School Funding Questions Linger

School board members signed off this week on the final $2.2 billion operating budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1 with lingering reservations about how the Montgomery County Council arrived at the sum.

The school system reaped an unexpected boost in state and federal aid for fiscal 2010. For that reason, the council and County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) asked the state for permission to reduce the local share of funding to the county school system below a state-mandated minimum, by a factor of $79.5 million. Montgomery's school board went along with the request, recognizing that the county was facing a projected overall revenue shortfall of more than $550 million. Nonetheless, the Maryland State Board of Education denied the request.

In response, the county is asking the school system to repay the entire sum, $79.5 million, by covering debt payments on school facilities that the government currently handles.

School board members and Superintendent Jerry D. Weast said they are concerned that the state might take a dim view of the accounting maneuver. State officials could decide that the county failed to pay its full share of the local education budget, a provision known as "maintenance of effort." The school system could face a financial penalty.

"We have a reasonable fear that the state will see this as a subterfuge," said school board member Laura Berthiaume (Rockville-Potomac), speaking at Tuesday's board meeting.

Weast, in a June 4 letter to State Superintendent of Schools Nancy S. Grasmick, said he feared "the loss of millions in state education aid" in penalties, and asked for her help. He proposed the county and state school systems work toward legislation that would "ensure that no school district is penalized by any county's failure" to pony up its share of education aid.

Bill Reinhard, spokesman for the Maryland State Department of Education, said Grasmick was seeking legal counsel on how to proceed.

Weast told Grasmick he also is concerned that the council might ask the school system to reimburse the county for debt service in future years, a scenario he deemed "completely unacceptable." Leggett specified that the $79.5 million debt payment would be a one-time thing. But the council included no such language in the final budget.

Navarro Takes Office As Council's 1st Latina

The County Council was back at full strength this week with the arrival of Nancy Navarro (D-Eastern County). Navarro, a former Montgomery County Board of Education member, was elected last month to fill the vacancy left in January by the death of Don Praisner.

Navarro's formal swearing-in-ceremony last week was a far more festive event than one a year earlier when Praisner took the seat that had been held by his wife, Marilyn Praisner, who died in office after 17 years on the council. Cheers and raucous applause filled the packed council auditorium as Navarro watched.

"I want to stand here and take it all in," she told the audience, which included leaders from business, labor and minority communities. "Let's bottle this moment and make it work."

Navarro also called for unity, something that has often been missing on the council in recent months. "We need to work together with our executive and with each other."