The Sky is Falling

(FREDERICK, MD) -- A vocal minority is critical of the efforts of the majority of Frederick County Commissioners (Paul Smith, Kirby Delauter, Billy Shreve and Blaine R. Young) and their efforts to rein-in government spending, especially when it comes to spending for Frederick County Public
Schools.

Fi rst-C

lass Ach ievernent

As someone who graduated from Frederick County Public Schools and currently has two children in the school system, the continued success of our school system is extremely important to
me.

And

as you can see, Frederick County Public Schools have much to be proud of:

"To hear them tell it, the sky is falling," said Blaine R. Young, President of the Frederick County Board of County Commissioners. According to Mr. Young, his most vocal critics are crying wolf. "The facts don't match their rhetoric," he said. "My critics say that because we have asked the Board of Education to tighten their belts that schools are crumbling, children aren't learning and Frederick County can't get or retain quality teachers. It's just not true," Mr. Young said. Mr. Young points to information right on the webpage for Frederick County Public Schools as proof that the school system is healthy, children are excelling and that in fact Frederick County has some of the best tcachers in the state of Maryland.

FCPS achieveme,nt exceeqls MarylaLodsverages with-scores that consistently surpass state and national averages on measures such as the College Board SAI.

FCPS ranks first in statewide 2012 School Progress Index accountability data. In 2013 SAT results, the FCPS average combined mean score was 1538. This is 55 points higher than Maryland's combined average of 1483 and 40 points higher than the nation's average of 1498. FCPS ranks in the top tier among Maryland's public schools for Return on Investment, according to the Center for American Progress 201 I report. FCPS tied for 4th statewide for educational productivity, with the lowest per-pupil spending of the top four.

New Market Elementary earned a2010 National Blue Ribbon School Award. Eight others in our school system previously earned this recognition.

Yellow Springs Elementary Principal Kathy Prichard is

the Maryland PTA's statewide 2012 Educator of the Yearl Urbana High teacher Michelle Shearer was America's 201I National Teacher of the Year.

---

.-a5outf07o of FCPS high ichool

Maintenance of Effort

to attend college, technical schools or join the military to further their education.
997o of more than I O00 employers surveyed in 2012

s-eniors inal-icate a desire

.
Based on a formula mandated by Maryland state law, every County must fund their school system at a

said FCPS students were well prepared for the work expected ofthem at their place ofbusiness.

certain level. Any money given beyond that level is at the discretion of the local government. "The majority of the Board of County Commissioners and I have simply said that during the tough economic times of the last few years that we will not allocate more money above Maintenance of Effort (MOE) for the school system," Mr. Young said, adding, "it really comes down to basic math. We can't hand out money that isn't there." Continued on page A-2

FCPS is the proud winner of the Maryland Center for Character Education's School System of the Year Award twice: 2009 and 2013.

The above information was taken directly from Frederick County Public Schools website.
To yiew the complete list go to: www.fcps.org/domain/9

Updated facts 9 -21 -20 13

Continuedfrom page

A-l

Over $530 million annually The Board of Education's fiscal year 2014 operating budget totals $532,691 ,886. "Al1 we've done is say to the Board of Education is that it's time to ro11 up your sleevel and.prioritize and make some tough decisions during tough economic times," Mr. Young said. In fact, in the last few years that this rank Uoa:rO has only provided f,-rtrOitrg at the required MOE level, Frederick schools have continued to Educator Maryland a Year and the trationally. "Anh at the same time we've had a National Teacher of of the ye-ar. "Once agarn,the facts are much different than the misinformation and falsehoods being told by our critics," said Mr. Young.

Boondoggle costs taxpayers over $L6 million

(FREDERICK, MD) -- Some PeoPle ftfer to it as the "Taj Mahal," others call it a palace. Whatever name people use, one thing many agree on is that the Board of Educations' new central office never should have been built. "The majority of the previous Board of County Commissioners and Board of Education thought it would be a good idea to spend over $16 million to build themselves a fancy new building in downtown Frederick," said Mr. Young. ,'This was a vanity project for a small group of people who pushed this project down the throat of Frederick County taxpayers. Ask anyone who supported this project to explain how this helps children in the classroom or the teachers in the classroom," Mr. Young said. Mr. young believes that spending over $16 million on this building is a slap in the face of every child and teacher in Frederick CountY.
,.This boondoggle is the single biggest reason that the majority of the Board of County Commissioners and I came into office with the goal of forcing the Board of Education to rethink their priorities. Clearly, the people involved with this project did not have the best interests of the students of Frederick County in mind," said Mr. Young. Mr. young added, "The fact that these people had no problem spending $16 million for fancy offices for themselves, made it clear to me that they could also work just as hard to live within their means."

Reoccurring costs vs. One-time contributions

(FREDERICK, MD) -- As required by state law, if you lncrease the school budget one dollar or $ 1 million this year, that increase becomes a permanent increase for all future school budgets. Once you go up, you can't come down.

"This Board of County Commissioners has been as aggressive and maybe more so than any other recent board to find ways to provide the school system with one-time contributions in order to provide the teachers in the classrooms and the students with the resources they need to excel," said Mr. Young.
One-time contributions provide the school system with a shot in the arm but those contributions don't lock county taxpayers into state-mandated permanent budget increases. "We have moved up several school construction and renovation projects, while at the same time giving the school system one-time contributions for computer and technology upgrades and to address a variety of other systemic needs," Mr. Young said.

School Construction
. . '- . . . .

& Systemic Projects

(As approved by the 2010-2014 Board of County Commissioners)

Increased FY2014 systemic funding for various projects by $3.1 million

Approved sustaining $5 million annually in systemic funding starting in FY2015

$S$nmiOn*tbtlhe-new Fr!deficK High

Sehool-

$2.6 million for the buildout of Urbana Middle School Sped up the modernization and addition of North Frederick Elementary by a year ($30 million committed to the project)

Moved up the addition to Oakdale Elementary School by a year ($12 million committed to the project)

For FY2017-20192 . $147 million committed to the construction of five new elementary schools across the county

Special Message from Blaine R. Young

I've been called every name in the book over the course of the last three years because of the efforts I've underlaken to improve
the fiscal situation of Frederick County government. According to my critics, looking out for the taxpayers of our county is bad. I'm not sure where along the way it became a bad thing to ask county government to trim the fat and live within our means. address critics who say that I am anti-teachers. Nothing could be further from the truth. I know firsthand the difficult and challenging job teachers face everyday in the classroom. My mother was a teacher and principal for Frederick County Public Schools for 41 years. My father taught in the school system for six years and I was a substitute teacher for four years. I currently have two children in Frederick schools, so I have a very personal interest in ensuring the future success of our school system.

I want to specifically

Asking the Board of Education to live with its means is strictly about getting our financial house in order. For far too long the Board of Education has operated under the assumption that each and every year they would get more money from the county government.
For the first time, this board of County Commissioners has simply challenged the BOE to roll up their sleeves and actually get their hands dirty and learn how to make tough budgetary decisions instead of continuing to have the mentality that they will have more and more money to spend each and every year.

Again, where were the critics when previous Commissioners and BOE members decided to spend over $16 million for fancy new administrative offices that in no way benefit children or teachers in the classroom? As Paul Harvey used to say, "Now you know the rest of the story," because our critics and the local media certainly won't tell you facts or the whole story.

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Since the local media refuses to report the fact of what a majority of County Commissioners and I are doing to got Frederick's fiscal house in order,I've decided to bring the facts directly to you. And as you can imagine, it is not cheap to get this information Lo every registered Republican voter in Frederick. So please send your onetime donation in the enclosed envelope. Thank you. Please make your donation payable to: Maryland " 102 West l4th Street . Frederick,

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