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Public presentation urges state to change "wealth" formula as Kent County weighs middle-school plans
Summary
A local presenter told Kent County commissioners the state's school-funding "wealth" spreadsheet leaves the county unfairly penalized for construction cost shares; commissioners agreed to press state officials and schedule follow-up while keeping the middle-school project timeline on track.
Mike Waal, a member of the public, told the Kent County Board of Commissioners on Sept. 30 that the state's school funding spreadsheets show Kent County ranked near the bottom of wealth metrics in most columns while appearing comparatively high only in a few measures. He urged the county to press Annapolis for a larger state construction share for the proposed Kent County Middle School and suggested making county approval conditional on increased state funding.
Waal said the Maryland State Aid to Local School Systems Excel files and IAC (Interagency Commission on School Construction) data show Kent County at the low end of total wealth measures but unusually high in a small number of per-pupil or local-share columns. "Kent County is unfairly penalized," Waal said, arguing the county should press for a 95% state construction cost share rather than the 50% commonly applied to Kent.
Commissioners responded that the spreadsheets and the comptroller's recent report raise a timely opportunity. Commissioner Albert Nickerson and others asked staff to gather materials for a letter to the state comptroller and to coordinate with the county's Annapolis delegation. Commissioner responses ranged from supporting continued advocacy to noting the county likely cannot both implement the state's "blueprint" obligations and fully fund a new middle school without additional state aid or a tax increase.
School system staff and a public commenter emphasized cost escalation if the project is delayed, saying the project's price could rise roughly $5 million for each year of delay and urging commissioners to keep the construction timetable to avoid higher bids. County staff confirmed there will be a work session Oct. 7 to review detailed finances and that some capital requests already in the state capital plan had produced roughly $11.5 million in state assistance to date.
What happens next: Commissioners agreed to prepare a letter to the comptroller and to brief the delegation in the coming week. The board also scheduled a work session to review budget scenarios, state advocacy options, and contingency language the county could attach to its notice of intent for the school project.
