A major blame game is being played, and this is usually a contest with no winners. At this point in the discourse between the Worcester County Commissioners and the Worcester County Board of Education, their messages are not important. What’s critical now is the present actions being taken and the future consequences for the students and their families as well as the teachers.
There was much said this week on social media and in news outlets by parents, teachers and elected officials, but the important news of the week was the school board opted to make $1.7 million in cuts and reductions in an emergency meeting last Friday. After these slashes, nearly $3 million in cuts will still be needed to address the shortfall and most likely will come from the renegotiated teacher and staff salary contracts. The school board approving cutting the following: all local-funded student tutoring programs, all afterschool programs and summer academies at OC Elementary, Showell Elementary, Berlin Intermediate, Stephen Decatur Middle and Stephen Decatur High schools; the Haven House afterschool program at Snow Hill Elementary; outdoor graduation ceremonies; and the teacher kickoff event for staff. Reductions of 50% were made to all schools’ instructional supply and material of instructions, special education materials for instruction and field trip funding. Reductions of 25% were made to central office supplies and travel and matching funds for a grant.
The cuts proposed are tough to stomach and understand. It’s absolutely sickening to me what was chosen to be cut from the Board of Education budget as a result of the commissioners’ providing the minimum required per pupil funding by law. Approving a Maintenance of Effort budget for the school system means the county is providing the same dollar amount per pupil that was provided in the last budget. I am specifically appalled by the decision to cut after-school programs and summer academies at most north-end schools. These changes will have a major impact on the vulnerable students and families. As a parent to a special needs student, it’s disgusting to learn local funding for special education materials of instruction was chosen to be cut in half.
Politics are at play in this ongoing dialogue between county and school board officials. These cuts were intended to spur outrage among the community. Amid an ocean of rhetoric from the differing sides, both the commissioners and the school system are getting support as well as robust criticism. Significant damage continues to be done to the relationship. For either side to deny there is a significant fracture demonstrates a major case of denial and lacks awareness.
A situation played out this week that confirms the divisive and distrustful relationship at play. On Tuesday, in a move rarely seen, the public system issued on its Facebook page a lengthy statement by Board of Education President Todd Ferrante “in response to an upcoming story” on WMDT. The statement was intended to get out in front of what the school system must have perceived as a controversial piece. The story did not air until Wednesday night. In the video piece, Worcester County Commissioner Eric Fiori, who is in his first year and the husband to a public school teacher, said, “These are the kind of cuts that are not thought out, these are kind of cuts that are intentionally put in place to put the most detriment on the ones making the decisions and the decisions that are being made by who’s giving them money, being us the Worcester County Commissioners.”
In his statement, Ferrante said, “In response to Mr. Fiori’s comments to WMDT, I want to remind our school system community that we as a board did not wish to make any of the cuts decided on last week. We believe our teachers and staff are deserving of the salary increases originally agreed upon, and the young people in our community deserve the very best student experience. Unfortunately, due to the Commissioners funding the local share of the school system budget at Maintenance of Effort, difficult decisions had to be made to close the $4.5 million shortfall we face.” Ferrante added, “While it is unfortunate that Commissioners feel that we are ‘punishing’ them with the tough choices they set before us, the truth is that our students and staff are the ones being punished by the commissioners’ decision to fund the school system’s local share at Maintenance of Effort.”
Meanwhile, county teachers and employees are waiting to hear how much their negotiated salary increases will be slashed. It’s a horrible situation all around at this point.
Heading into last weekend, some heavy concern was heard whether the OC Air Show would be impacted by the haze lingering from the fires in Canada. Though the skies were not perfectly clear for much of the weekend, there was little effect seen for the most part. This was good news.
Looking ahead to next year, it’s going to be interesting to see who headlines the event, as it does not appear to be one of the prominent jet teams of recent years. The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds team’s preliminary schedule for June of 2024 shows them committed to other destinations. For example, on June 8-9, the Thunderbirds are booked for the Selfridge Air National Guard Base Open House & Air Show in Michigan and on June 15-16 at the Columbus Air Show in Ohio. As far as the U.S. Navy Blue Angels, which have not appeared in Ocean City since 2019, the June 2024 schedule is booked with stops in Missouri, June 8-9, and Wisconsin, June 15-16.
