Board Of Ed Offers Hearings, Workshop On Recommended FY20 Budgets

ANNAPOLIS, MD — The Board of Education of Anne Arundel County will hold two public hearings on Superintendent George Arlotto's recommended fiscal year 2020 operating and capital budgets. Residents will have the opportunity to comment on the recommended $1.26 billion operating budget and $172 million capital budget at both forums.

The hearings are scheduled on Tuesday, Jan. 8 at Old Mill High School in Millersville and Thursday, Jan. 10 at the Parham Building's Board Room in Annapolis. Both events start at 6 p.m. Those wishing to testify can sign up starting at 5 p.m.

$1.26B Operating Budget - FY 2020

Arlotto's recommended $1.26 billion operating budget for fiscal year 2020 plans to add 201 classroom teaching positions and give school district employees multiple compensation increases.

The plan has 295.6 new positions — 92 percent of which would be given to staff to have daily interactions with students, school system officials said. Of the 201 teaching positions, 116 would help cut down on current class sizes and 44.5 would tackle enrollment increases.

In addition, there is $35.1 million for employee compensation increases. Below is a breakdown of the allocated funds, according to a press release:

• $7.5 million plans to finance the second half of the mid-year compensation increase offered to staff in the current fiscal year;
• $14 million plans to fund a step increase for qualifying staff members in all bargaining units and an "equivalent increase for non-represented employees;"
• $13.6 million plans to serve as a "compensation placeholder for additional employee increases, subject to negotiations with bargaining units." The money should be enough to provide: an additional step increase for qualifying staff members, cost-of-living increases for all employees, or some other distribution — including back steps — that a bargaining unit may want to devise and negotiate.

The plan also includes $2.1 million, which would raise teachers' extracurricular pay from $25 an hour to $30 an hour, officials said.

If the recommended plan passes, substitute teachers will also see a pay raise. Their pay rate has been the same for the last 18 years, according to officials. The recommendation contains $928,000, which would raise substitute teachers' pay by $10 per day.

Other key highlights of the recommended budget, per the press release:

• $3.1 million will be for 47.3 positions to tackle enrollment hikes and enhanced student needs in special education;
• $2.4 million will be for for 25 English Language Acquisition teachers, 10 bilingual teaching assistants, two bilingual facilitators, and a technician to assist English Language Learners and their families;
• $1.4 million will be for seven school counselors, three school psychologists, and three social workers to help address students' emotional and social needs;
• $742,800 will be allocated to expand the Triple-E program to the five elementary schools in the Broadneck cluster

$172M Capital Budget - FY 2020

The superintendent's capital budget recommendation includes $88.8 million for ongoing construction projects at the following schools:

• Tyler Heights Elementary School
• Richard Henry Lee Elementary School
• Edgewater Elementary School
• Crofton Area High School
• George Cromwell Elementary School

In addition, the plan includes $3 million for feasibility studies at Hillsmere, Quarterfield, and Rippling Woods elementary schools. Officials added that $10 million will go to the design of the new Old Mill West High School.

There is also $11 million in the recommended budget that will go to prekindergarten and kindergarten additions at Millersville and Linthicum elementary schools, officials said. $6 million would build a new classroom at Crofton Woods Elementary School and finish the construction at Solley Elementary School.

To learn more about Arlotto's budget recommendation, click here.

The Board of Education of Anne Arundel County will also hold a public workshop on Arlotto's budget recommendation. The event will take place at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 15, in Parham Building's Board Room. The public cannot testify at this workshop, or at the Feb. 20 meeting. On Feb. 20, the board is set to adopt its budget request.

Once the budget is approved, the board will forward it to County Executive Steuart Pittman. Pittman's proposal will then be considered by the County Council.

The board can move funding within operating budget categories before it approves a final budget (no later than June 30).

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