The St. Mary’s County Board of Education has exorcized their dormant Budget Advisory Committee (BAC) from their policy statements. The committee used to review the superintendent’s proposed budget and make recommendations. Several candidates during the last school board election called for the committee to be reinstated.
At the school board meeting on the anniversary of the March on Washington, St. Mary’s County Branch of the NAACP First Vice President dr. Janice Walthour called for the committee to be retained. She said Dr. King was an advocate for transparency in the schools which she said was what the advisory committee achieved. ”It produces a structure for input to the schools,” she said, adding, “The process is a great way of determining the needs of the constituencies you represent.”
“Where is the evidence that the implementation of this policy was or was not effective?” Dr. Walthour asked, noting the committee should not have been allowed to become defunct.
“The time is always right to do the right thing,” Dr. Walthour, a retired principal, concluded.
Before the board’s unanimous vote at their September 11 meeting, School Superintendent Dr. Michael Martirano responded to the charges about transparency. The superintendent says the budget is now vetted through the PTAs, the County Council of PTAs and staff at each school. “We have actually enhanced the opportunity for parents to become engaged,” Martirano said.
Martirano observed that the BAC developed wish lists instead of needs lists. He said the fiscal reality usually then brought the needs lists down to earth, causing consternation. “The Budget Advisory Committee was a process that had exhausted its time in terms of effectiveness,” he said.
