Board President Roxanne R. Ober said the delegation and the board did not meet before this year's legislative session in Annapolis. The sides have committed to meeting before and after the upcoming session, and have planned another meeting in the fall, she said.
Del. LeRoy E. Myers Jr., R-Washington/Allegany; Del. John P. Donoghue, D-Washington; Sen. George C. Edwards, R-Garrett/Allegany/Washington; and Sen. Alex X. Mooney, R-Frederick/Washington, were absent from the joint meeting. Board Member Bernadette Wagner also was absent.
Del. Richard B. Weldon Jr., R-Frederick/Washington, said the level of Thornton funding the county has received for education cannot be sustained once that fund is gone due to the budget deficit the state is facing.
"There's no way the governor can commit to the same level of Thornton money with the deficit," he said. "I think if we're conjecturing about funding, better anticipate less money."
Fiscal year 2008 will be the last year of the five-year phase-in of Thornton funding, which increased state funding for public schools in Maryland.
Ober said the additional funds were used to update most textbooks in Washington County Public Schools, many of which were about 15 years old.
Shank said that funding was not meant to be a "crutch" for the county to provide less money for education.
Sen. Donald F. Munson, R-Washington, said that if a special session is called this year and there is a substantial increase in taxes, including a ruling on slots, education could see some additional money.
Board members said they are facing a number of unfunded mandates from the state, including providing all-day kindergarten programs.
"Thornton (funding) has allowed us to do the things that we're being required to do," Board Vice President Wayne D. Ridenour said. "If we're going to be asked to do more and more and more, then we need some level of funding to do these things."
Myers attends GOP debate
Del. LeRoy E. Myers Jr., R-Washington/Allegany, was unable to attend Tuesday's joint meeting of the state delegation and the Washington County Board of Education because he was participating in the evening's Republican presidential debate in South Carolina.
A spokeswoman for his office said Myers was scheduled to sit on a panel with other legislators to answer questions based on how he won the race in 2002 and how he was re-elected. She said he was scheduled to have dinner with Sean Hannity, a syndicated conservative talk-show host and co-host of Fox News Channel's "Hannity and Colmes."
