BEL AIR, Md. – The Harford County executive and the local teachers union president are trading barbs in what’s becoming a heated debate over a request to increase teacher salaries.

The Harford County school district wants $241 million from the county for next school year, which is a 9.6 percent funding increase over the current school year. About $7.7 million would be used for an across-the-board 1 percent pay increase for teachers, as well as automatic annual “step increases” of about 3 percent for most school employees, the news site reports.

Harford County Executive David Craig denied that request, resulting in the war of words between Craig and the teachers union, the Baltimore Sun reports.

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Instead, Craig approved a school budget increase of about $1.5 million, or .6 percent over this year, citing the financial toll the federal sequestration is taking on local families, as well as the lackluster economy.

“Many of our neighbors are facing 20 percent cuts to their salaries and even layoffs as a result of federal sequestration,” Craig wrote in an op-ed defending his decision, according to the Sun.

“The uncertainty and strain that this places on the household budgets of so many of Harford’s citizens troubles me, and coupled with a national economy that continues to lag, I felt that implementing tax increases to fund growth in the county budget was not a practical or responsible option at this time.”

Craig also noted that the number of employees in the school district has steadily increased at the same time student enrollment has decreased since he took the county executive position in 2005.

The Harford County Council has until June 16 to decide whether to approve Craig’s budget as it stands or to attempt to increase the allocation for the school district.

More money for teachers would apparently mean cuts elsewhere in the county budget.

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“Were the council to attempt to restore all or part of that money, it would be faced with the prospect of making reductions elsewhere in the county budget, something that was done four years ago, with somewhat dubious results, as Craig reacted with cuts in popular programs and layoffs,” the Sun reports.

“The council would also have to negotiate the political minefield of making budget cuts to pay one segment of the public workforce, while denying increases to county employees, including those who work in law enforcement.”

Ryan Burbey, president of the Harford County Education Association (the teachers union), took issue with Craig’s editorial and attempted to discredit his claims.

“Your letter … suggests a false choice of either properly funding education and increasing taxes or leaving tax rates consistent and maintaining your short-sighted trend of underfunding education,” Burbey wrote in a counter editorial. “More than anything else, budgets reflect the priorities of our leaders. It is clear that education is not your priority.”

Education is obviously a priority for Craig, considering the fact that he’s approved more money for the school district next year. Giving teachers a raise at the moment is not. Funding education and giving teachers a raise are not the same thing.

Craig seems to have a much better perspective on the whole picture, and he clearly understands that the school district could do more with what it currently receives from taxpayers.

We suspect Craig carefully weighed the financial health of the county’s residents, as well as their continued need for public safety services, against raises for teachers that have no bearing on the quality of education that students receive.

In the end Craig made the right call, whether the union wants to admit it or not.