County Will Not Apply for Waiver of Maintenance of Effort

We have sent a letter to the State Board of Education concerning our unanimous decision not to apply for a waiver of the State’s Maintenance of Effort funding level for Fiscal Year 2012. The letter is signed by Council President Valerie Ervin and County Executive Ike Leggett and reflects our decision that we must take this step so that we can create a stable, sustainable future for our schools and all County agencies.

Our commitment to the County’s world-class school system is unwavering. The budget we expect to pass for the school system in FY12 will increase from last year’s amount, while the budgets of many County departments will decrease. Our goal is to protect classroom instruction while ensuring that scarce resources are available for all of our critical priorities – including safety net human services, public safety, and other vital parts of County government.

Our County has sought to reform the State Maintenance of Effort law to provide some modest flexibility in times of great fiscal crisis, particularly for counties like ours that have significantly exceeded Maintenance of Effort requirements over the last decade. These legislative changes were not adopted, and therefore we take this step to achieve an equitable and sustainable future for our community.