF EDUCATION OF HARFORD COUNTY NOTICE OF PUBLIC COMMENT PARTICIPATION," accessed January 19, 2024
  6. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed October 6, 2025
  7. ↑ Harford County Public Schools, "Salary Schedule for Certificated Teachers - FY25 - Effective July 1, 2024 - 1.5% COLA," accessed April 17, 2025
  8. ↑ Harford County Public Schools, "NEGOTIATED AGREEMENT between THE BOARD OF EDUCATION OF HARFORD COUNTY and THE HARFORD COUNTY EDUCATION ASSOCIATION (CERTIFICATED INSTRUCTIONAL PERSONNEL) ," accessed February 4, 2024
  9. ↑ Harford County Public Schools, "Harford County Public Schools Salary Schedule for Certificated Teachers (Eleven Month - 210 days) Effective July 1, 2019," accessed March 29, 2021
  10. ↑ U.S. Department of Education, Washington, DC: EDFacts, "State Assessments in Reading/Language Arts and Mathematics- School Year 2018-19 EDFacts Data Documentation," accessed February 25, 2021
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