On Thursday, April 10, members of the Teachers Association of Anne Arundel County delivered a petition of 2,600+ signatures to County Executive Steuart Pittman asking him to fully fund the Anne Arundel County Board of Education’s budget request for increased staffing and improved salaries. TAAAC President Kristina Korona shared the following statement after the meeting:
“When federal actions threaten to strip AACPS of millions of dollars, it is essential that our local government uphold the promise of public education to provide a high-quality education for every child, regardless of zip code. Since the start of the dismantling of the Department of Education, thousands of educators as well as community allies have joined our call for our county government to fully fund the Board of Education’s requests for increased staffing–especially staffing for our special education students—as well as more competitive educator salaries. When we ensure our pay scale can not only recruit but also retain our experienced teachers, school counselors, social workers, bus drivers, teaching assistants, and other critical school staff, we will be able to better support all of our students, particularly our most vulnerable students such as those who receive special education services, our multilingual learners, and those who live below the poverty line.
“We know County Executive Pittman must make difficult budgetary decisions this year but our students should not have to bear the burden by continuing to suffer from another year of inadequate staffing of our schools. By fully funding the AACPS Board of Education’s budget requests for increased staffing and improved educator salaries, our County Executive will be doing his part to protect our public schools and affirm to our entire community that our children are worth the investment.”
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