MPS Leaders Weigh In On Return of $1.4 Million
The State Department of Education has repaid Montgomery Public Schools 1.4 million dollars, that was mistakenly sent to the town of Pike Road in November 2016.
The money would have been returned in the sale of Georgia Washington Middle School to the Town of Pike Road; part of interim superintendent Ed Richardson’s intervention plan to fix the school system’s finances.
A lawsuit is now challenging that sale, though several Montgomery County School Board members say they’re glad the return of the money is no longer attached to the sale of the middle school, and that the return of the funds was long overdue.
Jason Taylor, a financial consultant hired by the state for Montgomery Public Schools has confirmed that the money will go to the Capital Project Fund, not the General Budget that is still facing nearly 5 million dollars in cuts. The school system also needs to meet its one month operating budget required by the state.
That’s why MPS Board Vice President Lesa Keith says when it comes to repairing the school system’s finances, the 1.4 million isn’t much to celebrate.
“I’m hoping that having this paid that we can move forward, but does it really mean anything to the Montgomery Public School System? Not really, it’s money that has already been spent” explained Keith.
Keith said the missing funds was an “excuse” the Montgomery School board used and “now that excuse is off the table, now we’ll really find out what this was really all about, if its about the children and the money that we desperately need instead of getting rid of 200 teachers”.
Interim State Superintendent Ed Richardson has said that he is looking into other options should the sale of Georgia Washington fall through. Plan B will likely include cutting around 200 teachers. A final ruling on the challenge of the sale of Georgia Washington is expected on March 29th.
