Maryland's state school board said in an opinion issued Wednesday saying that it believes state law needs to be amended to prevent county governments from reducing their current levels of school funding.
Six county governments appear to be poised to reduce their school system budgets, going against the "maintenance of effort" provision that requires them to fund schools at the same level as the previous year.
The board issued its opinion after the Montgomery County school system, which is fighting the Montgomery County Council's decision to reduce money to schools, asked for a ruling.
The state board said in its opinion that if the trend continues, "we express serious concerns about maintaining adequate funding for education in Maryland. The Maintenance of Effort statute, as is currently written, has the ability to undo this basic funding cornerstone of Maryland public education."
The legislature passed the landmark Thornton law nearly a decade ago. It provided an increase of more than $1 billion in state aid to give all students access to an adequate education whether they live in Montgomery County or Baltimore City.
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2 comments:
Well if the Montgomery County BOE acts as shamelessly as Wicomico County's BOE does, then GREAT JOB Montgomery County Counil! There needs to be accountability to reduce the financial irresponsibility of the BOE! For starters, if it is truly about the kids, then quit expecting me to give you $60 per day to eat. McDonalds has $6 value meals! The BOE's need to get over themselves and step up to the plate like every other county entity does!
I am not sure how the Thornton program works. There must be some way--and maybe there is that we are unaware of--that tracks BOE spending as it DIRECTLY RELATES TO STUDENTS--teachers' salaries, instructional tools (books and equipment), and the like. I do believe that counties have an obligation) to maintain effort in the education of students and that they should be penalized if they do not. It is imperative that funding levels NOT be reduced from the previous year. All the other things not related to students (e.g. administrators' lunches) should not be counted in "maintenance of effort". It is not fair to kids to reduce funding that directly impacts on their level of education.
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