Just this past May, the State Board of Education issued a ruling that, in part, said "We again urge the General Assembly to address the flaws in the (Maintenance of Effort) statute because the law is becoming not only unworkable, but subject to manipulation". Let's hope our other state legislators join this effort to fix Maintenance of Effort.
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Gazette
Published: Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Montgomery lawmaker seeks to protect education funding
by Andrew Ujifusa and erin cunningham
Staff Writers
A state lawmaker from Montgomery County wants to force the government entities that fund schools to apply for waivers from education spending requirements.
Had such a law been in place this year, the Montgomery County Council would not have been able to reduce school system funding as much as it did a move that reduced the base from which future budgets will be derived.
Del. Bonnie Cullison (D-Dist. 19) of Aspen Hill expects to introduce legislation next year that could require counties to apply for a waiver from Maryland’s “maintenance of effort” law for education spending if certain economic conditions are met. Her bill also would set a floor for just how low per-pupil spending by a county could be, based on a new formula.
“I’m concerned about what happened in the County Council this year and the approach they took to maintenance of effort,” said Cullison, who served as president of the Montgomery County Education Association (the county teachers union) from 2003 to 2009. “I want to make sure we have a law that ultimately honors what the county is responsible for.”
The state’s maintenance of effort law requires counties to spend at least as much per pupil on public schools as they did the previous year, in order to qualify for increases in state education funding aid.
However, counties can apply for a waiver from that requirement with the state Board of Education if they think they cannot meet that per-pupil amount.
This year, the County Council chose not to seek a waiver and make cuts to Montgomery County Public Schools from maintenance of effort levels. This decision allowed the council to set a new and lower per-pupil spending level that it believes will be easier to meet next year.
Instead of spending $1.497 billion on the school system, the maintenance of effort level for fiscal 2012 based on enrollment, the council spent $1.37 billion. That decision has resulted in a $26.3 million penalty in lost state aid to the school system for fiscal 2013.
The county is spending $1,400 less per student than two years ago. Council members have said funding schools at the higher level would hurt other government services.
This year six counties, including Montgomery, opted not to seek waivers, and did not meet maintenance of effort.
Education officials and county government have been unable to avoid fights about school funding the last couple of years.
Two years ago, the county’s Board of Education has threatened to sue the county government if it fell short of the funding target determined by the state. The relationship between the board and the County Council further deteriorated this year in regard to health care spending.
Cullison said she still is formulating the details of her plan, and isn’t sure what economic conditions would trigger a mandatory waiver request from a county.
She also said she hasn’t finalized the formula for minimum per-pupil county education spending levels.
Montgomery County Councilman Philip M. Andrews (D-Dist. 3) of Gaithersburg argued that any such law would unfairly tie the hands of local government, and incorrectly assumes that equal or greater funding would lead to better results.
“Any proposal like that, regardless of who proposes it, is based on a false premise,” Andrews said.
© 2011 Post-Newsweek Media, Inc./Gazette.Net
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