You mess with our kids, we mess with you. (Legally, that is.)
That’s pretty much what school officials in Montgomery County are threatening to do if the school budget is cut any further.
County Executive Isiah Leggett has proposed $137 million less than school officials requested. But what's really agitating schools is that the County Council is thinking about cutting it down another $30 million.
School officials sent the county a draft of a lawsuit they said would be filed if the funding isn’t left alone. The suit would ask for an injunction against the county. It also argues that the County Council can’t decrease Leggett’s proposal.
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According to the draft lawsuit, "the authority to deny or reduce the annual budget submitted by the School Board rests solely with the County Executive." Disrupting funding "will wreak havoc on the public school children of this county."
Council members took up the lawsuit draft in a closed session on Monday.
They believe they have final budget authority.
Schools Superintendent Jerry Weast said the county is also violating a state law about maintaining school funding levels.
Copyright AP - Associated Press
