A dozen county residents spoke at a public meeting Tuesday night, Jan. 17, at Ridge Ruxton School, in Towson, giving the Baltimore County Board of Education feedback on its proposed $1.23 billion budget for fiscal year 2013.
School board members expected — and perhaps braced themselves — for more, but Superintendent Joe Hairston and Board President Lawrence Schmidt attributed the low turnout and generally pleasant tone from residents as perhaps an acceptance of the economic realities in which the budget was written.
"I think it's an indication of people understanding the realities that are out there," Hairston said. "All of us are going through some kind of difficulty with the economic climate. We're very conscious of our sense of responsibility, and the fact that there's only so much we can expect in terms of resource allocation, and we have to plan accordingly."
Hairston presented his proposed budget — his 12th and final budget before his retirement in June — earlier this month. The plan is an increase of $19.6 million over this year's allocation, in part to address expected enrollment increase of nearly 1,600 new students.
Schmidt said the board never knows how many people will attend meetings like Tuesday's, but he too believes residents "understand that we're extremely challenged with the fiscal circumstance of the county and state."
That understanding, combined with the fact that the new budget adds 124 teaching positions and will keep all school budgets at current levels — with some adjustment for enrollment — may have contributed to the evenings atmosphere.
While the number of teachers will go up, the budget calls for the reduction of 46 administrative, central office, and non-classroom-based positions that will generate a total reduction of $6.1 million for the school system, officials said.
Though that doesn't undo the affects of previous budget cuts, many saw it as necessary.
Abby Beyton, president of the Teachers Association of Baltimore County, thanked Hairston "for presenting a budget that keeps the necessary cuts as far away from the schoolhouse as possible."
"As you work to finalize the FY13 budget, we hope you remain mindful of the importance of this commitment," Beyton said to Hairston and the board. "We also understand the challenge of putting together a budget in these most difficult economic times. But in spite of this bleak picture, we applaud efforts to maintain funding levels for local school budgets."
Leaders of several interest groups also gave their thoughts to the council. Jessica Paffenberger, chair of the Citizens Advisory Committee for Gifted and Talented Education, urged the board to remember its commitment to challenge and provide for all of the county's students.
Nancy Ostrow, president of the PTA Council of Baltimore County, reminded the board that local PTAs have a mission of advocating for students — not fundraising — and should not be relied on as an alternative funding source.
Even in the atmosphere of austerity, there were still two items that are not currently budgeted that parents took the opportunity to lobby for.
The school board heard from the parents of several Towson High School students who were part of the county's first Chinese language program in middle school, but are on the verge of exhausting the county's offerings in the language before they graduate.
Phillip and Mary Anne Doccolo said their son, who is also privately tutored and will be making a second exchange trip to China this summer, is already in Level 4, the highest offered.
"I'm really worried that when he comes back, what's he going to study?" Mary Anne Doccolo said.
Michael Voelker has a daughter in Chinese 4, and said she took a risk by enrolling in Chinese as a sixth-grader. Though she lives in the Loch Raven school district, they commute to Towson High for her to continue the program, and he said it "would simply be a shame to not see (the students) be able to follow through with Chinese 5 and 6."
Additionally, two parents representing the Hereford High School Parents of Performing Students lobbied the board for $17,000 to replace antiquated and ineffective lighting system in the school's auditorium.
Kathleen Kaye, president of the Hereford POPS, presented the board with a petition from 655 community members, along with a picture that shows students performing in the dark "because the lighting system is outdated and cannot be controlled by a single system."
Hairston called the meeting "very important" and "valuable," in part because it provided insight on "deeper issues" that might not always get attention — such as upper level Chinese classes and the lights at Hereford.
The Board of Education will review the budget at a work session on Jan. 24 at 6:30 p.m., and vote on the budget at its meeting on Feb. 7. Both of those sessions are at the board's headquarters, 6901Charles St., Towson.