Harford County Exec Gives Final $2.1M CARES Act Funding To HCPS

HARFORD COUNTY, MD — As the deadline for spending federal funds for pandemic-related relief approaches, Harford County Executive Barry Glassman announced more resources would be going to Harford County Public Schools.

In October, he said $5 million was going to the school system. On Monday, he added $2.1 million to the pot for coronavirus-related expenses.

The new funding will go toward a variety of causes, according to Harford County Public Schools Superintendent Sean Bulson.

It will help "in some cases absorb costs that we have already incurred," Bulson said at Monday night's Harford County Board of Education meeting.

"We know that some of the reimbursements will not cover the actual cost of what was given out," Bulson said.

For example, the school system has been giving out meals since March to provide nutrition for students. In the first three weeks alone, Harford County Public Schools reported it had distributed 37,000 meals.

Last month, on a single day in November, the school system provided 6,000 meal kits that it said equaled 60,000 meals for students before Thanksgiving.

Bulson added at Monday night's meeting that he was also grateful for the school board's approval to spend $300,000 on interactive white boards.

"That technology has become so incredibly important,” Bulson said, particularly when the school system was conducting concurrent learning. "Many of our white boards are over a decade old."

All CARES Act funding must be spent by Dec. 30. Glassman said that including the $2.1 million announced Monday for the school system, the county had given out the entire $44.6 million it was allotted by the federal government.

Most of Harford County's CARES Act funds went toward the following, according to a statement from the county executive:

• Personal protective equipment for first responders
• Cleaning supplies and renovations to enable social distancing
• Teleworking for public employees

In Harford County, officials said 1,732 small businesses, including restaurants and child care providers, were given grants to survive the stay-at-home order and safely reopen to the extent allowed.

“I am thankful to my staff and pleased that we were able to put all $44.6 million back into our community,” Glassman said in a statement Monday. "I have always been confident that local governments are among the best at getting help into the hands of the citizens we serve."