Superintendent Kevin Maxwell released the following statement today regarding County Executive Laura Neuman’s Fiscal Year 2014 Operating and Capital Budget proposals:
“Over the last two months County Executive Laura Neuman and her staff have engaged in many collaborative, honest, and meaningful discussions with school system staff and me regarding our needs for the coming year. That communication, a great enhancement from prior years, has led to increased understanding on all sides.
“While Ms. Neuman’s budget proposal does not fund our school system at the level requested by the Board of Education, it is a responsible and reasonable approach to yet another year in which everyone in our county continues to recover from the economic recession. It is also a solid starting point for our work with the County Council, which will include realigning some of the funding to different categories to best meet our needs.
“I am very pleased that Ms. Neuman recognizes the value of employees across our county and has included money for modest raises for all employees, including those in our school system. As I have said many times before, county budgets have for far too long been balanced on the backs of employees.
“I also applaud the County Executive’s recognition of the woeful lack of attention paid to our county’s infrastructure over the years and her determination to begin to address this huge problem. The conditions of our roads and our public libraries, for example, have a significant impact on all citizens of our county, including our children.”