The Montgomery County Board of Education released the following statement regarding the Maryland Attorney General’s recent opinion on Maintenance of Effort:

“On November 4, 2009, Maryland State's Attorney General Douglas Gansler issued an opinion finding that Montgomery County has not met the requirement for local Maintenance of Effort (MOE) funding for the Fiscal Year 2010 Operating Budget for Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS). The Montgomery County Board of Education is deeply concerned that as a result of this ruling, the children of MCPS may lose funding that is critically needed for instructional programs. Due to a perverse provision in state law, when county funding is not found to meet Maintenance of Effort, a significant financial penalty may be imposed directly upon the school system. The Board of Education is advocating vigorously to avoid any penalty that we understand could range from $16 million to $64 million. We do not believe that our state leaders intended for our children to bear the brunt of the punishment as we grapple with this unusual set of fiscal circumstances. We must hold our students harmless. Working together with other county officials, we will fight to avoid any adverse consequences to our students and our schools.”