Washingtonpost.com:
By DeNeen L. Brown and
Robert E. Pierre
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, March 19, 1998; Page A01 Prince George's County moved closer yesterday to ending court-ordered busing in the county and resolving a 25-year-old school desegregation lawsuit after Maryland Gov. Parris N. Glendening agreed that the state would pick up a greater share of school construction costs.
In a meeting with the three parties in the case -- County Executive Wayne K. Curry (D), school board Chairman Alvin Thornton (Suitland) and Hardi L. Jones, president of the Prince George's branch of the NAACP -- Glendening (D) promised that the state would cover 60 percent of the total costs of building schools.
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| Judge Peter J. Messitte (TWP) |
"Obviously, it's encouraging news," he said.
Glendening's pledge to pay more of the costs of building schools -- including such expenses as engineering, planning, construction, utility connections and architectural designs -- in Prince George's essentially matches what Curry, Thornton and Jones asked for in a letter this month.
The pledge also means the county will be able to build the 16 schools that Thornton, Curry and Jones said are needed to accommodate students who now are bused to schools outside their neighborhoods.
"We simply cannot end court-ordered busing without providing the education facilities in our existing communities to serve these students," Glendening said in a statement.
Del. Howard P. Rawlings (D-Baltimore), who has criticized plans to give more money to Prince George's schools, said yesterday that he agrees that Prince George's has "special needs" that would warrant the state paying a higher portion of construction costs.
Curry praised the governor's pledge to accept the agreement hammered out in months of negotiations among the school board, county officials and the NAACP.
"We're clearly now at the threshold of . . . a new beginning," said Curry, after a meeting in Annapolis with Glendening. "He's accepted the basic framework of our agreement."
Nearly two weeks ago, Curry, Thornton and Jones announced that they would settle the school desegregation lawsuit if the state agreed to pay 60 percent of the total costs of building neighborhood schools. The state traditionally has not covered certain expenses, such as architecture, engineering, planning and permit fees, but will do so for Prince George's under the agreement.
Without the change, Prince George's officials say, they would have been unable to raise the necessary matching funds to spend all of the $35 million a year Glendening has promised to seek for school construction in the county over the next four years.
The formula adjustment, which would be made for only Prince George's, can be enacted by the governor and the two other members of the state Board of Public Works, which oversees the state school construction program. Glendening said yesterday that the state will not pay for land acquisitions.
Ray Feldmann, Glendening's spokesman, said yesterday that the governor was "optimistic the board would agree" to the change. Feldmann said the General Assembly would have an opportunity to review the agreement, but legislative approval is not necessary.
Feldmann said the governor agreed to pay more of the costs of building schools in Prince George's because the county is under federal court order to desegregate its schools.
"Prince George's County is the only jurisdiction in Maryland in this situation," Feldmann said. "This commitment will bring an end to the long busing program to end desegregation."
The state usually pays 50 percent to 80 percent of the costs of school construction, depending on a county's wealth. Last year, as part of a funding package for Baltimore schools, the state agreed to pick up as much as 90 percent of such costs.
Although the Prince George's funding adjustment appears to be finalized, several bills must be passed to help the county pay its share of new school construction costs. In the agreement, county officials have asked that the state repeal exemptions to an educational surcharge on new housing development in the county. The legislature also would have to approve the transfer of control over construction from the school system to the county.
County officials also are lobbying state legislators to approve a bill that would allow the school system to build schools and parks on the same property. Thornton said he is optimistic those bills will pass.
"At every stage of this proposal, people have stepped forward and met the challenge," he said. "Now the legislature has to step forward in order to complete that circle. I don't think people will forgive anyone who does not do their part."
Staff writer Lisa Frazier contributed to this report.
© Copyright 1998 The Washington Post Company
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