My comments regarding the budget at the 2/11/2026 Board of Education meeting.
Good evening. My name is Shannon Hinkhaus and I am running for the Board of Education here in Carroll County.
I spoke last month, but I want to reiterate my thoughts on the budget for FY27. Due to Blueprint mandates, which were accompanied by a great deal of funding, in FY24, we added 124 fte’s for Compensatory Education, 8 Middle School Career Coaches and 12 Pre-K teachers for a total of 144 additional fte’s. I know Blueprint is extremely complicated and this is all new to everyone, and I am personally digging into the legislation to understand it all better. My point is, it seems to me that if we are able to reduce some positions to compensate for a decline in enrollment, and knowing that those people will have the opportunity to pick up another position within CCPS, we are obligated to recognize the savings.
Secondly, I firmly believe that a base school includes instrumental music in grades 4-5 and absolutely includes high school sports. It seems everyone agrees and I’m happy to see that.
I am 100% on board with keeping Outdoor School. I have heard some saying that we need it more than ever with our children addicted to screens, and I could not agree more.
That leads me to my final point on technology in the classroom. I hope that we can recognize some savings if we remove the 1:1 laptops from grades 3-5, and 6-8 would be great too. But if we don’t, we still need to back off the screens in the classroom. I was glad to hear some good discussion about the laptops and our younger students at the budget work session. Dr. Malveaux relayed to us that as a college professor, he has seen a decline in student ability. I read an article lately entitled “We Gave Students Laptops and Took Away Their Brains” by neuroscientist Jared Cooney Horvath. It seems true. Mr. Horvath writes, “While these devices make it easier for teachers to collect assignments and generate reports, they have been shown to significantly undermine student learning. Administrative convenience should never come at the cost of cognitive development.” I know you may be worried about the student’s ability to take the state tests. I am more concerned that the students won’t actually know the material we need them to know. And I truly believe, they can get the computer exposure needed in sessions dedicated to test prep during media or using the laptop carts occasionally. I will volunteer to help with testing if students need assistance as will many other parents, I’m sure. This is that important and I urge you to vote to remove the funding for 1:1 laptops for grades 3-8 from the budget.
Thank you for all of your hard work and for listening to my concerns.
FTE detail:
Compensatory Education: 124 FTE’s
Resource / Intervention Teachers 41.00
Mentor Teachers / Mentor Behavior Coaches 14.50
School Psychologists 4.50
Mental / Behavior Support Positions 20.00
School Counselors 5.00
Pupil Personnel Workers 2.00
Assistant Principals 3.00
Instructional Assistants- 34.00
Then 8 Middle School Career Coaches and 12 Pre-K teachers for a total of 144 additional FTE’s
