Opinion: County's Public Schools Need Help to Keep Its Funding

A lot of people are discouraged by the $85 million in budget cuts that the Prince George’s County Public School Board is currently considering.

Parents and students across the county are to discuss them.

Superintendent William R. Hite and the Prince George’s County Public School Board are working with the budget they are given by the State of Maryland and the Prince George’s County Council. That budget is not yet finalized, and some members of the school board sent out a message asking voters to let their elected representatives at the state and county level know what they think about the governor's proposed cuts. The budget at the state level is not yet approved, so voters would have to act quickly to get money restored.

The governor is also considering legislative changes that will further reduce funding to our schools. These include leveling spending in the schools, and changing the formula state legislators use to equitably fund public schools across the state, as determined by the Thornton Commission. Some estimates of the impact on Prince George’s County Public Schools are that we will lose nearly $21 million more in funding. This is in addition to the $70 million in cuts the board knew they had to make in December of 2010. That means our school board is dealing with over $171 million in cuts from last year’s budget. That is brutal and the consequences will also be brutal.

How much money do the federal, state and county governments put into our schools?   The table below breaks out the cost per pupil for a few nearby counties, and tracks the amount per pupil from federal, state and county funding sources.

Per Pupil Revenues by Funding Source for Public Schools in Fiscal 2010

County Name

Federal

State

County

Total

Anne Arundel

$490

$4,635

$7,635

$12,761

Baltimore

$707

$5,980

$6,837

$13,524

Howard

$456

$5,019

$9,335

$14,810

Montgomery

$633

$4,509

$11,168

$16,310

Prince George's

$1,261

$8,478

$5,205

$14,943

The table above shows that Prince George’s County relies more on state funding than other nearby districts.

Because the state’s budget is in desperate straits right now, they are making big cuts in many areas. If they do not cut the school budgets, the cuts will have to come from some other category, like police protection and funding for maintaining our infrastructure. But well-educated students contribute to a more healthy economy, which in turn contributes to more tax revenues for the state and counties. Investing in our schools is an investment in the future financial health of our county.

You can find out how to contact your elected state officials at the MDElect.net website. Contact Gov. Martin O’Malley, Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown, your state senator, and your representatives. Remind them that the current version of the budget hurts Prince George’s County more than any other school system in the State. Ask them to please fully fund Prince George’s County Public Schools so that we can continue to make the gains in student achievement that will keep Maryland schools among those that are top rated in the United States.