OAKLAND — Garrett and Allegany county boards of education met with members of the District 1 legislative delegation on Monday, asking the lawmakers to advocate for relief for both counties from the decline in state revenues due to the wealth formula and loss of student enrollment.

In the past three years, the delegation has been able to get some stoppage in the loss of state revenues, according to Sen. George Edwards. “We are trying to protect the coming year,” he said. “We fight to get what we can.”

The state isn’t going to fund the entire loss of revenue and the counties need to help out, Edward said, adding that the total funding number won’t be know until the dotted line is signed.

Allegany County government funds its school system at what is called maintenance of effort level, as required by the state of Maryland. The law requires a county to spend at least the same amount on a per pupil basis as the year before, so counties don’t go backwards in education funding. The state can withhold funding if counties don’t meet the requirement. Garrett County commissioners fund its school system above the maintenance of effort level.

Janet Wilson, superintendent of Garrett County schools, said if the Garrett commissioners had not funded schools above the maintenance of effort level, the school system’s finances would be even more dire than they are this year.

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