By Adam Pagnucco.
Earlier today, I wrote about how Superintendent Thomas Taylor’s first recommended capital budget claimed that due to “errors” by MCPS, the school system was going to lose $39.3 million in state aid for the Charles W. Woodward High School project. According to Taylor, this “state aid gap” required shifting of funds from other projects of $17.7 million, leaving a net total of $21.6 million that must be filled by “local revenues.”
The State of Maryland has gone on the record to dispute this account.
Minutes ago, I received this email from Hannah Sturm, Administrative Services Manager at the Interagency Commission on School Construction (IAC). This is the state agency that administers the state’s school construction funding program.
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Good afternoon Adam,
Thank you for your coverage of school construction in Maryland in your article this morning. I write to you with some clarifying information from the IAC.
Per statute, the IAC’s Built to Learn (BTL) funding program is mandated to allocate 21% of funds available through BTL to Montgomery County projects. Based on bond proceeds, this is currently anticipated to total $357,000,000. Accordingly, MCPS will not “lose” any State dollars from the program that were originally awarded to the Woodward HS project. Those dollars will go instead to the Crown HS project and, presumably, any local dollars that would have gone to complete the Crown HS project will simply move to the Woodward HS project to replace the State dollars for which Woodward became ineligible when it was bid on a non-prevailing-wage basis.
Please let me know if you have any follow up questions.
Best regards,
Hannah Sturm
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And so while the superintendent claims that MCPS needs another $21.6 million in local funding to make up for a “state aid gap,” the state is saying – on the record – that there is no gap and more money may not be necessary. Waiting in the wings is the county council, who will ultimately decide whether MCPS receives more local taxpayer money for this project.
I am reaching out to MCPS for comment.