Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the George B Thomas topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee votes to preserve George B. Thomas Saturday School funding; seeks MCPS funding trade‑off
Summary
After debate over whether MCPS could absorb Saturday School services, the committee recommended restoring a right‑sized $722,579 contract for George B. Thomas Learning Academy and moved to subtract an equivalent amount from MCPS's operating request (committee recorded 3–2).
Committee members discussed the executive's earlier recommendation to reduce or transfer the George B. Thomas Learning Academy Saturday School funding to MCPS and then the later request to reinstate a right‑sized DHHS contract. Rodrigo Hernandez outlined that the executive initially recommended transferring responsibility to MCPS but that MCPS advised it could not absorb the services without further planning.
Councilmember Friedson moved, and the motion was seconded, to subtract the equivalent $722,579 from the MCPS operating request to ensure the Learning Academy remains funded in DHHS. The record reflects a committee vote of 3 in favor, 2 opposed (one member absent), and the chair announced, "The motion passes." The committee will place the DHHS enhancement on the reconciliation list with a note that the committee recommends offsetting MCPS funding by the equivalent amount when the full council considers the budget.
Councilmembers pressed DHHS and the county executive's office to provide a clear MOU timeline and to document which MCPS lines were assumed in the executive submission. Luisa Cardona (ACAO) acknowledged the initial assumption that MCPS could absorb services was incorrect and said the executive moved to restore funding to avoid service disruption.
