萝卜AV视频

Like so many districts, Cecil County Public Schools in northern Maryland finds itself compelled to provide more services and meet the needs of a changing population with limited resources. In addition, the loss of federally funded COVID-19 relief funds painted a remarkably similar outlook for the fiscal health of our organization.

While these factors alone would have been sufficient to create a funding crisis, the school district also was challenged by local officials who funded our education budget at the lowest amount allowed by law for three consecutive years. The culmination of these factors created a doomsday scenario that threatened the wellness of our system and, most significantly, the success of our students.

Acknowledging that these funding issues would undoubtedly become an issue for the Cecil County schools, we began a comprehensive approach to advocacy that used multiple tiers of engagement to inform our community of the dire fiscal scenario facing our system and empowered them to advocate forcefully for the full funding of our schools.

The Annotated Code of Maryland compels a superintendent to lead this work. The statute charges the superintendent as follows: 鈥淪uperintendent shall seek in every way to secure adequate funds from local authorities for the support and development of the public schools in the county.鈥� Additionally, the statute makes the superintendent responsible to 鈥淸t]ry in every way to awaken public interest and improve educational conditions in the county.鈥�

We applied several strategies in this comprehensive information and advocacy campaign. We began by aggressively sharing the relevant facts about the issue with any stakeholders who would listen. As superintendent, I accepted every invitation I was provided to engage our stakeholders. This included meetings with local civic organizations, religious leaders and booster organizations.

The facts of the matter were compelling and deserved to be shared with our community. Through a commitment to sharing information with our community, we created a growing cadre of dedicated advocates for the system who were equipped with accurate information about the funding issues facing our system.

Funded Mistruths

One challenge our system had to address was the repeated sharing of misinformation and pervasive character assaults from our local elected officials.

Nestled in the middle of a contentious primary election campaign, we confronted many challenges when responding to wild mistruths from a well-funded political campaign. These attacks included tens of thousands of dollars of mailings to homes containing inaccurate spending information related to school district initiatives. Additionally, this campaign leveraged social media and digital advertising to attack me and my negotiated salary through videos and text messages.

In response, we created a social media presence committed to sharing accurate information in real time to address these off-base claims. The Cecil County Public Schools鈥� facts page allowed our constituents to access information and ask questions that would support their understanding and continued advocacy. Our commitment to accurate, timely information was essential to equip our community with the truth. The result was a growing number of well-informed citizens who could respond to mistruths being virally spread across the district.

Student Defenders

At the same time, a group of passionate student leaders became increasingly aware of the looming fiscal disaster and joined our systemic efforts. As a result, the Fund CCPS movement was born. This online community now has nearly 7,000 members.

As the accurate information was being shared, students began this grassroots effort to engage our broader community and share their concerns about another year of inadequately funded public schools. The student leaders were passionate about organizing and quickly collaborated with other groups across the community. They were a visible force at a series of funding rallies at our county government building where they publicly advocated for the needs of our school system.

The results were compelling. The Fund CCPS movement quickly captured the attention of media outlets, and our student leaders hosted events with hundreds of supporters and fielded media requests from numerous outlets. The school district found itself in the center of news stories about its pressing financial concerns. The media coverage was powerful and allowed the needs of our district to be placed in front of larger audiences.

Ultimately, our advocacy positively impacted the funding forecast. For the first time in many years, our district received an additional $9 million in revenue compared to the previous year. While short of our requested allocation, the increase allowed us to prevent staff layoffs.

Powerful Engagement

The Fund CCPS movement continues to serve as a powerful student-led advocacy group for attaining favorable outcomes for our system. The development of an organized, systematic response to misinformation and the growth of well-informed advocates have dramatically changed the landscape.

Our positive outcomes were directly linked to leadership efforts to engage our community, provide timely and accurate information and relentlessly argue for the needs of our students. While the work led to criticism of me, including defamatory comments, it was the right work for our students and school system.

Our advocacy efforts led to a shift in county leadership following the election 鈥� proof that an informed and engaged public can drive change. We now have a county government that is more supportive of public education. 

Jeffrey Lawson is superintendent of Cecil County Public Schools in Elkton, Md.