October 19th, 2011 by WCBC Radio
The revelation last week that the Allegany County Board of Education has an unprecedented $12.5 million in its reserve fund is not sitting well with the parents of middle school students in the Little Orleans area. In a budget cutting move this past spring, the board voted to phase out the program which had allowed parents residing in the far eastern end of the county to send their kids to Hancock School in neighboring Washington County. While the high school students were grandfathered in, that was not the case for middle schoolers who were faced with being bused into Cumberland each day. The action has been appealed by a parents group, but has not yet been heard by the State Board of Education. One of those parents phoned into WCBC’s “Dave Norman Show” and questioned how much of a financial benefit the board has realized by that action…
.jpg)
October 19, 2011 at 10:42 am, Linda Martin said:
This should be a wake up call to ALL Allegany County residents.The BOE is squirreling money away while our children and families are suffering NOW. They have thier priorties upside down. The children of Little Orleans tuition only cost them $65,000.That is a tiny drop thier BIG BUCKET.Washington County offered to send a bus to get our kids, the BOE refused it.And we now have older brothers and sisters riding the Hancock bus while thier younger siblings have been denied transportation by APS even though it doesn’t cost the county a penny more.We feel this was done for pure SPITE because we DARED to pay our childrens’ tuition ourselves.
Now, the children of Allegany High are subjected to unsanitary and degrading bathroom conditions (curtains instead of replacement doors on bathroom stalls) while Dr. Cox is throwing staff parties just before the start of school. Just how much money was wasted there? What is wrong with this picture folks? Where is the outrage?
Meanwhile, maybe the Parents of LO should come up to Cumberland and offer a Spaghetti Dinner Fund raiser to be able to replace those doors.