Budget endangers kids’ education

Editor,

The state’s top public schools are those in Worcester County. Is it reasonable to put this rating in danger?

We won’t advance and may perhaps go backward with the level of funds that the commissioners approved. The County Commissioners’ recent decision to simply provide funding for schools at maintenance-of-effort levels ($4.4 million less than asked) is extremely short sighted.

Maintenance of effort means we spend only what we spent this year. That means salary increases and inflationary costs would not be taken into account, necessitating significant budget cuts. There is a teacher shortage everywhere. Contracts with employees will need to be renegotiated at this funding level. This is a slap in the face from the commissioners, and it might cause us to lose teachers at a time when finding new ones is so challenging.

Some commissioners keep talking about transparency. The school system provided additional information requested by the county. What more do they want? In a meeting with county officials, the school system posed the question: Is this what you want?  The county responded in the affirmative, but when the commissioners received the information, they declared it insufficient.The commissioners keep moving the goalpost.

What exactly do they want to see? Be specific. Why do the commissioners need more information when they claim they don’t want to micromanage? Do they believe the school system is hiding something?

An excellent relationship between the county government and the school system should not be put in jeopardy. The high caliber schools in the county are a result of this close relationship and trust. I urge the county to support a request for more financing if at some point they determine they have extra funds. Hopefully, it won’t be too late to keep our top-notch faculty and staff, as well as the top-notch student programs.

Joan Roache
Ocean City