Delaware

• Freeman Williams, superintendent of the Christina School District, $192,088.36 (salary plus other compensation) source
• Matthew Burrows, superintendent of the Appoquinimink School District, 152,660.02

  Pennsylvania

  • Augustus Massaro, superintendent of the Avon Grove School District, $213,825 source
  • Barry Tomaseti, superintendent of the Kennett School District, $195,000

  Compensating Experienced Professionals

  Now, I don’t know the specifics of determining appropriate salaries for professionals such as Dr. Devine and Mr. Kappra but we can be sure the process takes into account factors like the candidate’s level of education, professional certifications, and work experience as well as the responsibility of the position for which they are being hired.

Median Household Incomes

Those who are making this an issue in an attempt to outrage the uninformed compare these administrators’ salaries to the Cecil County median household income of $66,689. What they fail to point out is that this is considerably lower than the Maryland median income of $73,538 and Harford County median income of $80,622. source Are there families in Cecil County who are hurting financially? You bet, but you are pointing fingers in the wrong direction. Educating our children and creating communities that they want to come back to after graduating from college, where they want to buy homes and raise their children, is our best hope at improving the quality of life and economy of the county.

Higher Education isn’t a Cure-All, But it is Start

aka “Why doesn’t Perryville High School have a field house”?

Originally posted 3/1/15, Updated 4/13/17

Another question that is frequently asked–or maybe, more accurately, grumbled about–on the sidelines of sporting events at Cecil County Public Schools, is why school facilities in Cecil County aren’t on par with those of bordering school systems.

Welcome to Ceciltucky!

The Perryville High School boys’ soccer team had an exceptional season in 2012. Because of that, their 2013 regular season schedule included games with Harford County teams they hadn’t played in recent years. Perryville hosted teams like Bel Air and C. Milton Wright and played at schools like North Harford and Patterson Mill.

It was almost funny to watch the fans from Harford County show up for our home games. They were in complete disbelief at the sad state of our facilities. They didn’t even have folding chairs in their cars because they were expecting to find bleachers on our fields. Not only did we lack any kind of seating, but our fields were embarrassingly bare. Meanwhile, in Harford County and neighboring districts in Delaware and Pennsylvania, schools have stadiums with either turf or grass fields that have been maintained.

4/13/17: This wasn’t an isolated case. A few weeks ago, I was chatting with a coworker whose daughter plays for C. Milton Wright’s lacrosse team. CMW was travelling to Perryville the next day for a game. Her first question? “Does Perryville have turf?” After I stopped laughing, I explained that, sadly, no high school in Cecil County has turf. She then recalled sitting in dilapidated bleachers at a game at a Cecil County school several years ago. She couldn’t remember which school it was but she described the drive to me. You guessed it–she was talking about the now-replaced bleachers at North East High School. You might think opposing teams’ fans are only paying attention to the game on the field but they notice, and remember, the state of our facilities.

If you think schools don’t contribute to the home buying decision, ask anyone from outside Cecil County who happens to be visiting a CCPS school for sports or other extracurricular activities if they would consider purchasing a home in the county.

Why Doesn’t Cecil County Have Comparable Facilities?

The Cecil County Public Schools FY 2016 Budget Request includes two lists of capital projects:

• Large capital projects which are funded jointly by the state of Maryland and Cecil County
• Small capital projects which are the responsibility of the county

Projects like tennis courts, athletic fields, locker rooms, and the ever-elusive field house at Perryville High School are solely the responsibility of the county. And most of the projects on the FY 2016 request have been included, and denied, as part of past budget requests. Tennis courts at Elkton, North East, and Rising Sun High Schools and the renovation of the locker rooms at North East High School were included in the FY 2013 request. A field house for Perryville High School has been included in the requests for FY 2014, 2015, and now 2016. (4/13/17: The tennis courts at Rising Sun High School were replaced in the FY 2017 budget and new tennis courts at North East High School are proposed in the FY 2018 budget.)

Turf fields were included in the FY 2015 and FY 2016 requests. While turf may sound like a luxury and it is to a certain extent, the reality is that athletic fields in Cecil County are used essentially year round which means there is no time for the fields to be seeded and maintained. Fields for soccer and football in the fall become lacrosse fields in the spring. And still it boggles my mind how the county thought it was appropriate to fund a turf field at a new parks and recreation location while our school athletic fields are little more than dirt and weeds.

These are not new project requests but a list of needs that Cecil County has allowed to grow without ever devising a plan for addressing.

Why doesn’t Perryville High School have a field house?

I’ll admit that I didn’t even know what a field house was until last spring but one reason I started learning about the CCPS budget process was because I wanted to understand why other schools in the county had such a facility while our high school didn’t. Initially I incorrectly assumed that CCPS didn’t think Perryville needed a field house; now I know that CCPS has repeatedly requested the funding for such a project but has been denied by the county. (4/13/17: In February, a group of us from the Perryville community attended County Executive Alan McCarthy’s town hall meeting on the FY 2018 budget and two of us spoke about the need for a field house. While the county executive didn’t include the field house with a $2 million price tag in his proposed budget, he did propose the installation of turf at Perryville at a cost of $1 million. However, that project is far from a done deal because the county council could still cut it from the budget.)

So, to anyone wondering “Why they have (turf or a field house) and we don’t?” I say please take the time to email or call Cecil County officials and ask them that question. Let them know that these projects matter to you.

If full funding of our public schools is important to you, please contact the County County Council today.

Contact information updated 4/13/17

• Just copy these email addresses for our council members and paste them into an email: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]
• Call the council members at +1(410)996-5201.

“Where’s the casino money?” That’s the question I’m most frequently asked regarding all things school budget and it’s a legitimate question but, like so much in this conversation, it’s complicated.

Cecil County Executive Tari Moore summarized it this way on a thread on Facebook:

“County government has no control over the casino legislation or distribution that allocated a portion of the revenues toward the State education fund. Unfortunately, the State didn’t use those funds to supplement education, they used the funds to supplant what they were already funding to local school districts. Counties that have casinos, however, were allocated 5.5% of the revenue from their casino toward local impact aid. We split that with the Town of Perryville (65/35). The law required us to put together a multi-year plan for spending the approx $2M/yr we receive. The County’s plan has funded some capital projects and roads (helps a bit with the 90% of road repair funding the state took away from counties), projects for volunteer fire departments, substance abuse programs, a small business incentive program, non-profit organizations that provide many services to our community, etc. And yes, the Governor’s budget will take away $372K from our FY16 allocation.”

Business is Slower than Projected

Baltimore Sun, 12/29/2014, Once state’s only casino, Hollywood Perryville seeks its new reality

And the Baltimore Sun reported this week in an article titled Maryland casino revenue declines for second month that the results from last month aren’t setting any records, “At Hollywood Casino Perryville, monthly revenue fell $306,286, or 4.9 percent, from January 2014 to $6 million.”

What about Perryville’s Part of the Money?

Could Cecil County use its portion of the money from the casino on schools?

Update 3/17/19:

Replacement of the tennis courts at Rising Sun High School was funded in the county’s FY 2016 budget. The courts at North East High School were replaced in 2017 with funding Cecil Count Public Schools recouped from a rebate program.

The courts at Perryville High School and Elkton High School? They have yet to be funded by the county despite being included in most budget requests since at least 2013. (They are not included in the CCPS budget request for FY 2020 because other projects were deemed to be more pressing, however, that doesn’t let Cecil County government off the hook. These facilities–all of them–are the county’s responsibilty.)

How has the state of those courts affected the tennis teams at those schools? Both Perryville and Elkton played home matches at Cecil College last spring because the high school courts were deemed at least temporarily unplayable. CCPS maintenance teams have done all they can to patch the courts but, at a certain point, replacement is the only option. 

This post from 2015 includes more specifics about the state of the facilities at our schools.

At a recent Cecil County Public Schools budget hearing it was announced that the tennis courts at 3 of our 5 high schools in Cecil County are in need of replacement, not repair, replacement. Most likely this is a direct result of the county’s insufficient funding of the school system for the last 5 years. I’m sure this could get spun into “Polar vortex, harsh winter, etc.”–whatever you have to say to make yourself feel better but, from the photos here, you can see that this damage has been a long time coming. (Update 3/5/15: These tennis courts have been in the CCPS budget request since at least FY 2013 so this need was identified more than 4 years ago!)

I wondered how the tennis courts looked. Could they be as bad as the track at Perryville High School last spring before it was “deemed unfit for competition” (that means “condemned” to me) and then replaced? So I took a detour this evening to look at the tennis courts at Rising Sun High School. Wow! What a disgrace! Those lines that are brighter green in the top photo? Attempts to batch the failing surface. The court pictured in the second photo? Absolutely unplayable. Of the six courts at the school, I’m not sure how many are actually suitable for use.

Cecil County Needs to Maintain Existing Facilities

Unlike sports like football or soccer, tennis is a “lifetime sport” because it can be adapted for people of many skill levels and ages. Not only are these courts used by the traditional tennis teams at our high schools but they are also used by corollary school athletes and our communities at large. Safe, Healthy, Active Communities is one of the five strategic priorities of the Cecil County Strategic Plan–yet the facilities in our communities have been largely ignored. As a member of the board of education said on Monday night, we appreciate the sentiments of the strategic plan but sentiments alone aren’t getting the job done.

Again, This Isn’t Just About Sports and It’s Not Just About Perryville

While the tennis courts at Rising Sun, North East, and Elkton High Schools are in the worst condition, I know the courts at Perryville aren’t too far behind them so it’s probably fair to guess that the courts at Bo Manor aren’t in great shape either. And I know there are many, many needs inside of our school facilities but exterior sports facilities are easier for me to access outside the normal school day. These issues are just symptoms of a larger problem in Cecil County.

If full funding of our public schools is important to you, please contact the County Executive and members of the County Council today.

Source: FY 2016 CCPS Superintendent’s Proposed Budget

If the full funding of education in Cecil County is important to you, email County Executive Alan McCarthy at [email protected] and Director of Administration Al Wein at [email protected] or call (410) 996-5203. (While replacement of the courts at Perryville and Elkton is not included in the CCPS budget request, the county still needs to hear from you.)

Tonight Cecil County Public Schools superintendent Dr. D’ette Devine presented her proposed budget to the Board of Education. If I had to summarize the situation in one word: grim. After receiving too little funding from the county for too long, the school system, which has already been forced to cut so much over the last five years, is facing even more cuts–there is no more “fat” in the budget and there hasn’t been for some time.

Here are some of my notes from this evening’s meeting:

• County support for education declined 8% between 2005 and 2015 while spending for other government entities increased 16%.
• Tennis courts at Rising Sun, North East, and Elkton High Schools are in dire need of replacement–not repair, replacement. Last spring we saw the track at Perryville High School condemned for competition. Could these facilities at 3 of the county’s 5 high schools face the same fate?
• CCPS has done tremendous work to reduce spending on transportation so that those funds could be spent elsewhere; this includes asking for state approval to extend the useful life of school buses to 15 years. Unfortunately, at least two of the county’s buses have reached that 15 year mark and need to be replaced at a cost of over $200,000. More budget cuts could mean that those two aging buses would have to be pulled from the fleet and not replaced resulting in longer bus routes for students.
• The school system may have to decide which of the two remaining middle schools will have camera systems installed. Without adequate funding either Rising Sun Middle School OR North East Middle School would receive security cameras but not both.
• Over these 5 years that county funding lagged for CCPS, the number of students requiring special services increased.

Want to read more? It’s all here in the budget presentation.

Earlier this week, Cecil County Public Schools hosted a work session on the education services budget and on Monday they will host a hearing on the proposed budget for FY 2016. These meetings are milestones on the path to the final budget for the 2016 fiscal year and another chapter in the story of school funding in Cecil County.

It is apparent that Cecil County has put our school system in a precarious position because they have underfunded CCPS for the last 5 years. One of the county’s largest employers (even after cutting staff due to budget restraints) with the responsibility of educating thousands of our children, is essentially living paycheck-to-paycheck.

Cutting Expenses & Dipping into Reserve Funds

In fiscal year 2009, school funding in Cecil County was $69.9 million. Not until this year has the funding been at that same amount and this doesn’t take into account any adjustments for inflation; that $69.9 million in funding in 2009 would need to be increased to $77.1 million for FY 2015 in order to keep pace with inflation.

Since the funding stalled in 2009, CCPS has been cutting expenses, finding efficiencies, and dipping into reserve funds when necessary but there are only so many cuts that can be made before the school system is compromised. Prioritizing educational services has meant curtailing spending on things like facilities, transportation, and administrative infrastructure yet at a certain point these issues must been addressed.

Despite the funding shortfalls, CCPS has continued to provide a quality education using various measurements graduation rates.

If full funding of our public schools is important to you, please contact the County Executive and members of the County Council today.

To make it easier, just copy these email addresses and paste them into an email: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

News Stories on the School Budget

Schools And Libraries Top Citizen Budget Priorities

County Executive Appreciates Citizen Comments

CCPS seeks 3.2% increase

CCPS seeks 5.8% more in administrative budget

Budget planning for FY 2016 kicks into gear this week as Cecil County Executive Tari Moore hosts a town hall meeting on the topic Tuesday night. The anti-CCPS rhetoric is building from those who are against the adequate funding of public education in Cecil County but I’d rather talk about facts:

• Cecil County Public Schools continues to be the second largest employer in Cecil County; with 2,038 employees, it represents 3.98% of the county’s total employment.
• This is despite the fact that CCPS reduced its workforce from 2,132 in 2005 to 2,038 in 2014. That’s 94 positions. CCPS is the only employer in the top 5 who saw a staff reduction during that period.
• Nearly 16,000 students are enrolled in the county’s public schools–15,824 students to be exact. Yes, that’s down 4.3% from the 16,535 students enrolled in 2005; however, that reduction hasn’t happened in any way that would allow for the closing of a school.
• The Maryland Department of Planning projects Cecil County to be one of the fastest growing counties in the state over the next 30 years and CCPS enrollment is expected to increase 1.0-1.5% annually over the next decade.

If full funding of our public schools is important to you, please contact the County Executive and members of the County Council today.

To make it easier, just copy these email addresses and paste them into an email: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

Resources

Comprehensive Annual Financial Report FY 2014, CCPS, http://www.ccps.org/files/user/24/file/CAFRFY14.pdf 

Do we give them reasons to choose to buy a home in Cecil County?

Last spring, a co-worker who was new to the company and to Maryland stopped me to talk about buying a home in Cecil County. He lived in the Philadelphia area and was researching available waterfront homes in Harford and Cecil Counties. One of the first thoughts that ran through my head was “I hope he doesn’t have school age children because our school facilities can’t compare to those in many areas of Pennsylvania.”

Just a few weeks ago, another new co-worker who’s lived in Harford County for most of her life, asked about living in Cecil County. She was especially interested because she felt home prices were generally lower over here. Her daughter is 5 or 6 and we were talking about Perryville so I was able to tell her that the Perryville Elementary School was being completely renovated. But how would the facilities at rest of our elementary schools measure up?

I can only wonder how many prospective buyers might have driven by one of our schools and decided against buying a home in Cecil County.

Cecil County Missed Opportunities for BRAC Relocations

While it doesn’t appear that either Harford or Cecil County enjoyed the boom in growth and influx of new home buyers that were projected with the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) activity of a few years ago, Cecil County surely missed out on some of the opportunities:

“Anecdotally, I know several individuals who had to relocate to the area for their jobs with the Army. No one, not one, of those people relocated to Cecil County. The predominate reason was the school systems. I can see their point. When we visit Harford County schools for events, we are regularly hosted on turf fields with first-rate bleachers, scoring systems, and field houses. The buildings are crisp and clean, and promote an atmosphere of professionalism that carries through to a more positive and motivational experience for everyone.”

In the case above, six families chose to relocate to Harford County instead of Cecil. What a lost opportunity for Cecil County to attract new residents with stable jobs in technical fields.

Schools Impact Home Buying Decisions (and Resale Values)

We can all agree that education is about much more than buildings and athletic fields but those factors contribute to the home buying decision and the education experience as a whole. A school could have the highest test scores and graduation rates in the state and its graduates could receive merit-based scholarships to the best colleges in the country but the appearance and amenities of the school would still weigh heavily in the decision of a family with school age children looking to buy a home.

Here’s one description of the relationship between schools and home buying: “…consumer demand is large enough that we can conclude that good schools do increase home values in some measure. Half of the home-buying population is willing to pay more than their intended budget to get into the right school district, and more than half would give up other amenities.”

This is significant even if you don’t have children in school because a quality school system means a higher potential resale value on your home.

It’s Time to Treat Our Schools Like A Strategic Priority

Education is identified as one of the five strategic priorities in the Cecil County 2014-2019 Strategic Plan that was adopted in April 2014:

“Education is a driving force in producing strong and active citizens. It creates a pathway to instilling character and the highest standards of citizenship. Therefore, education funding as an investment to yield economic benefits and engaged citizens, is a priority for the County.”

More than six months later, I’m not sure I’ve seen progress towards making education a priority. It’s time to treat our schools like the assets that they are rather than as an expense.

Budget Planning for FY 2016

Planning for the 2016 fiscal year is already underway and meetings to discuss budgetary needs and priorities will begin next week. If you believe a strong school system is foundation of a vital community and economy, I ask you to reach out to our county officials to let them know where you stand.

Contact the County Executive and members of the County Council today.

To make it easier, just copy these email addresses and paste them into an email: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

References