For Prince George’s, State Aid is Never Enough

The Prince George’s County Delegation is making a lot of noise about wanting more state aid. Should they get it?

The issue is a very sensitive one in Annapolis, in part because of the parochial assertiveness of the Prince George’s delegation. Senator Nathaniel Exum (D-24) recently had this exchange with O’Malley aide Joe Brice over the issue:

“It is clear Prince George's County has been hurt by these cuts,” [Exum] said. “We want to know what the governor is going to do to rectify this? Because next year is 2010. And who is the governor going to look for in his reelection campaign?”

Brice responded that O'Malley would try to bring all lawmakers together and work with them on the budget.

“As long as he is aware,” Exum shot back.

And now Delegate Justin Ross (D-22) has introduced a bill to restructure the state’s aid formula to send more education money to Prince George’s. Ross told Maryland Moment, “As the federal stimulus package gets wrapped up and the money comes back to the state, we want this to be in consideration. We believe there's a fairness issue here.”

In evaluating Prince George’s case for more aid, let’s consider the following facts:

1. Current Total Aid
In the Governor’s FY 2010 budget, Prince George’s is scheduled to receive $1,104,028,710 in total aid. That amount is second only to Baltimore City ($1,197,879,557) and accounts for 17% of the state’s entire aid budget.

In per capita terms, the state will grant Prince George’s County $1,332 per resident in FY 2010. That ranks ninth out of the state’s 24 jurisdictions and is 15% higher than the state average ($1,160).

In comparison, Montgomery County will receive $715 million ($768 per capita), Baltimore County will receive $701 million ($888 per capita), Anne Arundel County will receive $413 million ($807 per capita) and Baltimore City will receive $1.2 billion ($1,879 per capita).


2. Current Public Schools Aid
In the Governor’s FY 2010 budget, Prince George’s is scheduled to receive $871,833,382 in public school aid. That is first in the state and accounts for 19% of the state’s entire school aid budget. The state will also cover $114 million in Prince George’s teacher retirement payments, second to Montgomery ($150 million).

In per capita terms, the state will grant Prince George’s County $7,220 per pupil in FY 2010. That ranks sixth out of the state’s 24 jurisdictions and is 27% higher than the state average ($5,702).

In comparison, Montgomery County will receive $449 million ($3,287 per pupil), Baltimore County will receive $508 million ($5,123 per pupil), Anne Arundel County will receive $273 million ($3,794 per pupil) and Baltimore City will receive $811 million ($10,655 per pupil).


3. Local Contribution to Public Schools
The attached chart from the Maryland Department of Education’s 2007-2008 Fact Book shows federal, state and local per pupil contributions to education funding by county. The average per pupil local contribution in Maryland is about $5,600. Prince George’s County contributes about $4,300 per pupil in local funds, more than 20% below the state average. In contrast, Montgomery County taxpayers contribute nearly $10,000 per pupil, Howard County taxpayers contribute nearly $8,000 per pupil and Anne Arundel County taxpayers contribute roughly $6,500 per pupil.


According to the Washington Area Boards of Education, 54.9% of the Prince George’s County schools’ budget comes from the state. That is far higher than in Montgomery (19.9%) and is higher than any other school district in the Metro Washington area.

4. Other Aid
Maryland is helping Prince George’s County bail out its ailing hospital system, which has been victimized by feuds between the county government and the management firm. The state will be paying $12 million per year for the next two years while a buyer is found for the system. In addition, the state may be liable for tens, even hundreds of millions more to pay for upgrading and debt retirement.

And if this were not enough, the D.C. United soccer team has announced its intention to build a new stadium in Prince George’s County. Team management admits the state would be “on the hook” if stadium tax revenues needed to finance construction fell short of projections. Marc Korman blew the economics of this deal to smithereens yesterday.

5. Recent Developments in the Prince George’s Schools
The problems of Prince George’s schools deserves its own blog, but here is a sampling. Former Superintendent Andre Hornsby has been sentenced to six years in prison for corruption. Former Superintendent Iris Metts was driven out after an ugly power struggle. At one time, the county’s elected school board was so dysfunctional that it was replaced with appointees. The system has had five Superintendents in less than six years, but the crisis in the county’s schools goes back much further than that. The current priority of the county’s school board is its expensive headquarters relocation plan, which even the county’s statehouse delegation opposes.

By any measure, the state’s return on investment in the Prince George’s County schools has been poor. But that does not stop the push for more aid.

6. Anti-Tax Movements
Prince George’s voters are notoriously anti-tax. The county is the home of the infamous TRIM amendment, a property tax cap that has devastated county services over the last thirty years. In 1996, Prince George's voters chose not to repeal TRIM by a 61-39% vote and chose to subject a wide variety of tax measures to referendum by a 63-37% vote. Last year, voters rejected a puny $17 million telephone tax intended for the schools by a 71-29% margin. And angry citizens are opposing County Executive Jack Johnson’s request to allow homeowner tax assessments to rise from its current maximum rate of 5% per year to 10% (which is in effect in Montgomery). Residents of the county distrust their local government – with good reason – and are reluctant to fund it. The statehouse delegation, which is willing to accept police and teacher layoffs rather than support Johnson’s proposal, agrees with them.

And so Prince George’s County will not adequately invest in its own schools but expects the rest of the state to do it for them. As we mentioned above, Prince George’s Delegate Justin Ross has said, “We believe there's a fairness issue here.”

We agree.