Baltimore County and other high-growth suburban jurisdictions would receive extra money for school construction under an initiative announced Friday by House Speaker Michael E. Busch.
Flanked by delegates and senators from the five counties that would benefit next year, Busch said leaders of the House Appropriations Committee have come up with $20 million in funds that would flow to those jurisdictions to build, expand or renovate schools. The speaker said that to qualify, a county would have to have enrollment greater than 150 percent of the statewide average or an average of more than 300 portable classrooms over the past five year.
In addition to Baltimore County, the jurisdictions that would qualify next year are Montgomery, Prince George's, Anne Arundel and Howard counties.
Busch told a news conference that the money had been found by trimming Gov. Larry Hogan's proposed capital budget and would not require additional funding. Del. Adrienne Jones, the Baltimore County Democrat who heads the capital budget subcommittee, said the plan would not involve new borrowing.
Del. Steve Lafferty, a Democrat who chairs the Baltimore County delegation, said the county's share under the new formula would be $4.2 million, which the county would then have to match.
"It gives the county executive a little more flexibility to meet his $1.1 billion goal" for school construction, Lafferty said.
Busch said the plan had been developed by legislative leaders and that the Hogan administration had not been consulted.
According to legislative analysts, the largest beneficiary under the plan would be Montgomery, with $5.8 million. Prince George's would receive $4.8 million; Anne Arundel, $3 million, and Howard, $2 million.