The Superintendent’s Recommended FY12 Operating Budget

• MCEA supports the recommended operating budget. We know that the budget is inadequate to meet the needs of our students or to adequately compensate staff. But we also know that in these challenging fiscal times, it is unrealistic to expect more. Even funding this recommended budget will be a challenge. Public services across the county, the state and the nation are facing huge cutbacks.

MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT

• The proposed budget simply maintains the same per-pupil spending. That is what is meant by a “maintenance of effort” budget. Next year, there will be more than 3,300 additional students in MCPS. The county is expected to “maintain its effort” if it wants to get increased state aid. Next year, MCPS anticipates $27 million in additional state aid. The state simply says to the counties that if you want increased state aid for education, you cannot then decrease local aid for education. You can’t use increased state education aid to supplant local dollars that the county government wants to spend on other things.

• It has become fashionable among some county politicians to condemn the maintenance of effort law and call for changes. This is misguided. How can Montgomery County ask the state for increased aid for education but expect the state to allow the county to essentially use that increase in state education aid to cover non-education expenses?

• Montgomery County continues to be the 10th wealthiest county in America. Our local elected officials complain that the county doesn’t get enough state aid. What kind of credibility do we have when virtually every other county in Maryland has still been able to meet maintenance of effort, despite the severe recession, but Montgomery County claims it can’t afford to meet the same requirement?

THE COUNTY’S ERODING SUPPORT FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION

• The other “inconvenient truth” about county funding for MCPS is that, as a percentage of the county’s locally generated revenues, the percentage spend on MCPS has been dropping for almost a decade.

o From FY02 to FY11, the county government’s local tax supported revenues increased 59%

o From FY02 to FY11, the county’s spending on MCPS increased only 37%

As student enrollment has continued to steadily increase, the county government’s contribution to the school budget has grown in absolute dollars but – as the above numbers indicate - the county’s contribution to our schools has actually shrunk as a percentage of the county’s revenues. Most of the growth in the school budget has been funded by increases in state and federal aid for education. If the county were still providing MCPS the same share of local revenues that they did in 2002 – MCPS would be receiving $240 million more per year. Given that the county’s spending binge has been in other areas, and not on public education, the county should not now target MCPS for a disproportionate share of budget cuts.

SPENDING CUTS IN MCPS

• Over the last three years, MCPS has reduced spending by more than $300 million, eliminating 400+ positions, increasing class sizes, and foregoing employee cost-of-living adjustments and salary step increases. The central office has been shrunk by 20% in the last three years, including the elimination of 187 fulltime positions.

• Some on the county council call for increasing the cost of health insurance to MCPS employees, arguing that we should pay 20% of the premiums just like county employees. They choose to ignore the fact that – according to the Council’s own recently released report – the county government pays less for health insurance for each MCPS employee than they do for each county government employee; despite the fact that the county only pays 80% of their costs versus an average of about 93% in the school system. This budget maintains the current premium cost-sharing formulas.

• It is wrong to believe that the county can cut its way out of the current budget crisis. Yes, there will have to be additional cuts in programs and services. And yes, employee compensation will have to absorb some cuts. (Let’s not forget that the deferral again of the 5.3% COLA we had negotiated for FY10 will save the county another $78 million). But cuts alone cannot solve the problem. The county needs to find a balanced solution that raises revenues, cuts back on capital spending, as well as reduces programs and services. County Council members need to be honest with voters that the county cannot maintain programs and services in these times without increased revenues.

• The county cannot fund continuation of programs and services that tax-payers expect by continually reducing the salaries and benefits of public employees. That is not sustainable.

NEXT STEPS

 Wednesday January 12th, MCEA will be testifying at the Board of Education’s public hearing on the proposed FY12 operating budget.

 Concerned education voters can and should be writing personal emails to county council members urging them to seek a balanced solution – including revenue increases – and not to balance the budget simply by cutting employee compensation. Go to www.mcea.nea.org/action for links to email your council members.

 Stay informed, by regularly checking the MCEA Blog – School Notes.