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Health & Fitness

Proposed School Funding Will Require More Cuts

The Carroll County Commissioners voted 3-2 to propose funding CCPS at $163.5 million.

 

Your help is needed to ensure that our public schools have the resources they need to continue providing a quality education to our children.

After several years of reductions in staffing and professional development opportunities, and deferral of maintenance and improvement of educational resources, Carroll County Public Schools is struggling to obtain adequate funding to implement mandatory State and Federal initiatives to improve school safety and delivery of K-12 curriculums so that our children are better prepared to meet the challenges of competitive colleges and careers.

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The level of funding that Carroll County Public Schools has requested this year is extremely reasonable:  unlike other areas of our State, overall wealth in Carroll County has been increasing yet some of our County Commissioners (Frazier and Rothschild) want to decrease tax rates and the percentage of revenue going to support public education.

Last Thursday the Carroll County Commissioners voted 3-2 to propose funding CCPS at $163.5 million, and requiring that the Board of Education use $500,000 from its fund balance, to pay for next year's operating expenses. This is $3.1 million less than the $166.6 million requested by the Board of Education and $500,000 less than the flat funding that the Commissioners approved last year for FY14!  This hit to our schools will come at the same time that state funding for CCPS will drop by $2.2 million.  And the future only looks worse...the County is proposing to reduce school funding by an additional $1.5 million and require the Board of Education to use $4 million from it's fund balance in FY15 and FY16.

Find out what's happening in Westminsterwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Even with these cuts Commissioners Frazier and Rothschild voted against the proposed budget, with Frazier commenting it would be irresponsible to fund anything above the mandatory Maintenance of Effort of $161 million...

WHAT CAN YOU DO? 

Let your voice be heard!

Write to our Commissioners and let them know you want better funding for our schools: rrothschild@ccg.carr.org, rfrazier@ccg.carr.org, droush@ccg.carr.org, hshoemaker@ccg.carr.org, dhoward@ccg.carr.org

Attend one (or more) of the following Community Budget Meetings:
•Thurs., April 25, 7:00 pm, Eldersburg Branch Library
•Mon., April 29, 7:00 pm, Reagan Meeting Room
•Tues., April 30, 7:00 pm, Taneytown Sr. & Community Center
•Wed., May 1, 7:00 pm North Carroll Branch Library
•Thurs., May 2, 7:00 pm Mt. Airy Branch Library

Bring family and friends to the final Budget Hearing
•Thurs., May 9 7:00 pm Carroll Community College, Scott Center Auditorium

For more info, check out:

https://www.facebook.com/CarrollValuesEducation

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