Noting the looming $46 million schools budget deficit, Anne Arundel County Superintendent Kevin M. Maxwell told the school board that expected budget cuts will be "untenable" and will likely include furloughs, staffing cuts that will result in larger class sizes and salary decreases.
"Less teachers, less salaries, furloughs, [larger] class sizes," Maxwell said. "There is nothing in this economic climate that will allow us to do anything about that. We're talking about some significant issues in our budgets. There's no sense in pretending like we can fix this by turning out the lights. We can't."
County Executive John R. Leopold's proposed fiscal 2010 budget allocates $592 million for schools, an increase of 1.3 percent. That increase was made, in part, because of a state-mandated program that requires the counties to contribute a certain percentage to education in order to get state funding. But school department officials pointed out that Leopold's budget includes only an additional $7.4 million - for debts and maintenance of effort, a state law that requires local governments to increase spending on schools each year to qualify for state education funding. Leopold also eliminated the school department's budget reserve.
Maxwell had requested a $46 million increase in funding, largely tied to fixed costs, but also to fund a new student data system. Leopold also withheld $17.5 million in funding for employee health insurance, union pay raises for teachers, principals, secretaries and custodians, and new construction at six elementary schools. Leopold's spending plan allocated $137.4 million for building projects, short of Maxwell's $212.8 million request.
Board members appeared particularly troubled by the lack of funding for the student data system, which distributes grades to students and to the state, under federal guidelines. The software provider decided last year to discontinue its services, giving the school department no choice but to purchase another system.
"If we don't get funding for the student data system, we're going to ask teachers, who aren't getting raises, to do grades by hand?" said Tricia Johnson, an at-large board member. "That would just put an undue burden on them, on top of everything else. Something's going to have to give."
The county executive's budget funded the new STEM - Science, Technology, Engineering, Math - programs at North County and South River high schools, of which he has been an ardent supporter. But he did not fund the Performing and Visual Arts Magnet program set to open at Bates Middle School in Annapolis this year.
