It would look into ways to obtain more revenue to build schools
Delegate April Miller Senator Karen Lewis Young
Annapolis, Md (KM) A bill which sets up a work group to consider new funding sources for public school construction in Frederick County was approved Friday by the Legislative Delegation.
The measure is sponsored by Delegate April Miller who says Frederick County is the fastest growing county in Maryland, and additional classroom space will be needed to accommodate this growth. “We have probably four new high schools that we’re going to need funding for, the Career and Tech Center, all of our renovation and construction needs. So we’re going to need to work together to figure how we’re going to fund these schools for Frederick County,” she said.
State Senator Karen Lewis Young had a few concerns. She said the county already has a School Construction Planning Department which has a process for school funding. “We don’t have a process problem. We do have a funding program,” she said. “And I’m concerned this will duplicate what we have already.”
This bill is modeled on one developed for Prince George’s County. Senator Lewis Young said P.G. County’s school construction problems differ from those in Frederick County. “What we have here is a solution in search of problem,” she said.
Delegate Miller responded. “This isn’t a solution searching for a problem. We have many problems right now with our CIP budget,” she said. The CIP budget is the Capital Improvements Program.
Following the vote, Mayor Nathan Brown of Brunswick expressed his support. “We do have some very fundamental process issues here in Frederick County with school construction. I think the County and the School Board do a lot of things right. and do the best with the resources that they have. Fundamentally, we are just not making progress on the significant issue of being the fastest growing county, and our schools are aging out quicker than that,”: he said.
The bill will be assigned to committees in the House of Delegates and the State Senate where it will undergo hearings and votes will be taken.
Truancy
In other action on Friday, the Delegation approved a bill to establish a truancy reduction court as a pilot program in Frederick County. It would work with families to try and get their school-age children who stopped attending classes to return to school and get an education.
Legislators had asked for information on how this program is funded. Delegation Chair Jesse Pippy said its funding mostly comes from grants.
A truancy reduction court has been functioning on the Lower Eastern Shore for years.
By Kevin McManus