Fewer Kids, More Money
One in a series of posts looking at the proposed county budget, released this week by County Executive Isiah Leggett.
From the anguished cries of the Montgomery County Education Association (the teachers’ union), you would think that the county executive’s proposed budget for the school system envisions 60-child classrooms and eliminating mathematics from the curriculum. “It’s devastating,” complains MCEA president Bonnie Cullison.
You’d at least think the budget was actually being cut from last year. However, Leggett proposes a 6.3% increase over the current budget. Leggett’s budget is also 3% higher than the Spending Affordability Guidelines approved by the County Council 4 months ago. The per-student cost is the highest ever, 7% greater than last year. And the county projects an additional 170 personnel work-years over the current year. And, to top it all off, that increased spending budget is to serve fewer students than the current population.
Here’s a look at the relevant figures.
| FY 07 | FY 08 proposed | Change | |
| Pupils | 137, 798 | 137,007 | - 6% |
| Budget | $1.852 B | $1.969 B | + 6.3% |
| Per-pupil spending | $13,436 | $14,370 | + 7% |
| Personnel workyears | 19,406 | 19,576 | + 0.9% |
Somebody get Bonnie a tissue.
