A Crofton Online Interview
John Gary Reminds County Voters Of His Many Accomplishments
Asks 'Should We Change The Way We Run Our School System?'

A somber John Gary acknowledged Friday [October 23] that his highly publicized battle with the Anne Arundel County school board had turned out to be a public relations disaster. Yet he maintained that the actions he took regarding the school system's budget were always in the best interests of the county's children.

Crofton Online spent several hours with County Executive Gary, asking him about his accomplishments and disappointments, his "bully" image, and his preferences in television shows.

[His opponent Janet Owens first scheduled, then canceled an interview with us.]

Calling this campaign the "worst ever," he was clearly frustrated with what he saw as his inability to reach voters this time around. "With all the rhetoric, voters don't know what to think," he told us.

We asked Mr. Gary how the election process could be improved to ensure that voters got accurate information.

"Clearly, newspaper reporting has declined since the days of Woodward and Bernstein," he said, adding that "Reporters are always trying to get an angle." When they do acknowledge mistakes, "corrections are printed in the back of the paper." He went on to say that the Internet offered future candidates the opportunity to communicate directly with voters without having to resort to sound bites.

He also urged the establishment of "truly independent organizations" that would evaluate candidates objectively and pass their evaluations on to voters.

On the subject of schools, he maintained that he has substantially increased funding for education each and every year he has been in office, in both total dollars and in percentage of the county budget, if you don't consider several large one time capital improvement items. What decreased, he said, were the contributions of the federal and state governments. He also maintained that he has always had a cordial relationship with Superintendent Carol Parham, and that he had a good working relationship with the school board until this year.

For "political reasons," he said, the school board this year asked for a huge increase in its budget which, if approved, would have taken every penny of additional revenue the county had for the entire county government, and more. He maintained that his efforts to hold the school bureaucracy on Riva Road accountable for the money it spends were justified.

When he added money for one hundred new teachers, the school board took the money and spent it on something else, infuriating the county council, he said. They also moved money appropriated for other purposes into an account to raise pay for full year employees, a category that does not include regular classroom teachers. The money went for raises and perks for Riva Road bureaucrats, he said.

"The problem with the schools is not the teachers, and really not even with the administrators," he told us, but a problem with "structure, the way it is put together," and he readily acknowledged that so far he had not been able to fix it. He said that the problem will have to be addressed no matter who wins the election.

Mr. Gary would like to see either an elected school board with taxing authority, which would provide direct voter oversight of the school system, or a school board appointed by the county executive, subject to ratification by the county council. He also advocated moving responsibility for non-educational matters from the school board to the county executive and council.

He maintained that the county would get a better deal by combining some school board procurements with those of other county agencies. The school system "does a terrible job of vehicle maintenance" for example, and that they have not done a good job of managing the building of schools. He said that the school board should still be responsible for the design of new buildings, but after that, the county's public works department should take over. He also feels the county government would do a better job of school grounds maintenance, at least the exterior of schools.

"We already have contracts to accomplish these things" and could do so more efficiently than the school board.

Mr. Gary called the school board's plan to cut popular programs such as the gifted and talented program, despite substantial increases in funding he provided, "mean-spirited" and designed to "outrage" parents. He said he was "astounded" by the public's reaction and acknowledged that he had been hurt politically by the fallout from the dispute. "The school board has demonstrated its willingness to hurt kids" to accomplish their political goals.

He said that he does not favor tuition vouchers unless a way can be found to guarantee that they would be "equitable." What he would prefer would be charter schools. Charter schools are still public schools which must comply with federal and state regulations, but they are run by committees of parents. Charter schools would create competition that would drive school improvement and increase parental involvement, which he feels are the keys to educational excellence.

Mr. Gary specifically and strongly endorsed creation of a west county high school to relieve overcrowding at Arundel. He also called for regular redistricting of school boundaries on a five year basis, much like congressional districts are adjusted every ten years. Such a proposal would not apply to elementary schools, where children should always be provided close, neighborhood schools. He also said that once a student begins attending one school, he or she should be allowed to finish there without being transferred.

One of the problems is that some county schools are overcrowded while others are operating way under capacity. Real estate agents should not sell housing in a way that implies a right to attend a certain school, he said. If redistricting occurred on a regular schedule, parents would be more willing to accept it, he said.

One the subject of growth, Mr Gary maintained that he had in fact been a force limiting development in areas where schools are crowded. Prior to his administration, developers regularly won appeals of his denial of construction permits. He was the one that put in place a system that slowed growth. "Now I'm getting blamed for something I tried to stop," he said with obvious frustration.

He said that he does not favor an across-the-board moratorium on new housing construction, because this can cause more problems than it solves. All it does is create built up demand that explodes on the scene as soon as the moratorium is lifted. A better approach is limiting growth in areas where the infrastructure is not in place. He has done that, he says.

We were blunt with Mr. Gary, asking him about his "bully" image. He responded, "I take my responsibility with the public trust very seriously. When I see a bureaucracy sucking money out of the classroom to feed the bureaucracy rather than feed the children, I get my gander up. That is exactly what was taking place this year."


Check back for part two of this interview. Find out what movies, music, and television he enjoys. And what are his future political plans?

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