After “standing down” a few weeks ago, it is time to fire it back up again. The County Executive will be proposing an operating budget that is significantly below what Dr. Maxwell and the Board of Education approved, below what is required by the state of Maryland to maintain spending per student (referred to as the MOE – Maintenance of Effort), and even less overall than last year even though we have more students to educate.
Here is what I’d like you to advocate for:
- Please fund the Operating Budget as requested by the BOE and Dr. Maxwell. At a minimum, at least fund up to the level required to maintain the Maintenance of Effort. Do not let the investment per student decline in Anne Arundel County. For explanation/justification of the BOE Proposed Budget, click here for Maxwell's Budget in Brief.
- While you are writing or testifying, please also add that you believe that the Capital Budget should be spent in the order of the objective MGT study and not allowed to be sullied by politics. This is a completely separate budget from the Operating Budget. Cuts in one cannot be used to fund the other. For more info, click here for Annapolis Education Commission Capital Budget Background
Why:
- Anne Arundel County Schools are already funded well below the state average in terms of spending per student and significantly below the funding level of the benchmark schools in Montgomery and Howard Counties. For data, click here for the Spending by County
- AACPS has made great strides to improve the level of education over the past few years and these efforts are paying off for the citizens of Anne Arundel County.
- An increase in the budget is required because we have 2000 more students in the past 3 years. While no one wants cuts in fire or police protection, we have to maintain the spending on the increased number of students in the schools.
- We are not prepared to accept the consequences of having to cut the education budget. Here are some of the possible consequences:
o Teacher layoffs - We have already seen class sizes increase. With more students, teacher layoffs would be devastating, particularly for the Annapolis Cluster which has had the highest increase in elementary school enrollment and the second highest increase in middle school enrollment.
o Freezing teacher pay for the 4th year in a row - Think about the best teachers as Bates. Many of them are new to the teaching profession – they may still be at their entry-level salary! How long can we expect them to maintain the enthusiasm or even stay in the profession if there is no financial incentive for them?
o Cutting Activity Busses – This means a significant number of our students would no longer have access to help days, clubs, and PVA.
o Cutting planned magnet and signature programs – The current programs are not likely to be cut, but programs on the docket for rollout are likely to be scrapped or postponed. In our Annapolis Cluster, this affects the High School PVA that is planned for SY2012. For the whole school system, it is the signatures and magnets that have created the improvements we have seen. Expansion of these programs are a key to continued achievement growth across the county.
o Increasing the walking radius – One of the items on the table is increasing the walking area from 1 mile to 1.5 miles. While in general, walking is good, Annapolis and much of Anne Arundel County is not set up for safe walking for those distances.
I’m sure there are many more, but these are the ones that have come to the top of the list.
Call to Action: Numbers count! It is imperative that the County Leadership knows that voters value the investment in public education in contrast to a past history of neglect and indifference. You do not have to be well-written or well-spoken - just say what you believe from your heart and your voice will be heard.
- Sign the AAC Council of PTA's Petition. Either click here: Petition or I will have a written one at the meeting on Monday night. Ray Leone would like to have 1,000 signatures by April 19th.
- Write / Fax / Call the County Council and the County Executive and encourage fellow parents and neighbors to do the same. Emails also help but are not as effective as writing, faxing, calling.
County Executive John Leopold
44 Calvert Street, Annapolis, Maryland 21404
Voice: (410) 222-1821
Fax: (410) 222-1155
Email: jleopold@aacounty.org
County Council Members
P.O. Box 2700
44 Calvert Street, Annapolis MD 21404
County Council Voice: (410) 222-1401
Fax: 410-222-1755
(One copy will suffice – the County Council office will duplicate and distribute as required.)
County Councilman Chris Trumbauer is the Annapolis representative (District 6 - Annapolis area) ctrumbauer@aacounty.org
- Attend the County Council Meetings, speak or stand when a speaker represents you:
- April 19, 7pm - County Council Meeting, Arundel Center, Focus on Operating Budget and MOE Waiver
- May 9, 7pm - County Public Budget Hearing. Old Mill HS
- May 11, 7pm - County Public Budget Hearing, Arundel Center
Spread the word to your neighborhood associations, parents groups, family - anyone you can think of that shares the vision for great schools in Anne Arundel County.
