County Officials Take Waiver Request to the State

Montgomery County's government and school system leaders trekked to Baltimore this week to ask the State Board of Education for some breathing room in the county's budget.

County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) and Board of Education President Shirley Brandman (At Large) made their case to the 12-member board for providing fewer local dollars to the school system than the state typically requires. Under the waiver request, Montgomery schools would receive the same overall level of funding but from sources other than the county. If approved, the move would free at least $79.5 million that could be spent on other needs.

Joining Leggett and Brandman was County Council President Phil Andrews (D-Gaithersburg-Rockville) and council member Valerie Ervin (D-Silver Spring), a former school board member who chairs the council's Education Committee.

Participants said state board members asked minor questions and were generally hard to read. Board members are appointed by the governor and have wide discretion in considering waiver requests. At least four of the 12 members have Montgomery ties, according to their online biographies.

Blair Ewing, the board's vice president, is a former council member who lives in Silver Spring; another Silver Spring resident, Rosa M. Garcia, was a senior legislative aide to former council member Tom Perez; Karabelle A. L. Pizzigati, former director of public policy for the Child Welfare League of America, is a Kensington resident whose children attended Montgomery public schools; and Ivan C. A. Walks, a former chief health officer for the District government, lives in Potomac.

Approval of the waiver is critical to the council's efforts to balance the overall budget, and the state board has until May 15 to weigh in. The timing of the board's decision could pose a problem because the council is scheduled to take a preliminary budget vote May 14 and a final vote the next week.

If the state board does not approve the request or approves a smaller reduction in the county's obligation, that would widen an already sizable projected shortfall of more than $550 million.

"We cannot afford to stay at the same level of funding," Andrews said after the meeting on Monday.

Youth Job Fair Moves Outdoors

The fourth Let's Get It Started Youth Job Expo took place Saturday afternoon at a new, outdoor venue in downtown Silver Spring.

County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) launched the event on the beautiful spring day. The fair was aimed at job seekers from 16 to 21.

In addition to meeting with employers offering seasonal and permanent jobs, young people also participated in interviews and job readiness workshops and met with organizations providing information on career paths, health and higher education.

"Summer jobs not only benefit our youth, but they help contribute to the vitality of our entire community as wages earned are most likely spent right here in Montgomery County, which helps support our local businesses," Leggett said in a statement.