Board of Education Not Happy with Council Budget Cuts

“Disappointed,” “frustrated” and “political” were just a few words used by the Anne Arundel County Board of Education Wednesday at their meeting where they discussed the 2014 fiscal year operating budget, which was passed by the Anne Arundel County Council on Tuesday.

While schools superintendent Kevin Maxwell praised County Executive Laura Neuman’s involvement and willingness to work with the board on the budget, Maxwell and members of the board expressed frustrations over the cuts that were made by the council.

The council cut $5 million from school system's capital budget, used to pay for schools maintenance efforts including work like painting and roof repairs. The requested money was instead placed in a contingency fund.

“I see a lot of things that need to be done for children that aren’t going to be done, and I don’t see a reason why,” said board member Teresa Milio Birge. “I am just at a complete and total loss, and I am very disappointed with the behavior of the county council.”

One of the most notable cuts the council made included funding for roof replacement. The board requested $2 million for the projects—none of which was approved by the council. Chief Operating Officer Alex Szachnowicz acknowledged that Neuman was opposed to the cut.

Rippling Woods Elementary was among the schools listed in need for roof repair that will not be getting funds for the work, Szachnowicz said. Several other schools will also not receive the funds needed for repairs that would hopefully avoid total replacement down the road—something Szachnowicz said was a problem.

“It is significantly more cost effective to simply recoat and repair a roof to extend the life a few years or so than it is to completely tear it off and replace it,” Szachnowicz said. “The reason why we are doing that today is some of these roofs were not properly cared for in terms of those recoating and repairs many years ago.

“It’s really penny wise, but pound foolish—as the saying goes—to not to invest in those roof repairs," Szachnowicz added.

The board had requested $7 million for maintenance projects to help with backlog projects, and the council only approved $1.1 million.

Among the maintenance projects that were cut from the budget by the county council included the resurfacing of the running tracks at Arundel and Meade High School.

Szachnowicz said the sun degrades the rubber surfacing on the tracks, and replacing the tracks at various schools is done on a rotating basis. Now, Arundel and Meade lack the funds they need to repair the track.

“You have a pothole in a track and somebody that is trying to do hurdles or an event could get injured,” Szachnowicz said. “That is absolutely not an area I at all relish having to forgo. It’s critical that we maintain these tracks.”

Board member Patricia Nalley questioned the priority that was given to schools seeking feasibility and study design. Manor View and High Point Elementary schools were listed as the highest priority, but were not funded. Instead the council chose to fund George Cromwell, Jessup and Arnold Elementary schools, which were all considered less of a priority.

“That’s a little bit of a mystery to me,” Szachnowicz said. “There was no public dialogue at the council level. The board clearly had articulated Manor View and High Point as being higher priorities.”

Nalley expressed her frustrations with the board’s decision.

“Sounds political to me,” she said. 

Board member Kevin Jackson voiced his frustrations over the budget saying the council “made a conscientious choice not to give us what we asked for.”

There was some talk that the $5 million cut was retaliation for a $5 million spat in 2012 over the maintenance of effort payment—the minimum amount the state requires the county to fund schools. However, Councilman Derek Fink, (R-3rd District), of Pasadena, denied the allegation.

The full budget, Bill 46-13, can be reviewed on the Anne Arundel County Government website.

See Also:

• Anne Arundel Council Passes Executive's $1.3B Budget for 2014

Patch Editor D. Frank Smith contributed to this article.