Baltimore County Council expresses concern for its lack of control over school spending
The county council released its budget message today. The council members, most of whom are new this year, said they were frustrated with the school system on a number of fronts, but they stopped short of taking any action to cut administrative costs in the school system.
Some members had suggested to Superintendent Joe A. Hairston that he look for cuts in administrative dollars in the budget rather than move 196 teachers, mostly in the high schools, as well as not fund another 55 positions that would be needed to maintain class sizes.
The chairman of the council, John Olsweski said "that the state law places many roadblocks in the path of a local government's demand for accountability for the funds it provides for its public schools."
He said that even though the county is required to supply the funds for schools "accountability for the efficent use of these funds is, sadly, not a part of the equation."
Baltimoresun.com's 
Comments
FOR EXAMPLE, upon volunteering for the county STEM Fair last weekend, we were all given T-shirts, fancy personalized post-it note holders, and little pull-string backpacks with a couple things inside (the latter may have been donated... not sure). I know that the teachers who volunteer would rather see the money spent on those treats go back into the schools for teachers or technology. Every little hand-out over the course of the year should be cut out of the budget. They are not necessary to implement effective instruction.
Posted by: BmoreEduc8r | May 26, 2011 9:02 PM
FOR EXAMPLE, upon volunteering for the county STEM Fair last weekend, we were all given T-shirts, fancy personalized post-it note holders, and little pull-string backpacks with a couple things inside (the latter may have been donated... not sure). I know that the teachers who volunteer would rather see the money spent on those treats go back into the schools for teachers or technology. Every little hand-out over the course of the year should be cut out of the budget. They are not necessary to implement effective instruction.
Posted by: BmoreEduc8r | May 26, 2011 9:03 PM
It is a shame that anyone can post a blog in a public forum without first getting their facts straight! BmoreEduc8r's comments about budget waste at the County STEM Fair were totally inaccurate! All the hand-outs that he or she referenced did not come out of the BCPS budget, but were donated by sponsors of the STEM Fair. If you are going to give an example of budget waste, at least give one that is accurate!
Posted by: Tim Kent | May 28, 2011 1:35 PM
The Baltimore County Council is missing the boat on schools. Dr. Hairston is right on one thing: 2013 is likely to be a tougher budget year than 2012. Since the only control the council has over the budget is *cutting* it, maybe they should focus on that: ID some programs that are not working at BCPS and twist Hairston's arm to cut them down to zero. This would be worthwhile even if they are small programs. The symbolism is important too. Cut out what's not working and shift the money to programs that are working. C'mon county councilpeople. Wake up!
Posted by: Fabio | May 29, 2011 11:35 AM