POLLITT”S RESPONSE TO THE WAIVER DENIAL SEEMS STRANGE
Perhaps absurd is a better description of the statement that he issued last week upon learning that the Maryland State Board of Education had denied the request by Wicomico County (and similar requests by two other Counties) for waiver of the “maintenance of effort” requirement that a county must provide a certain level of funding for its schools in order to obtain special state funding for education. He blasted the Board for acting “carelessly and irresponsibly” in applying the rules that govern the granting of a waiver.
Under those rules, the Board had no real option but to tell the three counties, each having some form of tax cap, that they must play by the rules and meet the local funding requirement imposed by the General Assembly for State finding for education. If Mr. Pollitt wants to blame the state lawmakers or suggest that they change or repeal the maintenance of effort requirement, he need go no farther than to Delegate Norman Conway.
But that’s not the only notable part of Pollitt’s statement. He also said “We will immediately renew our discussions with the County Board of Education and impress upon them that they must now find, from within their department, the means to reach the MOE standard if we are to save over $4 million in available State funds.”
Doesn’t the maintenance of effort (“MOE”) standard require a particular level of funding for education in the County budget that is lacking by about $2,000,000 in Pollitt’s proposed budget? How is the County Board of Education going to change that?
Under the County’s Charter, isn’t Mr. Pollitt, as County Executive, the only person who can put funding into the budget?
34 comments:
Perhaps Mr. Pollitt is not ready for prime time as a pol.
If the County forfeits that state funding -- millions of dollars -- because he did not put enough money in the budget to meet the maintenance of effort test, the havoc in the schools will make him a one term county exec.
The State Board of Ed. had no choice but to refuse special treatment for 3 counties that have a self-imposed tax cap of one form or another that reduces their revenue and funding for their schools when all of the 21 others are able to meet the "MOE" requirement by generating enough tax revenue to do so. To have allowed the waiver would have made that requirement meaningless and resulted in waiver requests by all jurisdictions next year that would have been impossible to turn down because of the "precedent".
Why Pollitt could not predict the outcome, like the leaders in the 5 counties (Worcester, Charles, Calvert, Frederick and Anne Arundel) that withdrew their applications and revised their budgets to provide the required funding, is astounding. His whining about being denied a waiver is truly "absurd".
Will Pollitt and the seven dwarfs have the acumen and stones to take on the tax cap now?
Probably not!
How much more important is it for Rick to have his paid mouthpiece than to spend those funds on education?
Hey all you fools:
VOICE still rules!
voice rules,
and smart people move.
now living in Worcester Co. and loving it!
Yea,
What ever happened with the Voice Brain Trust that was going to find all the fat in the county budget?
More like Brain Bust!
It is the County that must meet maintenance of effort which I believe is in the $500,000 range. Then they were going to cut last years funding by another $1,500,000. So not only were they not going to meet "maintenance of effort" they were also decreasing the funding. If they do not meet the requirements then the State will reduce the BOE's funding by even more. The impact would be disastrous on the school system. Even assuming that there is waste, there is not enough to make up millions in decreased funding.
Way to go, VOICE. You've screwed over the kids, just as we knew you would. I don't want to hear any crying when football is cut.
Pollitt and Conway go to Annapolis and sit on their pal O'Malley until he comes through with big bucks. Under 500 plus pounds he would say "uncle" ASAP.
Speaking of VOICE, can you believe that Rick Pollitt got the Council to give Don Coffin's son that sweetheart deal on his land near Hebron for a county park?
It’s very clear why the State B of E shot down the three counties that may be unable to make maintenance of effort.
Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties have for years overspent on everything, including public education. A teacher in those places with longevity and credentials can earn over $100,000 – the highest ($109,012 in Montgomery) and 2nd highest ($103,634 - PG) in the State – compare that to the max. in Wicomico ($76,750 – 16th of the 24 jurisdictions). Now that the housing bubble has burst big time in those places they have a real revenue bind.
Here, it’s clearly the tax cap that has caused the problem. If that were not in place, there would be considerably more tax revenue. As the State Board pointed out in its decision, that is not a factor that it can consider because we have the tax base (capacity) to generate more tax revenue but have opted not to do that.
We can expect increasingly to be faced with objections to requests for state funding because of the tax cap – other counties argue that we are simply trying to make Wicomico a ward of the state and that unless we bear the same local tax burden as they, we should get less funds so they can have more. That’s a winning argument, folks.
It’s time to stop whining about out of control/wasteful spending by the school system and face the reality stated above.
It sure looks like we are stuck with the $2 Million shortage for the "MOE" based funding from the State because of Pollitt's proposed budget, and may get none of those funds. If so, then the school budget will be about 6-7 million dollars less than this year, or about 15% less.
The Council can only reduce or remove funding from Pollitt's proposed budget. The following is from Section 705 of Wicomico County's Charter:
D. Submitted to County Council. On or before April 15 of each year, the County Executive shall submit to the County Council an expense budget for the next fiscal year and the budget message. The proposed county budget shall be filed with the Council Administrator and copies thereof shall be made available to the public upon request.
[various provisions omitted]
F. Adoption of budget.
1. After the public hearing, the Council may decrease or delete any items in the budget except those required by the laws of this state or of this county, and except any provisions for debt service on obligations then outstanding or for estimated cash deficits. The Council shall have no power to change the form of the budget as submitted by the County Executive, or to alter the revenue estimates except to correct mathematical errors, or to add any items to the budget or to increase any expenditure recommended by the County Executive for current expense or capital purposes.
2. The adoption of the current expense budget and the capital budget shall be by the affirmative vote of at least four members of the Council by a law to be known as the Annual Budget and Appropriation Bill. Any borrowing to finance capital projects must be authorized by an existing law of the General Assembly of Maryland or by a law of the Council adopted in accordance with this Charter.
3. The Annual Budget and Appropriation Bill shall be adopted by the Council not later than June 1 or such date as may be set by resolution pursuant to Section 707 of this Charter, but not later than June 15th. If the Council fails to adopt the Annual Budget and Appropriation Bill by June 15th, the proposed current expense budget as submitted by the County Executive shall stand adopted, and funds for the expenditures proposed in the current expense budget shall stand appropriated as fully and to the same extent as if favorable action thereon had been taken by the Council.
Keep the tax cap, cut the BOE budget. As a county tax payer, I will NEVER vote to do away with the cap.
Joe:
Please ask Mike Lewis about this (it's from the statement that the Board of Ed. submitted in opposition to the waiver):
"In fiscal 2007 the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office ceased the school resource officer (SRO) program. Subsequently the Board of Education deemed the service a priority and as a result added $548,000 to the budget to reinstate the SRO program. Wicomico County is the only Maryland school system paying for school resource officers to support student safety."
All the ones complaining are not working to eliminate the waste becasue itwould make them look bad and some GOOD OLE BOYS would not be getting their $90,000 plus salaries. Ask Norman Conway how many positions were created when he was at the BOE for the GOOD OLE BOYS. Also eliminate the charitible and non - profit donations from our tax dollars. This could be made up by the Teachers and BOE since they always whine and get more money or benefits when the rest of us have no job or only have part time work to make ends meet. Is that not the Democratic way according to Obama, Share / spread the wealth from the ones who have to the ones who have not? Keep the tax cap.
Long Live The Revenue Cap!
I voted for it once and I'll continue to support it.
Hope everyone sees as I do that it is a true asset to this County.
Long live Talbot's Revenue Cap also.
It's attitudes such as that expressed by 1:33 that got us all in this trouble. It's too bad that he/she just doesn't get it.
A major flaw in the annual funding process is that the lay Board of Education comes up with its budget, but it doesn't have the authority to fund the budget. That authority lies with the County Council and the County Executive. So to answer your question, Mr. Pollitt is ultimately responsible for the BOE's funding.
On the other hand, the lay Board has the responsibility of paring down its budget to meet the guidelines given by the County Executive. To know that it needs to reduce costs but still goes ahead and funds an increase in its contributions to retired teachers' medical is irresponsible. The lay Board does kowtow to the very powerful teachers' union, unfortunately.
Joe,
The BOE has to reduce spending by $2 m, so that Pollitt can move that money to other county operations, so that they can fund the $2 m to the BOE.
This will enable the County to meet the MOE requirements without gutting the rest of the county's services.
1:59-
How does that fix it? -- that's a net wash: 2 Mil out & 2 Mil in = same total amount as at present.
Stromboli:
Your solution is ridiculous -- no change in the total funding for education. I think Ricky P has screwed the pooch.
I can't wait to hear Jim Fineran try to spin this B.S. Maybe he will offer to cut his salary in half.
Oh, it's the mysterious "good ole boys" fault....the ones that no one can never really name who are wasting all those taxpayer dollars that no one can ever identify.
People with any sense at all can see the revenue cap ( it's not a tax cap) was a fatally flawed idea promulgated by some very disengenuous selfish people.
Well, the chickens are coming home to roost and they stink to high hell.
Glad my kids went to school in a county where the citizens have to good sense to properly support thier education.
The County -- Pollitt and the Council -- better get the ship back on course or the teachers are going to be leaving big time for Worcester and elsewhere.
The goal of Rick P is to make life miserable for residents and blaming the revenue cap for the problems. When will governments learn? This current economic problem is due to governments spending ANTICIPATED income instead of spending only what is in hand. The revenue cap is a good thing.
So he wants the BOE to cut 2 million, so the state can give 4 million. I think the purpose is to fund education, not cut it, especially with enrollment increasing in Wicomico. Worcester County is looking better and better. They hit the top of the salary scale at step 16, and in Wicomico you don't hit the top until step 28. That's a lot more money folks over 12 years. Plus no revenue cap to hinder future increases.
It's a fine mess you've got into this time ollie!
The Revenue Cap is a tremendous asset for our ordinary working folks here in Wicomico.
The schoolteachers that are touting abolishment are on the receiving end.
You have alternatives. You can go find real work 9:00 - 5:00 where you have to work 12 months out of the year.
Stop complaining because you're starting to sound like a broken recorder. The revenue cap will stay because it was the peoples choice. That's the way democracy works.
You know sometimes I don't think certain groups of people really 'get it'.
I've read some of the comments on this site where the teachers and administrators are complaining about the Revenue Cap. In other words they would like to do away with it so that more taxes can be generated to pay them even more.
Then, I just read a few days ago where they have their paid lobbyist, Shelia Hixson, sponsor legislation to exempt themselves from having to pay any real estate tax on their own homes.
I checked these sites out myself.
http://mlis.state.md.us/2005rs/billfile/hb0965.htm
http://mlis.state.md.us/2006rs/billfile/HB0197.htm
Do you really think us taxpayers are a bunch of imbesciles?
In light of the above, I hope Pollitt literally closes the doors on our Public School system.
Charter schools are the way to go in my opinion.
Geezze, what a bunch of hypocrites!
3:56 Wocester and other counties can only take so many of Wicomico teachers. Go ahead, there are plenty of graduates coming out of colleges looking for work and eager for your vacancy. With the rising cost of gasoline your commute would eat up any difference in pay.
As has been the case in California, and elsewhere, liberals have a tough time accepting the peoples' decision on various referenda.
As was the case here in Wicomico County, the people sought redress of their government through a successful petition drive allowing the voters to ammend the County Charter by implementing a binding revenue cap from revenues generated by advalorem property taxes.
The mechanism to ammend the County Charter is available. If you liberals think the County School System is being operated with optimum efficiency and accountablility for tax dollars, then sell your case to the Wicomico County citizens and begin the process to rescind the revenue cap, or quit your childish, liberal whining and get a life.
Boy that Don Coffin must be one brilliant guy!
He single-handedly succeeded in getting revenue cap adopted. Then in the face of adverse publicity it is rumored that he has since made millions in real etate sales, construction and development.
On top of that, it is also rumored that he was behind the son's real estate deal, and in addition will receive a bundle for the initiation. What a guy!!!
Have you heard any rumors about him holding any seminars in the area? I sure would attend!
Anonymous 5:21 - That's right start blaming teachers again. We were already told that we would most likely not be getting a cost of living or step increase this year - but most teachers don't care as long as the students get what they need.
See how you would like it if you got to bring work home, have parents call you at home, have to buy supplies for your students out of your own pocket. Anyone who makes ignorant claims like yours has spent zero time with a teacher or in a classroom!
How about they cut the sports programs - which are extracurricular - or start charging parents for the buses, uniforms, and coaches stipends? That ought to save quite a bit of money!
Response to 12:51
Delaware informed their teachers a few weeks ago that they are going to have to take an 8% cut-in-pay, plus, a reduction in health care contributions currently made by the State.
What does the BOE do in Wicomico, raise benefits.
Get-a-life or find employment elsewhere. Frankly, I'm tired your union constantly complain.
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