rich 1.0 Action Network https://actionnetwork.org <link href='https://actionnetwork.org/css/style-embed-v3.css' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css' /><script src='https://actionnetwork.org/widgets/v6/letter/tell-county-council-to-be-courageous?format=js&source=widget'></script><div id='can-letter-area-tell-county-council-to-be-courageous' style='width: 100%'><!-- this div is the target for our HTML insertion --></div> Teachers Association of Anne Arundel County https://actionnetwork.org/groups/teachers-association-of-anne-arundel-county https://actionnetwork.org//images/generic_facebook.jpg While educators appreciate the county executive’s efforts to stretch the FY27 budget to meet the Board of Education's funding request, the budget as it stands still falls short of what our students deserve. Here is where the proposed budget falls short: ONLY 26 special education positions are currently in the proposed budget VS. 82.2 special education positions including classroom teachers, speech language pathologists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, specialists, technicians, and teaching assistants NO English Language Development teachers VS. 10 requested by AACPS NO additional school counselors, related service providers, or PPWs funded VS. 1 school counselor, 1 school psychologist, 1 social worker, and 1 pupil personnel worker requested by Dr. Bedell ONLY 2.25% COLA VS. 3% COLA for all educators passed by the Board of Education How do we get the funding our schools deserve? We need our county council members to reach out to the county executive so that he can present a supplemental budget that includes revenue increases for these staffing positions and full 3% COLA. County Executive Pittman has various revenue options that he can propose to secure the funding needed: Raise the income tax rate for the county’s highest income earners (those making $400k and above) by just .1% to hit the cap of 3.3% Consider adjustments to the income tax brackets so those doing the best in this economy pay their fair share Keep the property tax rate the same next year despite the revenue cap, which is currently forcing a proposed decrease of 0.9% Who can make this happen? County Executive Pittman can propose revenue increases but he needs to know the county council members will vote to support those increases. We need the county council to make clear to the county executive that they support these necessary revenue increases. This is why we need the County Executive and County Council to be collaborative, creative, and courageous in order to meet the moment to fund the schools our students and educators deserve. TAKE ACTION NOW! Click "Start Writing" to add your personal story to explain to the County Executive and the County Council why they should fund the schools we all deserve! https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-county-council-to-be-courageous