Prince Frederick, MD – The current president of the Calvert County Commissioners has leveled criticism at the county’s current school board for recently negotiated four-year contracts for employees. In a statement forwarded to TheBayNet.com, Commissioners’ President Evan K. Slaughenhoupt Jr. [R – District 3] (pictured, right) said “the contract was not negotiated in the best interest of the taxpaying citizens who already saw their taxes increase during the current fiscal year [FY 2017].”
Both the Calvert Education Association (CEA), the organization representing teachers; and the Calvert Association of Educational Support Staff (CAESS), reached agreement on similar pacts with the county’s Board of Education (BOE). Both agreements include pay step increases, step restoration and a cost of living adjustment (COLA).
Calvert County Public Schools’ (CCPS) press releases on the agreements stated that implementation of the pacts is “predicated on sufficient annual funding from the Calvert County fiscal authorities.”
In his missive, Slaughenhoupt stated that the negotiated contracts “has an estimated increased value of between $18 – 20 million that if fully funded would cause the need to increase property taxes dramatically, changing our ranking within 24 Maryland jurisdictions from seventh near the bottom to the fifth most expensive in the state.” Slaughenhoupt stated that when the BOE signed off on the deals, “they were essentially recommending yearly property tax increases of 3.6 percent [FY 2018], 7.5 percent [FY 2019] and 9.9 percent [FY 2020].”
TheBayNet.com has contacted Calvert County BOE President Pamela Cousins for comment on Slaughenhoupt’s statement. As this story was being filed Cousins had not responded with any comments.
Contact Marty Madden at marty.madden@thebaynet.com