Public pleads for additional school funds | Maryland Gazette (HometownGlenBurnie.com)

If a dozen teaching positions are slashed from the Pasadena school, that could mean Advanced Placement classes with upward of 40 students, she told council members during a hearing on the proposed 2009 county budget.

"Imagine learning in that environment. It's not possible," Miss Harris said as at least 100 students, teachers and parents from Northeast leapt to their feet in applause.

About 700 people packed the Chesapeake Arts Center in Brooklyn Park for the hearing, the first of two planned on the $1.22 billion budget proposed by County Executive John R. Leopold.

He proposed a $917 million operating budget for county schools, around $51.2 million less than requested.

Most of the 40 or so people who spoke before the council Monday called on the council to support county schools Superintendent Kevin M. Maxwell's request for $71.9 million in additional funds, plus an additional $52 million for construction and renovation.

Tonight's second public hearing in Annapolis is expected to provide a repeat of much of the testimony.

John Hammond, county budget officer, pointed out at the start of the hearing that the school system got 95 percent of the funding it requested.

But school officials said the proposed budget isn't enough to fund a promised contract with the Teachers Association of Anne Arundel County, and to keep that promise, the school system will have to make cuts.

That means eliminating 200 teaching positions, as well as axing hundreds of non-teaching and central office positions, Dr. Maxwell said this spring.

"Our budget is not just a spreadsheet chock full of numbers," Dr. Maxwell told council members at the start of Monday's hearing. "Children, and people, are the heart of everything we do. And every move we make, for better or worse, impacts our children."

Council members listened quietly as speakers, some still in grade school, lined up to talk.

"The budget is not cut and dry," Councilman Ron Dillon Jr., R-Pasadena, told the crowd. "That's the reason you guys are here. We're doing the best we can, and I think we can make some headway."

The council has final say on the spending plan, and it can shuffle more money to schools by carving it out of other places in the budget.

Several parents and students from Riviera Beach Elementary, which could lose four teachers under Dr. Maxwell's proposed cuts, pleaded for more money. The small school has just over 260 students.

Kim Lewis, joined by her third-grade daughter, Hailey, predicted class sizes will soar and Maryland State Assessment scores will plummet.

"I'm afraid I won't have enough time to ask teachers questions," Hailey said.

Staff cuts weren't the only thing on concerned residents' minds. The Board of Education is asking for $887,000 to pay for eight more pupil personnel workers across the county. Those employees work with students on issues such as truancy, family matters, out of area transfers and other matters.

Scott Bell told the council he dropped out of Old Mill High School, but returned after being encouraged by a PPW.

Although education funding received the most attention at Monday's hearing, a few residents were there to speak on other topics. Representatives of the hospitality industry lambasted Mr. Leopold's plan to raise the tax on hotel rooms in the county from 7 to 10 percent. That tax increase is supposed to generate $6.3 million and would fund raises for school secretaries and support staff.

Linda Greene, executive director of the BWI Business Partnership, said travelers will opt to rent rooms in neighboring counties.

"Hotels are already facing decreases in revenue, and our industry cannot afford to have people going elsewhere," she said.

While budget fights between the county executive and school officials are an annual rite of spring, this year's battle is waged over scarce resources.

Budget experts say the solutions are not simple, especially in a year where the extra $51 million schools want is nowhere to be found.

"This is the tightest budget I've seen," County Auditor Teresa Sutherland said last week.

State contributions to counties are down, and the downturn in the housing market has caused revenue from the tax on property sales to drop $50 million over the past two years. The same rising electricity, health care and gas costs that squeeze residents' wallets pressure the county, too.

"It's an unfair world, and the fiscal reality is there's not enough money to do everything we would like to do," said Mr. Hammond, the county budget officer.

Opponents of the higher hotel tax and proponents of additional spending on schools are expected to turn out in full force at tonight's public hearing in Annapolis. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. at the Arundel Center at 44 Calvert St.

BUDGET HEARING

The County Council will hold the second of two public hearings on County Executive John R. Leopold's proposed budget tonight at the Arundel Center in Annapolis.

The proposed $1.2 billion general fund budget allocates $917 million to Anne Arundel County Public Schools. The budget adopted by the Board of Education in February requested $968.8 million.

The property tax rate of 89 cents per $100 of assessed value remained below the state average. The county's local income tax stayed at 2.56 percent, the third lowest in the state.

Mr. Leopold cut $6.6 million out of current county spending and suggested a pallet of fee and tax increases totaling $11 million. He asked the council to approve an ambulance service fee of $500 that would raise $2 million and be used to build underground water tanks in neighborhoods that do not have access to public water.

The budget would raise the tax on hotel stays from 7 to 10 percent, a move that would generate $6.3 million and would fund raises for school secretaries and support staff.

Other fee increases on well and restaurant inspections, recreation and parks, and building approval are expected to bring in $2.7 million.

It is 2.9 percent larger than last year and includes new initiatives for science and math education programs, a baseball field for children in wheelchairs and a police officer dedicated to working with federal authorities to curb illegal immigration.

The budget sets aside $2 million to build workforce housing, allocates money to preserve 130 acres of land and gives money to help veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan access mental health and substance abuse treatment.

The county allocated less than $2.5 million to community grants this year, slightly less than was awarded last year.

The hearing starts at 7 p.m. Those wishing to testify can sign up beginning at 6 p.m. The Arundel Center is located at 44 Calvert St. in Annapolis. The budget can be found at www.aacounty.org.