The Board of Education of Anne Arundel County will discuss and is scheduled to vote on adoption of its Fiscal Year 2025 operating and capital budget requests at its next meeting, scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, February 21, 2024.
The Board and Dr. Bedell’s administration have proposed 12 amendments to the recommended operating budget and one amendment to the recommended capital budget presented on December 20, 2023. Those amendments can be found here, and public comment will be accepted on those amendments at the February 21 meeting. Comments on the budget items must directly relate to one or more of the amendments and not the budget request in general.
Wednesday’s meeting will be held in the Board Room at the Parham Building, located at 2644 Riva Road in Annapolis. It is open to the public and subject to normal space limitations in the Board Room.
The Board will also meet in a public session at 4:30 p.m. for the sole purpose of voting to immediately go into closed session, during which time it will discuss confidential matters as permitted by the Maryland Open Meetings Act including, but not limited to, legal advice, personnel, and negotiations. Closed session is not open to the public.
A complete agenda for the meeting can be found here. More information on agenda items will be posted on the AACPS website in the Board Docs section under the Board of Education tab.
PROCESS FOR PUBLIC COMMENT ON AGENDA ITEMS
The Board will hear public comment from up to 10 total speakers (virtual and in-person combined) per agenda item (excluding personnel items, reports, informational presentations, and recognitions) during a single public comment section in the early portion of the meeting. Additionally, up to 10 speakers can comment on non-agenda items, excluding student-specific or personnel matters, towards the end of the meeting.
To register for public comment, visit www.aacps.org/boardcomment from 3 p.m. on the Friday before the meeting until noon on the Monday before. Speakers can sign up for a maximum of two agenda items but only once for each item. If there are more than 10 registered speakers for an item, a lottery will be used to select the speakers.
Registered speakers will be notified via email. Each speaker has a 2-minute time limit and must address the specific agenda item for which they are registered.
Written comments on agenda items (250-word maximum) can also be submitted online or dropped off at the Parham Building in Annapolis. Those needing interpreter services or accessibility accommodations should call 410-222-5311.
The general session of the meeting will be broadcast live on AACPS-TV and on AACPS’ YouTube channel. Archived videos of past meetings are available online.
BOARD SCHEDULES PUBLIC FORUM TO HEAR INPUT FROM STUDENTS
The Board will hold a public forum to hear from Anne Arundel County Public Schools students at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, February 20, in the Board Room of the Parham Building, located at 2644 Riva Road in Annapolis.
Public comments at the forum will be limited to those from AACPS students who registered prior to the February 15 deadline to do so. The forum will be broadcast live on AACPS-TV and on AACPS’ YouTube channel. It can also be viewed live on AACPS’ YouTube channel.
COMMITTEE MEETINGS
The Board of Education’s committees will hold upcoming virtual meetings according to the following schedule. The meetings will not be broadcast, but those wishing to listen to the meetings can access them by telephone through the codes listed below.
- Policy Committee: 3 p.m., March 5, 2024. Call 301-960-3676, enter the Conference ID 186 851 402#.
- Budget Committee: Noon, February 20, 2024. Call 301-960-3676, enter the Conference ID 294 319 360#.
- Equity Committee: Noon, February 27, 2024. Call 301-960-3676, enter the Conference ID 543 729 222#.