Five major school projects would receive about $150 million under the budget unveiled Thursday by Carroll commissioners.
The projects, which had already been planned, include construction of Manchester Valley High School and the South Carroll High School fine arts addition.
School projects account for more than a quarter of the $545 million budget, which includes no tax increase.
The state moved this year toward shifting more of the burden for school funding back to counties.
So with the county already committed to building new schools and an economy continuing to spiral downward, most requests to begin new programs or services were denied, said Ted Zaleski, Carroll?s budget director.
“Down in Annapolis, people were saying things like, ?We?ve done enough for school funding,?” Zaleski said. “The problem is, school systems were making long-term decisions based on what they were expecting from the state.”
But Mount Airy parents and students were disappointed.
Commissioners decided against the budget department?s recommendation and pushed back by one year the roof replacement at Mount Airy Elementary School.
Superintendent Charles Ecker had said that he expected the school system would have cut the budget, but was unavailable for comment Thursday afternoon.
“Not everything is going to get funded, and that?s just a reality,” Commissioner Michael Zimmer said.
Commissioners went into the budget process a few weeks late because they were waiting to see what the state would contribute after lawmakers finished the General Assembly session.
But Zaleski said commissioners were prepared to make a few changes to his recommendations and then present the proposed budget.
“I don?t think there?s really any appetite for raising taxes,” Zaleski said. “The commissioners came in with a lot of their thinking directed to we?re not taking on a whole lot this year.”
