Verjeana Jacobs, chair of the Prince George’s County Board of Education, released the following public service announcement in the hopes of getting community support and input in the search for the next superintendent of schools.
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With the special session of the Maryland General Assembly days away, the chiefs of Baltimore City, Prince George’s County, and Montgomery County public schools have joined together to fight for a restoration of school funding. In a letter released today, the three superintendents urge the state leaders to remember their investments and restore cuts to public education.
The Prince George’s County Public Schools took it a step further unveiling a feature on their website urging community members to pressure the legislature to restore the cuts. The feature allows citizens use the PGCPS website and lobby their legislators and the governor. To view the page yourself go to http://www1.pgcps.org/budget/13.aspx
Press Release and Letter from PGCPS about combined efforts with BCPS and MCPS.
Superintendents of Baltimore City, Prince George’s County and MCPS Send Joint Letter to State Leaders
May 7, 2012For Immediate ReleaseThe leaders of three of the largest school districts in Maryland sent a joint letter today to the Governor and the leaders of the State Senate and the State House of Delegates urging them to fully restore funding for public education during the special session of the General Assembly, which begins on May 14. The General Assembly failed to come to a budget agreement during its regular session, which ended last month, leading to the passage of a so-called “doomsday budget,” that would cut funding for schools and other services by more than $500 million. The letter stresses the importance of Geographic Cost of Education Index (GCEI) funds and other state education funding, and outlines the impact that such cuts could have for the three districts and the state, as a whole.
The letter is signed Dr. Andrés A. Alonso, CEO of Baltimore City Public Schools, Dr. William R. Hite, Jr., superintendent of Prince George’s County Public Schools, and Dr. Joshua P. Starr, superintendent of Montgomery County Public Schools. It is addressed to Governor Martin J. O’Malley, President of the Senate Thomas V. Mike Miller, Jr. and Speaker of the House of Delegates Michael E. Busch.
The text of the letter is below. A copy of the letter can be found here.
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Dear Governor O’Malley, Senate President Miller and Speaker Busch:
We are writing to share our collective concern about the devastating impact the so-called “doomsday” budget would have on our three school systems and Maryland’s hard-earned standing as being “first in education.” As you prepare to gather for a special session of the General Assembly on May 14, we urge you to fully restore the Geographic Cost of Education Index (GCEI) and other formula funding for public education.
Our districts, combined, educate more than one-third of Maryland’s students and, within that, nearly two-thirds of the African American and Hispanic students in the state and more than half of the students who qualify for free and reduced-price meals. The elimination of $93 million in GCEI funding would disproportionately harm our students, our ability to continue to narrow achievement gaps for those students who are minorities and poor, and student performance for the state as a whole.
Under the state’s Thornton formula in the past five years, our districts have received a majority of GCEI dollars that the state distributes to create equity in funding across jurisdictions. The GCEI offsets funding in districts where the cost of living—and, by extension, the cost of educating children—is higher. During those same five years, our three districts combined have shown significant student achievement gains—gains that have improved the educational and life prospects of tens of thousands of children and gone a long way to moving us toward financial and educational equity for our kids. These gains have also contributed heavily to Maryland’s continued status as having the best public education system in the country.
For instance, Maryland is rightfully proud of its position as a national leader in Advanced Placement participation and performance. Since 2007, the number of AP exams taken by Maryland students has increased 35 percent. Our three districts, combined, have accounted for about half of the state’s AP growth, having increased the number of AP exams taken by more than 40 percent since 2007.
And the GCEI funding has been critical to making this success happen; most importantly, it has been essential to our ability to deliver the education our students need and deserve. The elimination of the GCEI would be a huge setback in the gains our students have made. Collectively, our three districts would sustain 73 percent of what would be a $128.8 million cut to public education.
If we are to ensure that our students graduate from high school prepared for the workforce of the 21st century, and if we are to grow the pool of workers trained to enter the fast-emerging STEM professions in our state, then we cannot retreat on education funding. If we are to make good on our commitment to educating children equitably, regardless of their geographic location, we must maintain, and even increase, our investment in education. As our state’s leader-, you have demonstrated your commitment to education time and again. We ask you to maintain that commitment to our students during the special session.
Sincerely,
Andrés A. Alonso, Ed.D.
CEO, Baltimore City Public SchoolsWilliam R. Hite, Jr., Ed.D.
Superintendent, Prince George’s County Public SchoolsJoshua P. Starr, Ed.D.
Superintendent, Montgomery County Public Schools
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PGCPS Superintendent William Hite
Fresh off a long, confusing, and heated budget debate that just ended a few months ago, Superintendent Hite is busy preparing for the 2012-2013 budget which promises to be even tougher with more cuts to popular programs. To begin the process Hite is hosting an Operating Budget Hearing on October 19th at 7PM possibly at the Board of Education headquarters however the official press communication doesn’t mention a location. The public is invited to attend.
Last year’s budget saw cuts to popular programs, the enactment of a surcharge for high school athletes, and the threat to cut transportation for students attending specialty schools. The cut to transportation was saved at the last-minute by an infusion of money from the County Council and Executive Rushern Baker. This year with the threat of another recession and a huge budget gap by the county, no one is expecting a last-minute infusion of money from either the county our state. “Last year’s budget will be nothing compared to what we expect to face next year,” a member of the Prince George’s County Educators Association said.
The public hearing will likely be used to help frame the budget proposal Dr. Hite introduces to the Board of Education later this year. That proposal will go to the board for review, public hearings, and revisions before it is approved by the board and sent to the County Council for review and back to the board for final approval.
Other PGCPS important meetings or hearing this week include:
DIAB Meeting
October 12 • 6 p.m.
The Board of Education’s Disability Issues Advisory Board (DIAB) meets every other month to discuss ADA issues and make recommendations on policies, procedures, and to help ensure that the needs of students and staff who are disabled are met.
Board Meeting
October 13 • 1 p.m.
The Board of Education Meeting is open to the public. Interested persons may speak for three minutes by registering with the Board Office by 10:30 a.m. the day of the meeting.
CIP & FAB Committee Meeting
October 19 • 5 p.m.
The CIP & FAB Committee focuses on issues pertaining to renovation and new school construction, and school system financial matters.
Check out the new ad that the Maryland State Education Association has running on state TV to promote a rally they are organizing to fight against cuts to their budgets.
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Keep the Promise Rally Facebook Page.
Many of Maryland’s largest unions and progressive groups are joining forces with some of their most popular community and civic groups for a massive rally March 14th directed right at the state’s dominate party leaders. Democrats led by Governor Martin O’Malley and Senate President Mike Miller appear determined to cut the state’s budget and have given cool reception to any suggestion of tax increases to close the budget gap. Miller in particular has made dealing with the state’s pension problem a key goal for this legislative session but that doesn’t appear to be in line with the view of the organizers behind this project.
We’re rallying to ask the General Assembly to prevent devastating cuts to public education and the retirement security of educators, police, health care workers, librarians, and many more hard-working Marylanders.These cuts will threaten the quality of our public school system and the quality of the public services that we depend on everyday.
As Maryland recovers from the recession brought on by the excesses of Wall Street, we urge legislators to keep their promises to Main Street and provide great public schools, great public services, and a great future for Maryland.
Join us on March 14! RSVP on Facebook, and then register on the Rally website here: www.rallytokeepthepromise.com
Just about everyday it seems that the active and concerned residents of Prince George’s County are tracking all over the county to attend some budget forum, roundtable, or hearing. While all of the discussion over the finances for the county maybe a refreshing welcome from the days before when the Johnson Administration held no forums to hear from the public on their ideas and thoughts, they also can be frustrating when they are not coordinated well.
Yesterday more than a hundred people turned out for a standing room session to share their thoughts on the superintendent’s proposed budget for the public schools where he is calling for drastic cuts to student services and programs in Upper Marlboro. While this was happening at the very same time in Laurel the County Executive Rushern Baker was holding his own budget session promising that while the “budget looks bleak” he would use the limited funds to “spur economic growth to create jobs and improve our education system.” Two different meetings, two very different speeches, both at the same exact time. It gave an image of a county leadership very disjointed and working at two opposite ends of the very same line. For a parents and community activists concerned about the deep cuts to the education budget the system faces balancing both forums could be just too difficult, especially on those with young children. In fact if you were to attempt to make all of the hearings both sides of this line were holding you’d be at a forum just about every night for the next two weeks.
Executive Rushern Baker will hold his third public budget session on February 17th in Fort Washington at Harmony Hall located at 10701 Livingston Road at 7:00PM. The Prince George’s County Public Schools will hold their last public budget work session on Saturday February 19th beginning at 9:00AM in preparation for their February 24th meeting to adopt a budget which will start at 7:05PM. Both of their meetings will take place at the school administration building located at 14201 School Lane in Upper Marlboro.
After the school system adopts their budget it will be sent to the Executive where he will decide just how much county aid will be provided as apart of his overall budget presented to the council later this Spring. After the council and the executive approve the new budget and the state passes their budget in April the Board of Education will reconsider their funding plan to make amendments in line with their realized funds. Mr. Baker has yet to present his budget and in fact is using these forums to help get guidance in the drafting of that plan. To read Dr. Hite’s submitted budget to the Board of Education click here.
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