Maxwell asks county for more school money

As teachers reach tentative agreement on contract

By ELISABETH HULETTE, Staff Writer

Published 07/10/09

The dust may have settled after this year's budget battle over school funds, but Superintendent Kevin Maxwell still hasn't given up.

Along with former county Board of Education president Enrique Melendez, he is asking County Executive John R. Leopold for an additional $7.7 million - enough to keep teachers and other school employees from being furloughed next year.

The money is "a matter of equity," they said in their request, because while school employees are being furloughed, county employees aren't.

But county leaders who made their own cuts this year said they didn't have $7.7 million to...

This story has expired!
You can purchase the full text in our news archives.

YOUR COMMENTS

RULES OF PARTICIPATION

If you encounter other problems, please email ewiffin@capitalgazette.com and include your name, username, and any errors or messages that are displayed. The more information you can provide, the better able we will be to assist you.

In order to post or vote on a comment, you must be signed in with a hometownannapolis account.

Take a look at a summary of Commenting Guidelines.

Report Abuse or Vote In order to allow the user community the ability to collectively rank the value of comments posted on the Capital Gazette websites we have implemented a thumbs-up/down system. All logged-in users may participate by voting up/down each comment. If others vote on your comment, your individual score will go up/down depending on the votes. Initially, everyone starts with a score of zero, and must earn credits to have significant voting weight. Individuals with higher scores will have more voting weight. +13

infrastructure - 2009-07-12 10:08:25

Why is it that infrastructure ALWAYS gets short changed. Poor lighting, failing plumbing, leaking roofs all need attention. Everytime there's a shortfall they always cut capitol projects. Nobody wins when the building is a heap of rubble. Whe are we going to learn that quality education pays in the long run? It is a investment. Better educated kids earn more, pay more in taxes and contribute more to the oveall economy. Which, in turn, provides more money to the government. I think a lot of times education is looked upon as an expense. Rather it should be looked upon as a long term investment with a long term pay back.

unhide Comment hidden due to low ranking. Why is this comment hidden?

C A - Crofton, MD - Karma: Neutral

unions - 2009-07-10 22:24:41

Anne Arundel teachers are not a part of a union. They are members of an association. There is a big difference!

unhide Comment hidden due to low ranking. Why is this comment hidden?

A. Roberts - Berlin, MD - Karma: Neutral

not once - 2009-07-10 15:13:35

Did this article mention the students, or what is best for them. Just me, me, me from Maxwell and the union.

unhide Comment hidden due to low ranking. Why is this comment hidden?

Peter D. - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Neutral

So predictable - 2009-07-10 14:19:15

Maxwell has mastered the bait and switch method of obtaining money for pet projects that have little if any benefit for the majority of public school students. He does have a $123,000.00 a year press secretary though. Why do you suppose he needs such an expensive media person?

unhide Comment hidden due to low ranking. Why is this comment hidden?

Dave D. - Pasadena, MD - Karma: Neutral

Piece of Work - 2009-07-10 13:24:22

Couldn't agree more with Sean and John. Maxwell shouldn't be given another dime until his agency starts being more transparent with how they spend their discretionary dollars. Remember, this is the same guy that took 50 teacher positions the Council approved for him two years ago, and instead, he funded outlandish administrative raises and bonuses, in some cases up to 33%. He also does everything he can to avoid transparency -- real decisions of the board aren't made at their spectacle public meetings, they are made behind closed doors. He refused to respond to a request for information under Maryland Law on how much the STEM program was costing (which, a noble program, but in tight times sucks resources away from the rest of the kids in the county). You get the impression that they are the only public administrators in America that didn't get the memo about the economic crisis and the lack of local revenue.

It would be nice if the Capital covered their track record on evading requests for information on how they spend their dollars, on test score data (now a lawsuit because they play games with releasing data), and they shamelessly use the Capital to make their case in the press and set up perpetual confrontation with the Council and Leopold.

Not once have they prepared an annual budget to live within their means. Not once.

unhide Comment hidden due to low ranking. Why is this comment hidden?

Chris Doherty - Harwood, MD - Karma: Good

Choices - 2009-07-10 11:52:06

When this story first appeared on the Capital Online site this morning, it was positioned directly over a story discussing an innovative program that the county school system has developed to provide one-stop services for mental health and community services. As I read it I thought that it was/is a great idea.

The issues at this point are priorities and timing. Dr. Maxwell wants to institute a number of innovations and I applaud him for that. He, unfortunately, wants to do that when everyone is having to tighten their belts. According to the story about the centralization of service delivery only state education funds were being applied; I didn't see any indication that county education dollars were being used. I can't believe, though, that this program and a myriad of other good ancillary programs don't take money away from education's central mission.

Now we have a situation where there was a narrow (1% as I read) increase in funding, but an increase nonetheless. Dr. Maxwell wants to continue his innovation. He is the one, however, who is making the choices. He is the one choosing to use dollars on innovation rather than funding teacher salaries. He has gotten increases. He chose to budget dollars on innovations rather than salaries. The county has chosen to do otherwise. There is equity to the extent that each body had the ability to make their own decisions.

I am glad that Dr. Maxwell seeks innovation. I just wish he'd do right by his own employees.

unhide Comment hidden due to low ranking. Why is this comment hidden?

John M. - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Neutral

Hopefully - 2009-07-10 11:51:44

our elected officials will put strings on any additional dollars Dr. Maxwell and Company seek in order force a modicum of transparency from AACPS and make it act like a public institution - accountable to the taxpaying public.

unhide Comment hidden due to low ranking. Why is this comment hidden?

Sean A. - , - Karma: Neutral