Alonso gets it: will Maxwell?

It's a sad day when Baltimore City Schools outpace Anne Arundel's in responsible educational spending:

The proposed budget that Baltimore schools chief Andres Alonso will present to the Board of Education tonight would cut $110 million from the central office, redistributing $70 million to schools and using $40 million to help close a budget shortfall.

More than 300 central office jobs would be eliminated under the proposal, cutting the number of full-time positions at system headquarters from 1,531 to 1,222, according to a draft copy of Alonso's board presentation. Alonso has said that administrators with a background in instruction would have the opportunity to be transferred back to schools as teachers or principals, likely taking a pay cut. While that would avoid the need for large-scale layoffs, it appears that some layoffs of noninstructional personnel would be necessary.

It's good to see that Alonso is serious about lowering the cost of education and redistributing money from centralized offices and the administration back towards the classroom, where it is needed. In Anne Arundel County, this is something that superintendent Kevin Maxwell has refused to considered, instead arguing for higher taxes and refusing to cut spending.

I hope that just this once, Anne Arundel County can learn from our neighbors up in Baltimore City and realize that our education dollars are not being spent to their fullest potential....