Leonardtown, MD — In the end, nothing changed. When the Commissioners of St. Mary’s County finalized their Fiscal Year 2017 budget at the end of a May 10 work session, they had funded the school board at the same level as was presented at the April public hearing.
What’s in that budget is $2.9 million for textbooks and technical upgrades. Funding for that comes from a reserve that had been set up several years ago to cushion the county from any future BRAC (Base Realignment and Closure) actions that could affect the Patuxent River Naval Air Station.
What’s not in the budget is the $2.5 million requested by School Superintendent Scott Smith to cover the cost of employee raises included in the school system’s negotiated three-year agreements with the teacher and support staff unions. The school system will now have to go back to the drawing board with the employees.
It was touch and go for a while. The commissioners appeared to be on the verge of not only denying the $2.5 million for salaries but also putting the $2.9 million back into the reserve fund. They based that on the fact that a week earlier, in a compromise, Smith had said he would use $1.4 million from the school board reserve fund for textbooks if the commissioners agree to divert the monies from the BRAC fund to seal the contract negotiations.
Before the commissioners voted, however, Smith came forward to express frustration that he had made the compromise offer in good faith. “That speaks volumes to our partnership,” Smith said about the pending decision which Commissioner Tom Jarboe (R – 1st District, above left] categorized as a “double whammy” for the school board.
Commissioner Todd Morgan [R – 4th District], a frequent school board critic, was blunt in his desire to proceed with the decision. “There is no money, period! This year and maybe not next year,” he insisted. Morgan was the architect of the initiative to create the BRAC reserve fund.
Commissioner John O’Connor [R – 3rd District] noted that the commissioners had many competing funding priorities, including the sheriff’s department and what to do about the regional animal shelter.
When all the discussion was finished Jarboe made the motion to restore the $2.9 million for textbooks and technical upgrades and the motion carried unanimously.
The commissioners are expected to put ink to the various budget resolutions during their May 17 meeting. During their final deliberations on May 10 the commissioners approved a $1,1 million funding plan for non-profit agencies that keeps levels for most agencies relatively the same as in the current fiscal year.
Income and property tax rates will remain the same under the proposed budget. Included is an increase from $0.016 per hundred to $0.024 per hundred for the Emergency Services Tax, which will result in an average increase per tax bill of $23 a year.
Contact Dick Myers at dick.myers@thebaynet.com