AIM'S 2010 LOCAL BUDGET PRIORITIES
Equality for all County Residents
Universal Access to Higher Education
Affordable Housing
Ensure basic needs are met for the most vulnerable
On February 24th 2010, 235 AIM leaders gathered with County Executive Leggett and Council President Floreen and called on them to:
I. Equality for all County Residents. Ensure that, even in the face of budget cuts, the county will continue to treat all of its residents equally; immigration status must not be a factor in determining who can use county services and programs, including affordable housing assistance, health care, and tuition rates at Montgomery College.
Background: Montgomery County has historically been a place welcoming to immigrants. County services, including affordable housing assistance, county-funded health centers, and in-state tuition rates at Montgomery College have been available to all county residents regardless of immigration status. This welcoming environment has allowed the county to maintain one of the most dynamic, growing economies in the nation. However, there are groups that are putting pressure on County Executive Leggett and the County Council to turn away from this welcoming philosophy. They demand that programs serving immigrants be cut as a way of balancing the budget. We cannot let this happen, and we call on County Executive Leggett and the County Council to keep our County a welcoming place for immigrants.
II. Universal Access to Higher Education. Ensure universal access to higher education in Montgomery County. 1) Work with AIM to build a coalition of government, education and business leaders to determine strategy and funding to expand college access programs throughout the county. 2) Demonstrate importance of college access by investing in College Tracks, a college access program, in the countys fiscal year 2011 budget.
Background: Currently, there is one guidance counselor per 300 students at MCPS high schools. These counselors are responsible for student scheduling, academics, discipline, and, if there is any time left over, college advising. This ratio was established when only 20% of MCPS students went on to college. Under the current system, MCPS students whose parents went to college in the U.S. do very well in the college application process, thanks to their parents familiarity with the system and their constant nagging. But students who do not have this resource at home fare poorly, missing application deadlines, failing to get scholarships, and in many cases not even trying.
College Tracks, an independent non-profit organization, has succeeded in working with these students at two MCPS high schools (Bethesda-Chevy Chase and Wheaton) with spectacular results. Their students have a college acceptance rate of 98% and thanks to the help of College Tracks counselors won $3.5million in scholarship money last year alone. Unfortunately, this program exists in only 2 of 26 MCPS high. More information about College Tracks can be found at www.collegetracks.org.
III. Affordable Housing. 1) Make a significantly county investment of funds for affordable housing at an amount that gets us towards $80M a year. 2) Announce countywide affordable housing production and preservation goals with specific benchmarks and twice a year accountability updates.
Note: These twice a year updates would include numbers of affordable units produced, location and number of units to be removed from affordable housing stock, percentage of people who actually move into the units who meet targeted income level.
IV. Ensure basic needs are met for the most vulnerable in our county. Maintain funding for safety net programs, including homelessness services and primary care clinics for the un-insured, at a level sufficient to meet the projected need.
Background: Many safety net items like unemployment insurance and breakfast programs in schools will be funded with federal money. AIM wants to make sure that safety net items not protected by federal mandates are also protected. Concern about the most vulnerable was mentioned in every AIM House Meeting. In Montgomery County, there are approximately 100,000 county residents who do not have health insurance. Many, AIM members depend on the countys clinics for their health care needs.
