Maintenance Of Effort

A House committee has substantially weakened a proposal by county governments aimed at giving them greater control over how much money is spent each year on public schools.By a 21-1 vote, the House Ways & Means Committee approved legislation reforming the state's "maintenance of effort" law that requires counties to spend as much per pupil as they did the year before.But the rewritten bill they approved strips a key change sought by county governments -- the authority for counties with growing school populations to lower per-pupil expenditures for new students by 40 percent.

No sooner had Anne Arundel County Executive John Leopold unveiled his proposed budget for next year than Superintendent Kevin Maxwell was complaining that the schools were being shortchanged by $12 million. It was the latest salvo in a long-running feud between the two men over what it really means for the county to maintain its state requirements for school funding. It's not entirely clear which one is right about the law. But what is clear is that the General Assembly was right to approve legislation this year adding specificity and teeth to its maintenance of effort law. The argument between Messrs.

Squaring off in their final debate before Tuesday's primary, the five candidates for Howard County school board struggled last night to distinguish themselves and their positions as they talked about a gamut of issues from education funding to state exams.While the candidates tended to break little new ground in the two-hour session, they occasionally revealed previously unheard positions on specific matters -- particularly on the state's requirements for education funding.The five candidates are seeking to replace school board Chairwoman Susan Cook, who has decided not to seek re-election.

Maryland has long required local government to spend as much on school operating budgets on a per-pupil basis as they did the year before. The so-called maintenance-of-effort law has been a cornerstone of public education for a quarter-century and has ensured predictable and stable funding for schools. But in an economic downtown of historic proportions that has caused tax revenues to drop precipitously and sent Baltimore and Maryland's 23 counties scrambling to patch budget deficits, the usefulness of the law has been called into question.

"TO ENSURE additional state aid does not result in reductions in local support, existing 'maintenance of effort' requirements to fund education should continue." So concluded a report, not written in the halcyon days of Maryland's 1980s real estate boom, but just two years ago. As recently as January 1994, the Governor's Commission on School Funding understood that a strong local commitment to education funding is in Maryland's long-term interest.Unfortunately, many county leaders and state legislators are now moving at break-neck speed to undercut the state's "maintenance of effort" law. Faced with school enrollments that are growing faster than property tax bases, many counties are indeed struggling to fund their share of education.

MARYLAND'S GENERAL ASSEMBLY passed a school spending law a decade ago called "maintenance of effort." It has a simple premise: To ensure that localities spend as much on each student's education as they did the previous year. It did not seem such an onerous request of local government.Today, the assembly's Joint Committee on Administrative, Executive and Legislative Review will hear arguments in favor of riddling that declaration with various loopholes. The result could be a setback for Maryland public school students.

County Executive John R. Leopold has withdrawn his request for the state to waive a requirement for the county to pay up to an additional $9 million in funding for public schools next fiscal year. The state's "maintenance of effort" law requires local governments to increase spending on schools each year to qualify for state education funding. The state allowed the jurisdictions to request a waiver to that requirement by March 31. Leopold, along with county council Chairman Edward R. Reilly, submitted a letter to State Board of Education President James H. DeGraffenreidt Jr. at the end of March explaining that funding the maintenance of effort could "seriously impair" other county services.

Carroll's school superintendent and school board president are taking a more assertive position to urge the County Commissioners to increase school spending for the 1998-1999 school year."

LAST FALL, county leaders in Maryland complained that Gov. Parris N. Glendening was poised to cut the income tax rate to make himself look good to voters at their expense. They worried this would mean less state aid and higher local taxes. But the governor listened to them and in his budget increased both local aid and education aid, even as he was laying off hundreds of state employees and cutting other programs.But that's not enough for the counties, which are trying to reduce projected future spending on schools by rolling back the state's 10-year-old "maintenance of effort" law. This statute now requires jurisdictions to spend at least as much per pupil as they spent the year before.

There was a lot of bluster about school maintenance needs last night, but the Baltimore County school board couldn't bring itself to change the superintendent's proposed budget to make deteriorating buildings a high priority.At issue is how much to increase the current $7.2 million maintenance budget -- while balancing employee raises and program needs -- at a time of high anxiety over decaying buildings.In the past year, three schools have been shut down because of environmental problems and more than 1,600 children have missed classes and switched schools temporarily.

County Executive John R. Leopold has withdrawn his request for the state to waive a requirement for the county to pay up to an additional $9 million in funding for public schools next fiscal year. The state's "maintenance of effort" law requires local governments to increase spending on schools each year to qualify for state education funding. The state allowed the jurisdictions to request a waiver to that requirement by March 31. Leopold, along with county council Chairman Edward R. Reilly, submitted a letter to State Board of Education President James H. DeGraffenreidt Jr. at the end of March explaining that funding the maintenance of effort could "seriously impair" other county services.

Maintenance of effort is not enough for schools to keep paceA recent editorial focused on the emotional debates that occur concerning school board budgets ("Emotions still cloud school budget process," May 14).The fact that "maintenance of effort" was exceeded by counties was stressed. For too long the perception has been that maintenance of effort is sufficient, not only to maintain the status quo, but to provide for improvement.Let me clarify: All that maintenance of effort requires is that the same dollar amount be spent per student as in the previous fiscal year.

Schools need proposed rise in budgetOn Jan. 7, Erin Texeira reported in an article on the Howard County school budget that school Superintendent Michael E. Hickey's proposed $271.5 million budget "calls for the largest dollar increase ever requested in a school budget."This is incorrect. As Dr. Hickey clearly stated in his presentation on Jan. 6, he has in the past often proposed budgets which exceeded this year's increase both in dollar terms and in percentage.From 1989 to 1991, Dr. Hickey's proposals were for increases of $20 million to $21 million, with percentage increases between 11.8 and 16.2.

Carroll's school superintendent and school board president are taking a more assertive position to urge the County Commissioners to increase school spending for the 1998-1999 school year."

There was a lot of bluster about school maintenance needs last night, but the Baltimore County school board couldn't bring itself to change the superintendent's proposed budget to make deteriorating buildings a high priority.At issue is how much to increase the current $7.2 million maintenance budget -- while balancing employee raises and program needs -- at a time of high anxiety over decaying buildings.In the past year, three schools have been shut down because of environmental problems and more than 1,600 children have missed classes and switched schools temporarily.

Children would suffer from cutsWe were gratified with your Nov. 9 editorial opposing attempts to undermine the maintenance of effort provision in the law providing state aid to education.As you correctly point out, the maintenance of effort provision has a simple premise: County governments must spend as much local money on a child's education as they did the year before to qualify for state aid.It is a simple principle. But it is also the very foundation of state aid to education, which is intended to supplement -- not replace -- local funding.

Maryland has long required local government to spend as much on school operating budgets on a per-pupil basis as they did the year before. The so-called maintenance-of-effort law has been a cornerstone of public education for a quarter-century and has ensured predictable and stable funding for schools. But in an economic downtown of historic proportions that has caused tax revenues to drop precipitously and sent Baltimore and Maryland's 23 counties scrambling to patch budget deficits, the usefulness of the law has been called into question.

SALISBURY -- Being the first doesn't necessarily mean being the best, as Wicomico County's Board of Education learned this year.Caught in a fiscal crunch not of its own making, Wicomico this year became the first Maryland county to lose its "maintenance of effort" money for its schools, sacrificing almost a million dollars in state funding after it was unable to increase its education budget."

MARYLAND'S GENERAL ASSEMBLY passed a school spending law a decade ago called "maintenance of effort." It has a simple premise: To ensure that localities spend as much on each student's education as they did the previous year. It did not seem such an onerous request of local government.Today, the assembly's Joint Committee on Administrative, Executive and Legislative Review will hear arguments in favor of riddling that declaration with various loopholes. The result could be a setback for Maryland public school students.