May 20, 1995|By Larry Carson | Larry Carson,Sun Staff Writer
Taking aim at a "top heavy" school administration, the Baltimore County Council agreed yesterday on its largest education budget cuts since 1976. School Superintendent Stuart Berger later warned that students may be hurt as a result.
Council members, including Chairman Vincent Gardina, said they targeted administrators and a controversial early retirement program.
"The message I think the council should send is that we're not in favor of retirement incentives," said Mr. Gardina, a Perry Hall Democrat.
Councilman Louis L. DePazzo, a Dundalk Democrat, said school officials want higher taxes. "That's what they're aiming for," he said.
But Dr. Berger warned, "This may affect positions in the classroom. We'll make the cuts we need to make." The council actions "will have tremendous effects," and "schools and parents will go ballistic," he said.
The $4.4 million in education cuts compare with $1.5 million that was trimmed from the entire last two county budgets combined. Those two budgets totaled $2.4 billion. County Executive C. A. Dutch Ruppersberger III's proposed budget was $1.3 billion, of which $608 million was for education.
All the $4.4 million came from administrative and employee benefit budget categories. A total of $6.8 million in cuts were made in the entire Ruppersberger proposal.
At least two council members laid responsibility for the education cuts on Dr. Berger.
This reflects that they are extremely top heavy and that there's a lot of mismanagement," Mr. Gardina said after the meeting.
He and Councilman Joseph Bartenfelder, a Fullerton Democrat, said they would like to see Dr. Berger replaced, and the sooner the better.
Councilman Kevin Kamenetz, a Pikesville Democrat, and Douglas B. Riley, a Towson Republican, said they want to cut school administration, but not get Dr. Berger fired.
"We want to direct more moneys out of Greenwood [the school system headquarters] and into schools," Mr. Kamenetz said. "Not one dollar was cut from the classroom."
Mr. Ruppersberger had cut $22 million from the the school board's request before sending it to the council. His budget plan granted the schools an increase in spending of $13.5 million for the fiscal year that begins July 1.
Council members clearly were angered at the school system's two-year-old early retirement incentive program -- which began despite their opposition and warnings to the school board. School officials said the program would save $12 million by replacing older, higher paid teachers with younger, lower paid ones. But the council view was that it eventually could cost $17 million more in pension expenses.
The council's $1.6 million cut in that program includes $745,000 owed to teachers retiring this year or already retired under the program. It is money the school system legally is obligated to pay.
Councilman Riley worried that to get this money, the board somehow will take funds intended to benefit children. "The consequences will come out of the classrooms," he said.
But Mr. DePazzo argued that school officials always use that argument to dodge the council's budget ax. "There is so much fat in this budget," he said. "That's the ploy they have used for decades."
Another $570,000 was removed from school administration, based on an audit showing the system has too many administrators. Dr. Berger claims the county has fewer administrators proportionately than most other jurisdictions.
The council made the decisions in sessions yesterday and Thursday.
Besides education, the council's largest cut was $1.16 million set aside as a hedge against higher health insurance costs for next year, when the county's self-insurance system will be covering 12,000 education workers and 6,000 general county government employees.
Council members expect to use some of the savings to reduce the county's real estate transfer tax, on top of the transfer tax credit enacted at Monday night's meeting. That measure will reduce home closing costs by $352 per transaction by exempting the first $22,000 of the selling price from the tax.
The rest would go into the county's $29 million rainy day surplus fund, and possibly for more alley reconstruction and road repaving.
The council scheduled a formal vote on the budget for May 26.
Under the budget plans set out by the council, the county property tax rate of $2.855 per $100 of assessed value would be unchanged.
