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the decision will come later There have been weeks of debate among county leaders over whether to expand how Prince George’s uses funds from local telecommunications and energy taxes to pay for schools. Taxes currently go towards school operating costs and other areas such as teacher salaries and special education.
Alzalbrooks asked the state Legislature to help cover increased costs and eliminate the county’s $171 million deficit from the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, a law that would increase state and county school spending. asked for more flexibility to support
Allbrooks sent a warning letter to the county’s House delegation Thursday. He said the impact of not passing both bills could require additional service cuts. He also said the delay in voting on the bill puts county officials at “risk” of not holding a meeting. The legally mandated March 15 deadline was to submit the budget to the county council.
The county spent about 60 percent of its budget on schools in fiscal year 2020, which increased to 62 percent in the current budget year to comply with Blueprint guidelines.Another 20 percent goes to public safety funding, and 18 percent of the budget. There are other county initiatives as well, she said.
“Part 18 [percent] our seniors, our roads and highways, our trash and garbage collection, our health and human services, our environmental goals and stormwater management, our small and minority businesses. ,” Mr Alsobrooks told delegates. “Passing this bill is the only way we can fully fund the Blueprint mandates while maintaining the core services our residents expect and deserve.”
Prince George’s school board opposes the tax amendment, and school officials say the budget is based on the assumption that revenue will be distributed as before, so the revenue adjustment is not an option. said service reductions may be necessary.
State lawmakers said they asked the district to provide more details about potential cuts to no avail.
At Friday’s meeting of the county’s House delegation, Rep. Jocelyn A. Peña Melnyk (D-21st District) expressed frustration at being repeatedly asked for information. There was no response on what the school system would need to cut.
“It’s like I’ve gone blind. I never got that list, so I don’t know what I’m voting for,” she said. “I really don’t understand why our county leadership can’t sit down with the superintendent she recommended and come up with some kind of compromise.”
On Friday, Prince George’s School Board Chair Judy Mickens-Murray said: said in an interview “Board leadership understands the budget constraints facing the county.” School boards typically adjust their budgets in June, so it’s unclear where the cuts will come from, she said.
“We leave it to [House delegation] It’s about making the best decisions we can to make sure our kids get what they need in their education and also meet the needs of our communities,” said Mickens-Murray (At-Large). .
In a statement to Washington Post, Prince George’s School Spokeswoman Megan Thornton said the system is committed to mitigating negative impacts when evaluating the 2024-25 budget. “PGCPS is committed to working with all stakeholders, including the school board and county executive, to effectively overcome these challenges,” she said.
The accounting report stated: A proposal to adjust the use of sales and use taxes on energy and fuel could reduce county spending for the school system by $53.2 million in fiscal year 2025 and $64.7 million in 2029.
A similar note on the telecommunications tax says county spending on the school system could drop by $13.1 million in the fiscal year. It will increase to $16 million in 2025 and $16 million in 2029.
In a letter to delegates, Allsbrooks said “the increases are smaller than before” as a result of the bill. [the school district] Be expected. ” but she wrote Schools also received $53 million more in state and local funding than last year.
“This year alone, our school system will receive $90 million in additional Blueprint dollars. [fiscal 2025]“The state contributed $60 million and the county contributed $30 million,” she wrote. She said the district has not been forced to cut what was spent in this year’s budget.
Albrooks County said it has already identified $100 million in cuts, including freezing 450 jobs in the county, defunding more than 800 other county roles and delaying capital projects.
The concerns raised by Prince George about the Blueprint Act and its high price tag are echoed in other areas.of The legislation is expected to pump billions of dollars into public schools to increase teacher salaries, special education funding and other funding. However, some county executives say: Blueprint requirements are straining resources.
Last November, government leaders from Maryland’s 24 jurisdictions sent a letter to Gov. Wes Moore. (D) and legislative leaders’ discussion. Many school systems across the state have recently received record levels of county funding, and the additional increases mandated by the Blueprint “will reduce the ability of counties to fund competing government needs at the basic operating level. It will limit the number of people.”
According to the 2022 state report: Prince George’s Be expected increase spending on school significantly To comply with blueprint plans. Prince George’s will need to increase funding for its school system by at least 5 percent, or about $44 million, in fiscal year 2023 to meet its blueprint obligations4, according to a local fiscal impact report released by the Maryland state government. identified as one of three jurisdictions. Department of Legislative Services.
Some county executives attended the General Assembly to advocate for changes to state tax law as a way to pay for the Blueprint bill.
Montgomery County Executive Mark Elrich (Democratic) recently voiced his support for the tax increase bill. Income tax rate for high income earners. Currently, Maryland law caps the income tax rate at 3.2 percent, and 13 jurisdictions, including Prince George’s County, have reached that threshold. The bill provides that the proceeds would be used for education and transportation needs.
County calls for updates to local tax bill amid Prince George’s House delegation I faced some opposition.
Del Ashanti F. Martinez (D-22nd District), a Parkdale High School graduate who voted against the bill Friday, said in an interview that the most vulnerable populations, such as English-speaking students, are those who grew up in the county. talked about education. As a second language, these companies are often the first to be shut down if cuts are imminent.
“I think we all care about Prince George’s County,” Martinez said. “I wish there had been more thought and discussion about this very big decision that we made.”
Rep. Andrea Fletcher Harrison (D-24th District) told her colleagues at Friday’s meeting that their task is not easy, but that “no matter how hard we must work to close the gap, He said he supports the bill because he understands that “Is this true?”
“I was on the county council when the world crashed and Prince George’s County employees were furloughed,” she said. “They had kids who went to public school. They didn’t receive a check…but the school system did receive the money.”
invoice Must be approved by all hospitals before being presented to the state Senate. If approved by the Senate, the bill could become law as early as July 1.
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