Maryland School Budget Growth Friction

William Wan:

When Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold stepped into the council chamber yesterday to present the first budget of his administration, several key officials were notably absent: the county's school superintendent and the president, vice president and several other members of the school board.

They were the same school officials who had fought for months with Leopold (R) over how much funding he would give them. So when Leopold finally announced what share of the county's $1.2 billion budget would go to the schools, they made a point not to be there.

School officials had requested a $101 million increase in direct funding from the county. Leopold said he would give schools significantly less -- about a $27 million increase, to $542 million. He said in his speech that he was balancing "what resources are necessary to achieve excellence within the parameters of fiscal responsibility."

Posted by Jim Zellmer at May 3, 2007 12:00 AM
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