Anne Arundel County Executive John Leopold and Howard County Executive Ken Ulman have more in common politically these days than it might appear.
The gangly, 69-year-old unmarried Republican towers over most people, including Ulman, and governs a conservative county with miles and miles of Chesapeake Bay waterfront. Ulman, 37, is young enough to be his son, married with two kids, a Columbia native, and a Democratic ally of Gov. Martin O’Malley. Like Ulman, Leopold was first elected to political office in his 20s, and is contemplating running for higher office.
Some of their differences are more superficial than the problems they have in common as executives of growing suburban counties that share a common border (most of it the CSX railroad track), and a shared economy that profits heavily from the presence of the National Security Agency and its contractors.
Both Leopold and Ulman suffer with the tensions that come from Maryland’s fairly unique way of funding and governing its schools. The tensions have existed for decades, but the tight economy and lagging revenues have made them worse.
Most states have lots of small school districts run by elected boards with taxing authority, typically the right to raise local property taxes. Maryland has only 24 county-wide public school systems, run by elected boards in most counties, but by boards appointed by the governor in four jurisdictions, including Anne Arundel — a long source of contention there.
While these boards have the authority to spend money, negotiate teacher salaries and several other duties, they have no taxing authority, so they don’t have to raise the money to pay for those decisions.
Schools Claim Big Share of County Budgets
That money comes from the state, with a smidgen from the federal government; but the bulk of the money comes from the county government, or the “funding authority.” In Anne Arundel County, 60% of the money for K–12 education comes from the county coffers, while in Howard County that figure is 68%.
Leopold spends 51% of his total budget on education. (He usually rounds up to 52% to make the point that school funding was only 42% of the budget 10 years ago.) Ulman spends 55% of his total budget on K–12 education (he usually says 60 to 62%, because he includes libraries and the community college).
The executives get to review the school system budget, but they can’t do much but cut the school system’s request.
“The Board of Education funding crowded out other agencies,” Leopold told the county’s State House delegation last month. He’s had to cut his own agencies to pay for growth in the school budget, which has seen enrollment grow as population has grown, increasing demands for both schools and other county services.
Ulman repeatedly makes a similar complaint.
Counties Forced to Maintain Funding
The executives don’t have much choice because of what’s called maintenance of effort. Under state laws, they aren’t allowed to spend less on education than they did in a prior year. The state Board of Education has accused Anne Arundel County of doing just that, but Leopold insists he was following an attorney general’s opinion that allowed him to count debt service as part of this year’s funding.
At this point, it gets a little complicated about what counts as funding and what doesn’t. Leopold is asking the legislature to change the maintenance of effort law in his favor and to provide more transparency in the budget the school system sends him to fund.
“Maybe we ought to look at a three-year rolling average,” Leopold said, instead of a year-to-year comparison.
The bottom line is that both Leopold and Ulman chafe under a structure that forces them to pay for a school system over which they exercise little control. Like other county officials, they also object to Gov. O’Malley’s plan to shift some of the cost of teacher pensions onto the counties.
Different Attitudes Toward Schools
The two men, however, have different attitudes and problems with their local schools.
Ulman, a product of Howard County public schools, is a big fan of his local schools, to which he sends his own children. He’s been endorsed by the teachers union, and has good relations with his school superintendent and his elected board. However, Ulman irritated board members when he supported an effort last year to elect them by district and appoint two of the members himself.
Leopold and Anne Arundel County School Superintendent Kevin Maxwell barely speak, and Leopold seems to begrudge the money he’s forced to spend on schools. The battle over maintenance of effort is just the latest fight between Leopold and Maxwell over school funding. As reported here last month, the superintendent’s proposed budget includes new positions and $38 million in raises. No way is he going to get that, Leopold’s budget director said.
Help Wanted on the County Council
In January, Anne Arundel County Council member Daryl Jones headed off to a five-month stay in a South Carolina federal prison for failing to file five years’ worth of federal taxes. With no guidance from the county charter, his fellow council members declared his seat vacant, even though he is expected to return to the county. Jones’s lawyer failed to get a court to block his ouster.
The council advertised the vacant position, and plans on appointing a replacement in mid-February. The Republican-controlled council must appoint a Democrat (the same party as Jones) to fill the seat.
Severna Park, Put Back Together
Republican Del. Ron George, the Main Street Annapolis jeweler, is the new chairman of the Anne Arundel County House delegation to the State House, and Del. Tony McConkey (R), was elected vice chairman last month. George and McConkey got other good news when O’Malley redrew the legislative districting lines for District 33.
Responding to pleas by residents and the delegates, O’Malley put most of Severna Park back together in District 33 in Anne Arundel County. “I think it’s very good news for my delegates,” Sen. Ed Reilly said.
“I believe the community of Severna Park will be united in one district,” said Del. Cathy Vitale, a fellow Republican who had asked the governor to do just that at a December hearing on the plan. McConkey called it “a victory.”
George was moved out of District 30 dominated by Annapolis, where he got more votes than Democratic House Speaker Michael Busch. The three incumbents would now run in a three-member district, unlike Republican delegates in Baltimore and Carroll counties who would be forced to run against each other.
The Governor’s Redistricting Advisory Committee plan had proposed splitting unincorporated Severna Park into a two-member and a single-member district.
Bongino on Discovery Channel
Former Secret Service agent Dan Bongino, a Severna Park resident running as a Republican for the U.S. Senate seat now held by Democrat Ben Cardin, is getting more positive national coverage, but nothing to do with his Senate run. Bongino resigned from the presidential protection detail last year to run for office.
The unusual move got feature coverage on Fox News and CNN, and attracted the attention of producers of a three-part series called Secret Service Secrets that began airing on the Discovery Channel Jan. 29. They flew him to Los Angeles and Bongino appears prominently in at least the first episode, which has some fascinating details on how President Obama is protected. The segment on presidential motorcades is particularly enlightening for people who have run into traffic jams in D.C. as the president travels around town.
