Next Schools Budget to be Unveiled Wednesday

Next year's schools budget will be unveiled Wednesday during a special presentation by the interim superintendent.

The fiscal year 2014-2015 operating budget layout will be the first overseen by Anne Arundel County's interim superintendent Mamie J. Perkins, and could also be her last. Perkins is under a one-year contract with the Board of Education while a search is underway for the next head of Anne Arundel County public schools.

The operating budget controls the funding for personnel and related expenses, while the capital budget controls expenses for buildings. The capital budget was unveiled in September at a cost of $192.1 million. 

Last year's operating budget weighed in at $1.004 billion, and included enough funding for a long-awaited three-percent raise for employees.

Perkins will give her budget address at 10 a.m. Wednesday in the Board Room of the Parham Building. 

The board will next host two public hearings in the coming weeks to formulate a recommendation for the County Executive. At that point, the county's budget department reviews it, makes a determination and passes it to the County Council for a vote in June. The board may shift funding within categories before approving its final budget no later than June 30.

Perkins' address also be broadcast on AACPS-TV, available on Channel 96 on Comcast and Broadstripe, and Channel 36 on Verizon. Archived videos of Board meetings can be found online at www.aacps.org/boardvideos.