Thursday, April 25, 2013
The school system went back to the drawing board this week to find another $4.7 million in cuts.
School Superintendent Stephen Guthrie said $4.7 million had to be cut from the board of education's proposed fiscal year 2014 budget, based on the fiscal year 2014 county budget discussed by the commissioners Tuesday. Guthrie presented a scenario that includes cutting approximately $4.7 million from the $166.6 million budget the board of education submitted to the county commissioners. The following cuts are in the proposed budget: "I did not want to go any deeper with [cuts to] teachers, assistants, custodians," Guthrie said. "In total we've made over $7 million in reductions for next year." Commissioner Howard said that he doesn't think it's fair that the county gets all the blame for education funding shortfalls. He said there have …
Friday, April 12, 2013
The first budget discussion dealt with a 3 percent raise for county employees.
The board of Carroll County commissioners voted on Thursday to allocate the equivalent of a 3 percent employee raise in the proposed county budget for fiscal year 2014, beginning July 1. The money for raises would be $1.5 million. The proposed budget is $486,447,131 million, a .87 percent increase over the current budget. The vote on the raises was 4-1 with Commissioner Robin Frazier voting against the motion. On Thursday, the commissioners received their final budget update from Department of Management and Budget Director Ted Zaleski who told the board, "It's in your hands now." Zaleski will present the proposed budget at five community meetings around the county in the coming weeks. The board's first budget discussion dealt with …
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Budget discussions for FY2014 will begin next week.
Westminster's Mayor and Common Council will hear recommendations from the city's finance committee at a FY2014 budget workshop next Monday. Common Council member Robert Wack, chair of the finance committee, said that the city will see some healthcare-related expenses increase in FY14. He also said the finance committee will propose a decrease in the tax rate and a three percent salary increase for city employees. During Monday's regularly scheduled meeting of the Mayor and Common Council, Wack said that employee benefits are one of the city's biggest expenses driven by outside sources. According to Wack, healthcare expenses increased by $190,000 last year. In addition, he said that the city will have to increase its payment to the Law …
Friday, March 15, 2013
The Board of Carroll County Commissioners contemplated whether it's worth spending money on a comprehensive facilities study of the school system.
After a lengthy education discussion that jumped around from quality of education to redistricting, funding gaps and facility usage, the Board of Carroll County Commissioners agreed to create a joint task force with the Board of Education to “get on the same page” in terms of finances and a comprehensive facilities study. “I’d like to recommend that we put together this group to get a common set of numbers and projects we’re talking about and take a deep breathe before we launch into that [hiring a consultant to conduct a schools facilities study],” Commissioner Doug Howard said. During the county budget cycle last spring, the Carroll County Board of Commissioners requested that the school system conduct a comprehensive facilities study …
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Patch highlights important dates and information about Carroll County Public Schools.
Jan. 9 Board of Education Meeting The Board of Education of Carroll County will hold its regular monthly meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 9 at 5 p.m. The meeting will be held in the Charles I. Ecker Boardroom at the Board of Education offices, located at 125 North Court Street in Westminster. There will be time for citizen participation at this meeting. The public is encouraged to attend. The agenda and back-up materials for the Board meeting will be available for review on BoardDocs, which may be accessed by visiting the school system's website at www.carrollk12.org and clicking on Board of Education Meeting Agenda and Documents on the home page. The meeting will be streamed live on the Carroll County Public Schools website at www.carrollk12…
Friday, October 19, 2012
School Superintendent Steve Guthrie recently recommended that third party firm be hired to take over the study started by the school system in April.
At least one board of education member has suggested that the school system not hire a third party to conduct a school system facilities study if the goal is to close schools, since she doesn't believe any board of education members want to close schools. During the county budget cycle last spring, the board of commissioners requested that the school system conduct a comprehensive facilities study to "assess the need for and proper utilization of the school facilities across the county over the next 10 years." More recently that conversation focused on closing schools, with Commissioner Richard Rothschild coming out in favor of closing schools in an effort to cut overhead costs. At last week's board of education meeting, where School …
Thursday, October 11, 2012
When it came time to announce options for schools to be closed, Superintendent Steve Guthrie said "I am not going to name any schools tonight."
Based on Superintendent Steve Guthrie's assertion that CCPS personnel do not have the expertise to study closing facilities, the Board of Education stopped the school system’s comprehensive facilities study in its tracks and called for a "repurposing" meeting with the board of Carroll County commissioners. After a cumbersome presentation outlining facility use and options at Wednesday evening's board of education meeting, Guthrie announced that his staff has expertise in educating students, not closing facilities. "I put a rush on this, I wanted to get it done, but when I look at the end product, I’m not comfortable with the selection criteria to make sure we did it the right way," Guthrie said. "There was a better way to go about this …
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
What do you think, should the Board of Education close facilities in Carroll County to save money?
As Superintendent Stephen Guthrie prepares to offer cost-saving facility options to the Board of Education, Carroll County commissioners reiterate that there will be budget implications if schools aren't closed as a way to reduce overhead costs. "We've done more than just encourage them to initiate the [facilities study] process, we've tied the outcome of the process to potential decisions we'll make here," Commissioner Doug Howard said in an open-session commissioners meeting last week. "We have said that if the decision is to not close schools then there will be budget implications for that." Should Carroll County schools be closed as a cost-saving meaure? Tell us in comments. School Superintendent Stephen Guthrie told Patch that he will…
Thursday, October 4, 2012
School Superintendent Steve Guthrie will present options for facility use and closures at the Oct. 10 board of education meeting. Public discussion will follow.
Carroll County Schools Superintendent Steve Guthrie said he will present options for cost savings, including school closures, as the county faces declining student enrollment and continuing costs to maintain and improve facilities. "I would never attempt to close schools without public input," Guthrie said. "However, I cannot receive public input without presenting different scenarios. I ask that the public not make the leap to schools closures from what will be discussed at the next board meeting." The Oct. 10 board of education meeting will be held at 5 p.m. in the Charles I. Ecker Boardroom at the Board of Education offices, 125 North Court St. in Westminster. Guthrie emphasized that the options he intends to present next week contain…
Friday, June 22, 2012
Scheduled to close July 1, commissioners have decided to keep Hoods Mill Landfill open for another six months.
During an open session meeting, the board of county commissioners voted unanimously to keep the Hoods Mill Landfill open, at least temporarily. The landfill, located in Woodbine, was scheduled to close July 1 due to funding. During the budgeting process this spring, commissioners were told it would take $250,000 in maintenance and upgrades to continue operating the facility. They were advised by public works staff that a new roof and a new front loader were needed. Additionally, Hoods Mill costs approximately $46,000 a year to operate, according to Department of Public Works deputy director Jeff Topper. Commissioner Richard Rothschild asked the other commissioners to consider options to keep the facility open. The commissioners decided …
Kathy
11:05 pm on Monday, April 29, 2013
After cutting 40 custodian jobs now the Board of Ed will hire a Deputy Supervisor of Facilities Maintenance and Operations. This NEW job title will pay $ 70,000 I think cuts made in HR were moved or job titles changed. Do the research, check out 2010/ 11 http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/schoolsalaries/ then go look at this pay scale http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/salaries2012/ccps/ I see … more ›