Baltimore County Executive C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger's decision to freeze a $10.5 million surplus in a school system health care fund is just one more pull in a longstanding tug-of-war between government officials and school administrators.
For years, county executives and school superintendents have disagreed over details in a school budget that constitutes roughly half of the jurisdiction's annual spending. The problem arises partly from the different methods of computation used by the two parties. No doubt conflict also stems from the fact that handling so much money in such an important endeavor can make school officials feel more powerful than they ought to.
With the support of the local teachers union, Mr. Ruppersberger campaigned for his current job by suggesting he would rein-in controversial Superintendent Stuart Berger whenever he threatened to step out of bounds. The executive's freezing of the health care surplus looks to be his first fulfillment of that pledge. Moreover, it has the appearance of a warning to school officials -- namely, that Mr. Ruppersberger will practice what he preached on the stump about fiscal accountability, especially where the school system is concerned. And seeing as how Dr. Berger is hardly a beloved figure among county residents, it doesn't hurt the executive politically to take this action.
So far, both Mr. Ruppersberger and Dr. Berger have wisely chosen a low-key approach to this situation. The executive is apparently being careful not to demonize the superintendent, while Dr. Berger seems to understand that Mr. Ruppersberger is justifiably curious about where the extra money came from and where it might be going. The two officials should continue to tread carefully, lest they begin the new political term by revisiting the strained relations of their predecessors.
Besides, any dispute over the bloated fund might be moot. Both the executive and the superintendent are well aware that Mr. Ruppersberger can offset the surplus when he submits his first county budget this spring. He might have no other choice, given the projected shortfall of $27 million through June 1996. The real meaning of this incident, though, goes beyond number-crunching. What it signifies is the continuing struggle over control of the school budget between Towson and Greenwood. Mr. Ruppersberger's vow to make the education system more fiscally responsible, including his hiring an auditor expressly for the school budget, figures to highlight that struggle.