Board Meeting & Budget Work Session Tonight

Board Meeting, Budget Hearing and Work Session TONIGHT

The Board of Education of Carroll County will hold the following meetings on Wednesday, January 23, 2013. All meetings will be held in the Charles I. Ecker Boardroom at the Board of Education offices, located at 125 North Court Street in Westminster. The public is encouraged to attend.

5:00 p.m. Administrative Board Meeting (without citizen participation)

6:00 p.m. FY14 Superintendent's Operating Budget Hearing (with citizen participation)

7:00 p.m. Board Work Session - FY14 Operating Budget (without citizen participation)

The agenda and back-up materials for the Board meeting will be available for review on the CCPS website at www.carrollk12.org and clicking on Online Meeting Agenda at the bottom of the home page.

The Board meeting will be streamed live on the Carroll County Public Schools website at www.carrollk12.org. Click on CETV Channel 21 on the right side of the home page and then CCPS CETV Webstreaming, or go directly to:

http://www.carrollk12.org/admin/commedia/cetv/streaming/default.asp.

The Board meeting also will be broadcast live on Channel 21, with rebroadcasts on Thursday, January 24, at 8:00 p.m.; Saturday, January 26, at 9:00 a.m.; Sunday, January 27, at 8:00 p.m.; and Thursday, January 31, at 8:00 p.m.

POINTS TO CONSIDER WHEN PREPARING TESTIMONY ABOUT THE BUDGET

 

~ I support the Superintendent’s proposed budget, including a modest increase of 1% - primarily to cover inflationary cost including teacher pension costs passed back to the county, the new educational mandates (Race-to-the-Top) and the operating costs of opening a new middle school (Mt. Airy).

~ While asking for an increase, the budget also identifies reductions to help balance the budget. Over the past five years, the school system has reduced its budget by $20M dollars.

~ Should the school system see a decrease over last year’s budget ($164.9 in FY13) we will not have the necessary infrastructure (wireless capabilities) to meet our statewide testing mandates and our teachers will continue to leave the system for better opportunities elsewhere.

~ Finally, as our elected officials ponder over the future of our county, especially in terms of economic development and growth, I ask you to consider what type of work force will be anxious to move to a county or neighborhood with poor-performing schools or one where local government does not value to educational system.