Maryland School Districts Continue to Fight for Funding

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — residents rallied for school construction funds at Lawyers Mall in Annapolis last Thursday. County Executive Isiah Leggett, Superintendent Joshua P. Starr, and other county and school leaders gathered with about 200 parents, students and other members of the community to fight for House Bill 1323, which would direct money toward aging and overcrowded school buildings.

Del. Anne R. Kaiser (D-Dist. 14) of Burtonsville, chairwoman of Montgomery’s House delegation, proposed a bill that would establish the Supplemental Public School Construction Matching Fund Program, reported . The bill would make it so that counties with a triple-A bond rating and school systems with at least 100,000 students would be eligible for a portion of up to $20 million each year to be used towards school construction projects or project debt.

Elected leaders in Montgomery County have complained for years that the school system accounts for 17 percent of the state’s student enrollment but has received about 11 percent of recent state construction funding, reported. The school system now ranks as Maryland’s largest, with 151,300 students after an enrollment surge of 14,000 students since 2007. That number is expected to continue to rise in coming years.

Leaders hope that banning together will help make a difference in the outcome of the bill; however, the week before the rally, Leggett told The Washington Post that it may take more than one year to secure passage of the bill.

Del. Heather R. Mizeur, a gubernatorial candidate, said that the push for more school money from the state is a three-county effort that also includes Prince George’s and Baltimore counties. When Leggett announced his plan to request funding back in October, he made it clear that Montgomery County expects support from Baltimore City after the county served as a major factor in the Baltimore school system receiving funding.

Montgomery County would use the funding for a proposed $1.55 billion capital improvement budget that would begin in July. The money would supplement the county’s share of regular annual state contributions for school construction. It would support bonds of up to $750 million for 56 construction projects that would add space to the crowded schools.

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Montgomery County Seeks Maryland Funding

ROCKVILLE, Md. — Montgomery County school officials and County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) hope to get a piece of the Maryland school construction budget pie, the same way Baltimore County officials did earlier this year.
The Maryland House approved last March the Baltimore City Public Schools Construction and Revitalization Act of 2013. Under the bill, the state, Baltimore City and Baltimore City Public Schools will contribute a total of $60 million in funds annually to leverage $1 billion in revenue bonds to implement Phase I of the city school system’s to revitalize school facilities.
Leggett announced on Oct. 31 that he plans to request similar funding from the Maryland General Assembly and Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) in 2014 to fund a major school construction program for Montgomery County Public Schools. The school system is currently enrolling 151,600 students after growing by 14,599 students — more than Anne Arundel, Howard, Frederick and Baltimore counties combined — from 2000 to 2012, according to an article in To accommodate the additional student population, classes are being held in trailers and, in some cases, in hallways or on auditorium stages.
School officials told The Washington Post that they anticipate an additional 11,000 new students within the next six years. Montgomery has 17 percent of Maryland’s student enrollment, but the county typically gets about 11 percent of state construction funding, officials said. In contrast, Baltimore City schools lost 13,479 students in the past decade.
Montgomery County seeks $20 million annually from the state to leverage its own $40 million in funding for a proposed $1.55 billion capital improvement budget that would begin next July. The money would supplement the county’s share of regular annual state contributions for school construction. It would support bonds of up to $750 million for 56 construction projects that would add space to the crowded schools.
The county will be competing with others that are asking for funding in the next legislative session. Baltimore County plans to seek state assistance for a project that would help crowded elementary schools in its central and southwestern neighborhoods, according to The Washington Post. Prince George’s County also plans to seek financing for the $645 million Prince George’s County Regional Medical Center in Largo.
Leggett made it clear in his announcement in October that Montgomery County expects support from Baltimore City after the county served as a major factor in the Baltimore school system receiving funding.

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Maryland School Districts Continue to Fight for Funding

Montgomery County Seeks Maryland Funding

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