South County Residents Rally to Attend Budget Hearing

Monday night's  for fiscal year 2013 is expected to have a large turnout from Edgewater Elementary parents and other south county residents. 

The second public hearing on the budget—which includes the school system's budget—will be held at 7 p.m. Monday at . The members of the County Council will be present to hear testimony on the budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1. Later this month, they will be reviewing and voting on the operating budget, which weighs in at $1,243,571,900 (see attached PDF).

To address concerns surrounding the school system's budget specifically, several groups have rallied together to create a coalition of participants to either speak or attend the hearing.

After , Edgewater Elementary parents plan to voice their issues at the hearing—particularly about the exclusion of the school from the proposed list of schools to undergo renovations. Several parents told Patch they're excited to see how many people come out to support the school community. 

A Facebook page was created to rally together parents from Shady Side, Tracey's, Lothian and Deale elementary schools. The page asks parents to attend the budget hearing as school representatives ask for "immediate needs."

The parents plan on wearing blue and gold colors and are meeting at Southern High at 6 p.m. As of 4 p.m. Monday, more than 40 people plan to attend the hearing, according to the Facebook page's information. 

The outlook on the budget could also change after  with the state General Assembly on Monday. State officials will attempt to finish work on the budget after the passage of 

Old Mill High School is located at 600 Patriot Lane in Millersville.

More information on fiscal year 2013's county budget is available on Anne Arundel County's website.

Broadneck Patch editor D. Frank Smith contributed to this article.