Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Education Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Educators urge county to fund more staff, supports in proposed Anne Arundel schools budget
Summary
Multiple teachers and school leaders used the county council public comment period to endorse the superintendent's proposed school budget, praise a funded 3% COLA step request, and press for more special-education staff, bilingual facilitators and assistant principals amid staffing shortages.
Stacy Smith, principal of South River High School, urged the Anne Arundel County Council on Oct. 11 to approve Superintendent Dr. Bedell’s proposed school budget and to continue increasing investment in public education. "I'm here today to speak in support of the proposed budget and to emphasize the importance and continued, increase in investment for public education," Smith said during the public comment period.
Supporters said the superintendent’s package includes 63 new positions, funding for laptops for two high school grades, expansion of middle-school athletics, and a noninvasive weapons-detection pilot program. Speakers noted the proposal totals about $45,000,000 over the county’s maintenance-of-effort baseline and said the county also funded a requested step and 3% cost-of-living adjustment tied to Dr. Griddell’s request.
The comments centered on staffing shortfalls across the system: speakers said nearly 20% of elementary schools lack an assistant principal, district schools need more bilingual facilitators to serve multilingual families, and special-education caseloads remain large. One commenter said Anne Arundel County Public Schools serves "9,000 plus students in this county who have special ed services" and urged the council to fund more than 150 positions to reduce vacancies and turnover.
Teachers described classroom impacts when positions are unfilled. One teacher explained that disruptive incidents can consume class time, estimating that five minutes lost in a 51-minute period is roughly 10% of instructional time. Speakers also raised concerns about compensation and sustainability for support positions, saying some staff take second jobs to make ends meet.
While commenters praised elements of the superintendent’s request and the COLA step that was funded, several urged the council to treat the budget as a beginning rather than a final step, saying the county cannot afford to "go backwards" on school investment. No formal council vote on the budget took place during the public comment period; speakers were addressing elected members as part of the meeting’s public-comment agenda.
Members of the public pressed for more detail on how additional positions would be distributed (for example, special-education teachers, bilingual facilitators and assistant principals) and asked the council to prioritize staff retention and competitive salaries as implementation continues.
