April 13th, 2017 by WCBC Radio

For the second straight meeting, members of the Allegany County Board of Education debated the merits of funding a program designed to encourage more minorities and low income students to take advanced academic programs. While the board members generally agree that the Lead Higher program could be beneficial for the local school system- the price tag led to the proposal being rejected. The cost- a relatively modest $17,000 initial commitment- perhaps best demonstrates the challenging fiscal position the board finds itself in. After a spirited debate during the public work session, board vice president Sara Beth Bittinger said that while it sounds like a good program- there simply aren’t any available funds at this time…