Why are county commissioners fighting our schools?

Editor,

(The following letter was addressed to the Worcester County Commissioners and sent to this publication for inclusion.)

“You break it, you own it.” And I refer to Worcester County Public Schools.

The downgrading of WCPS will be your legacy. For some reason, the County Commissioners seek to undermine and underfund WCPS two years in a row. Money is not the problem. The county can well afford to maintain excellence in our schools. Despite a 46.1% increase in the value of properties reassessed in Worcester County, some of the Commissioners choose not to support their local communities and to once again give the minimum amount of funding required by law. They undermine the school system through insinuation and complain about lack of transparency. Where is their transparency and accountability to the public?

We fear that they have forgotten the value of a public school system. It may be that we have lived so long with the benefits of public education we can’t help but take it for granted. We forget that it lifts us all up. It teaches us to read, write, speak well, learn to cooperate, make financial decisions and conform to acceptable civilized behavior. And it unifies us. For what would be the repercussions of underfunded public schools? We know the answer to that. It would include a workforce with few skills, low economic standing, poor health, a lower tax base and increased crime. We are both blessed and cursed by the high property values of Ocean City that allow the county to have the funds to provide a quality education for our future work force and citizens. Due to these same high property values, however, we receive the least amount of support from the State.

So, do we invest in WCPS in a meaningful way or pay for the social and economic consequences of underfunded, low quality schools? It is by fully funding the needs of the public school system, paying for excellent teachers and keeping class sizes small that make Worcester County so desirable.

With respect to Maintenance of Effort, it sounds fairly harmless. Doesn’t it mean that the schools will be in the same good position that they were before? We thought so. But costs increase, such as tuition for dual enrollment at Wor-Wic, for energy, and supplies and for funding the steps of teachers. Thus, MOE means underfunding our schools. Last year WCPS had to cut programs and lose teachers. This year, there are increased costs due to an unfunded mandate by the state. A second year of MOE would compound our difficulties. Teacher numbers will be further reduced, class sizes increased and summer schools for enrichment and special-need students would be eliminated or curtailed. Some commissioners fret over a summer-school trip to Jolly Roger’s. May we point out that the tickets are donated and many students would not otherwise be able to enjoy an experience that is in their own community. Can we really not provide the bus service for such an experience?

Others argue that BOE cuts made last year to meet MOE were prioritized wrong. They claim to favor increasing salaries and keeping small class sizes but if 85% of the budget is for teachers, bus drivers, custodians, secretaries, educational assistants, etc. where else can we make meaningful cuts? Maintenance of buildings? Heat? (Administrative staff at the Board has not increased for years. Payroll has increased by half of a person in 20 years).

A more important question is why are the County Commissioners choosing to undermine and underfund the school system in a time when the County has the funds? Please note that while the portion of the county budget for WCPS has gone down from 45.53% to 42.72%, the county fund balance has grown since 2019 from $51M to

$92M. Again, what are the County Commissioner’s priorities? Remember that WCPS provide both direct and indirect employment to a large portion of our population and the success of our schools and their excellent reputation are a large draw for people to move here. Why are Chip Bertino, Jim Bunting, Caryn Abbott, Eric Fiori and BOE member Kate Addis through innuendo and half-truths purposely damaging the reputation of our schools? Since the County is flush with cash from the rise in property values, shouldn’t they be encouraging the BOE to spend that money to improve school safety and fund special programs and gradually improve the salaries of teachers to satisfy the requirements of the new state mandates?

Therefore, I respectfully urge you and the public to consider the educational, social and economic consequences on the community that would result from underfunding Worcester County Public Schools unnecessarily two years in a row.

Jan Adamchak
Berlin