2020-2021 Proposed Operating Budget Released
NEWS UPDATE February 6, 2020:
CCF President, Claire Carberry, received this official correspondence from the Superintendent’s office of BCPS:
Thank you for your email regarding the budget for George Washington Carver Center, and sharing your concerns. Dr. Williams’s proposed FY21 budget restores all non-salary magnet funding for all schools at the highest prior level. Dr. Williams’s proposed budget is still going through the approval process. I have included the link to our web-page that contains information regarding the budget and the approval timeline. Thank you.
The final vote on the budget is February 25th.
Baltimore County Public Schools, including the Magnet Schools, have seen a decrease in funding per pupil over the past few years and the new budget implies continuing that trend while the Administration’s portion of the budget is seeing a 17.7% increase. The Magnet Budget, while increasing, is allocated for the addition of 6 NEW whole magnet schools. The unintended consequences could include a further reduction in the per pupil allocation for GWCCAT students. In the 2014 fiscal year, the per pupil Operating Budget allocation was $186. In just 6 years, there has a been an approximate 40% decrease in the per pupil allocation for all BCPS schools. This occurred during a time when Carver Center enrollment increased, adding 122 students. Additionally, there has been a $20,000 decrease in the Magnet Budget between FY2014 and this year. Over that time, GWCCAT’s staffing increases and student enrollment increases haven’t mirrored each other, increasing the student to teacher ratio, year over year. To answer the growing demand for advancements in education, Carver Center has been forced to do more with less.
The Board of Education needs to hear from you!
Tuesday, January 14, 2020
arrive 5:30pm for 6:30pm meeting
BCPS – Greenwood Campus
6901 Charles Street
Towson, MD 21204
E Building, Room 114
(Can’t attend? You may also email remarks to the Board of Education at boe@bcps.org.)
Ask Board Members to begin restoring funding that goes directly to Carver Center students. Join us on Tuesday, January 14 at the Public Hearing for the BCPS FY2021 Operating Budget starting at 6:30pm (plan to arrive by 5:30pm to sign up to speak). Parents, guardians and students may sign up to speak for up to three minutes or participate by simply attending and wearing your Carver Center spiritwear or the color green in a show of solidarity for those advocating for Carver Center students. (Spiritwear may be purchased with cash at all home games during the winter or email ccfsportsboosters@gmail.com for other payment arrangements for purchasing spiritwear.)
You may be asking “What should I say at the meeting or in my email before January 14, 2020″?
1. Speak from the heart.
- How has Carver Center’s magnet program positively affected your child, academically, personally, artistically, socially and in other ways?
2. What have you been doing as a parent to fill the funding gap?
- What extra classes and instruction is your student taking?
- What burden has been placed on you, the tax-payer, when the BCPS budget fell short?
3. Feel free to use these talking points to support your stance. The following talking points have been created using the results of talking with parents, students and select Carver Center staff:
- Public education is a valuable resource, not just at Carver Center, but all across Baltimore County, we need to ensure monies reach the school house to continue to provide a complete education to each child.
- As parents, we want our children to receive a complete education (including the arts). It’s time to better support our local schools so we can continue to challenge each child and move him or her to the next level.
- The past budget cuts in school funding have placed too much pressure on local teachers and schools, reducing education to the basics when we know that children need much more to reach their full potential.
- We, as parents, want our local public schools to flourish, increase diversity, strengthen communities and help schools to develop enhanced instruction to provide each and every child with the education necessary for success in life.
- There has been an approximate 40% decline in George Washington Carver Center for Arts and Techonlogy’s per pupil funding since FY 14.
- Carver Center has 122 more students (FY19) than in FY14. We ask the Board of Education to increase both the per pupil allotment and magnet funding, so that our children can receive the highest standard of education.