It took about a day of review, but they finally spotted it.

Within in a budget unveiled by the county executive last week, school officials found a two-year gap in funding for new school construction projects, a lag they say will stall plans to close the $1.5 billion maintenance backlog in county schools.

"You'll never recover those years," Alex Szachnowicz, chief facilities officer for county schools said Friday at a budget hearing before the County Council.

The discovery compounded panic already felt by school officials who found out last week - when County Executive John R. Leopold unveiled the county budget - that...