The awful condition of the state budget has attracted a lot of attention in recent months. But the county budgets are not doing much better. And one constituency is going…
Budget and Taxes
County Council Member Marc Elrich, a former 5th grade teacher at MCPS for many years, offered the following comments about the county’s school funding conflict with the state.##### The State…
In a statement released to the media but not to County Council Members, MCPS Superintendent Jerry Weast puts the blame squarely on the council for the county’s setback on school…
MoCo School Funding Dispute: A Way Out
The intense school funding dispute now raging between the Montgomery County government and the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) may be headed to court. But it does not have…
Maryland’s Black Hole Gets Bigger
In March, we referred to the State Retirement and Pension System (SRPS) as “Maryland’s $10 Billion Black Hole.” Recent data proves we were too conservative: the black hole is now…
An increasingly explosive dispute between Montgomery County and the state government over public school funding looks like it may be headed to court.This morning, the Post reported that Attorney General…
Cut County Cable Montgomery
Many times, we have heard elected leaders complain that their constituents are quick to defend programs and slow to suggest cuts in times of deficit. Today, we have heard their…
Maryland’s New Structural Deficit
Remember when the state’s leaders fixed the “structural deficit” during the 2007 special session? Well, that deficit is baaa-aaack, and it’s bigger than ever.The original structural deficit dates back to…
A new County Council staff memo lays out a grim budget scenario: the council could implement some of the toughest fiscal measures at its disposal and it may still not…
Defining Progressive Priorities in Bad Times
By Eric Luedtke. I suspect it’s not much fun right now being Governor O’Malley or a member of his staff, who have spent the better part of their term trimming…