Carroll schools will cut teaching positions, after-school learning centers and dozens of other requests because of a $5 million reduction in its proposed budget.
The $323 million schools operating budget is about $15 million more than this year?s budget, but less than what the Board of Education had requested.
Superintendent Charles Ecker said this budget session was the toughest he?s worked though in 10 years heading the school system.
“I understand the economic times and the pressures that are on the county commissioners to fund not only education but public safety and social services and everything,” Ecker said. “They just had a lot of demands on them.”
He added, however, that the school system could have used more money to provide more programs to its bare-bones budget.
The county increased its education funding this year nearly 8 percent, but the state?s funding increased only about 2 percent.
Nine additional teaching positions proposed by former board member Jeffrey Morse were cut, leaving funding for seven new teachers.
The seven test coordinators for high schools and 11 math resource teachers for elementary schools were also cut, saving the county about $1.25 million.
Ecker had proposed hiring 22 accountants for schools after authorities in recent years uncovered a string of thefts committed by school employees. Only one full-time accountant and one part-time made it into the adopted budget.
Parents had passionately urged the Board of Education to continue funding Community Learning Centers throughout the county, crediting the after-school mentoring programs with vastly improving children?s grades and attitudes. But more than $400,000 was cut for the centers, eliminating all centers outside Westminster.
“That was a tough decision,” said Andrew Sexton, the schools budget director. “But you have to worry about the kids during the day first.”
Fuel costs, staffing for the new Ebb Valley Elementary School and special education funding took away from other areas.
The cost of oil has nearly doubled since the start of last year, 24 positions needed to be added to open the elementary school and more special education students are crowding into the county, Sexton said.
Carroll spends about $9,300 per student, ranking it 18th out of 25 jurisdictions in Maryland in fiscal year 2006, the latest available data, according to the state education department.
