Myers: Yes. Zoning affects the quality of life for citizens of Anne Arundel County. Small area plans allow neighbors of a small, contiguous, discrete area to interact directly with County planners on issues important to the area and what is needed to maintain or strengthen the member communities. For instance, the Broadneck Small Area plan spends a significant amount of time discussing Route 50 and Bay Bridge traffic concerns. If county employees do not live on the Broadneck Peninsula, and have no reason to travel there to regularly engage citizens, they could not adequately understand the enormity of the issue without regular first-hand accounts. Citizen participation in decisions that affect how and where the county grows and develops should be encouraged. The County should develop a meaningful and impactful Small Area Planning process.

Myers: Absolutely yes. With our current inadequate teacher salary scale and appalling history of not restoring step increases to teachers who went without during the recession, Anne Arundel County Public Schools (AACPS) is not a competitive employer for teachers in this state. Our County teachers currently suffer the indignity of working for an employer that pays new teachers with the exact same level of experience more money because they were not here to miss steps during the recession. Frankly, this situation is unconscionable. Teachers are a cornerstone of our democracy- they help us have a well-educated citizenry who will vote and participate in our society. Teachers who stayed through the recession are owed an apology and restoration of their steps. The County’s school performance has precipitously declined since teachers have lost their steps. AACPS for the first time has no nationally ranked schools. We are ranked as low as 12th in the State for education, despite being one of the wealthiest jurisdictions in the State. The New York Times cited Stanford University researchers when it stated “In Maryland’s Anne Arundel County, third graders test above the national average. But growth there [between third and eighth grade] lags behind Chicago [Public Schools], where the poverty rate is about five times higher.” AACPS students between 3rd and 8th grade do not progress as much as students in Chicago Schools. If we want great schools in Anne Arundel County, we need to value teachers and pay them a competitive wage.

Myers: For 20 years, I have worked for the State of Maryland optimizing billions of dollars’ worth of government expenditures. I would be remiss in making such a declaration without first examining the County budget in depth. Just from the publicly available budget and financial documents, I have learned that the school system ended the fiscal year on June 30, 2017, with a rather sizable surplus. Also, from 2015-2018, administrative expenses for County Schools increased 35% and the County spends proportionately more on administration than our more successful peers. For instance, in real dollar terms, the County schools spend approximately $11 million more on administration than Montgomery County. So, there may be opportunities for efficiencies that would transfer spending from administration to more mission critical items in the School budget. Additionally, the County has previously turned down federal grant money that would have hired 52 new and desperately needed firefighters. As such, I am not supportive of seeking additional revenues from taxpayers when there may be clear and obtainable opportunities for budget optimization available.