PRINCESS ANNE -- Somerset County Commissioners plan to let Lower Shore legislators know they oppose a plan to consolidate Crisfield and Washington high schools, which partly depends on getting school construction funds from the state.
Commissioners said they will write to Sen. James Mathias, D-38-Worcester, and Delegate Charles Otto, R-38A-Somerset, stating their opposition and attaching copies of previous correspondence to Board of Education officials outlining the county's financial picture for fiscal year 2013.
County Commissioners Charles Fisher, a school bus contractor, and Craig Mathies, the husband of a teacher, both abstained from voting.
While the bulk of money for school building projects comes from the state, local governments must agree to provide matching funds.
Last week, Commissioners sent a letter to Board of Education Chairman Warner Sumpter warning that the county would not have funding available for remodeling Somerset Intermediate School in Westover to accommodate a combined high school.
The county is expected to lose $1.2 million in property tax revenues alone following the latest reassessments, according to the letter signed by Rex Simpkins, president of the County Commissioners.
"This news is, of course, devastating as we prepare to adopt a budget that is already challenged by the loss of highway user revenues, and the additional responsibility of operational costs for the Assessment and Taxation Department as mandated by the General Assembly last year," Simpkins said in the letter.
A similar letter was sent a month ago to Superintendent Marjorie Miles after Commissioners learned she had made inquiries to state officials about acquiring school construction funds to remodel Somerset Intermediate.
Last week, school officials announced they are looking at two options for restructuring Somerset schools: a restructuring of Crisfield High School only and a merger of both high schools.
Board of Education members have stressed they have not yet made up their minds about which plan to support, but they could decide as soon as Thursday when another meeting is planned.
The board has a March 14 deadline to submit a restructuring plan for Crisfield High after it failed to meet its Adequate Yearly Progress, academic targets set by the federal government, for four years in a row.
But school officials said they also are looking at Washington High in Princess Anne, which is not expected to meet AYP this year and will be forced to undergo mandatory restructuring as well
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