June 26th, 2017 by WCBC Radio

Although Allegany County ended up providing the Board of Education with some $254,000 above last year’s allocation- it still essentially represents the bare minimum increase permitted by state law.  The state has a minimum level that it requires counties to fund local school boards. That funding level is known as Maintenance of Effort. Although counties can choose to fund the school system above MOE, Allegany County funded the school board at the minimum requirement for the last six years. That changed this year due to a change in the funding formula for 2018 — with the county required by the state to add $254,000 to the MOE requirement for the school board’s 2018 budget. School Superintendent David Cox says that funding is always going to be an issue of debate between the county commissioners and board of education…