In his highly publicized battle with the Anne Arundel County school board, county executive John Gary may have gotten a bum rap. The school board, which does not have to face voters, and which gets to spend money without ever having to raise it, clearly had an unfair advantage in the public relations war for the minds of voters.|
The school board used one of the oldest bureaucratic tricks in the book, and they used it to the disadvantage of our school children. Bureaucracies by their very nature always want to grow larger, and they never sit still for budget cuts, no matter how justified. If a government agency faces budget reductions, it will never willingly eliminate waste. If a budget is cut and nothing happens, that amounts to an admission that there was waste in the first place. What bureaucrats do is eliminate essential, visible programs first, then wait for the public outcry. Frequently, elected officials cave in and cough up more money in response to public pressure. This is exactly what Mr. Gary did. We remind voters that Mr. Gary never proposed to reduce school spending; in fact, he has increased school spending substantially each and every year that he has held the office. Furthermore, we agree with Mr. Gary that the school board's planned elimination of portions of the gifted and talented program, as well as plans to charge fees for extra curricular activities, were mean-spirited. The restrictions it placed on teacher access to photocopying facilities were outrageous. Teachers should not be expected to pay for photocopying out of their own pockets. We also agree with Mr. Gary that we need to examine how our school board is chosen. Maybe we need to have an elected school board with taxing authority. At any rate, we must find ways to hold the bureaucrats on Riva Road accountable for their actions, the same way we hold Mr. Gary and the County Council accountable. We urge voters to think long and hard about this election, then go to the polls and vote. |