Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman issued the following statement regarding the Anne Arundel County Board of Education’s unanimous vote to adopt fiscal 2024 operating and capital budget requests.

“I want to congratulate the Anne Arundel County Board of Education for acting unanimously in support of Superintendent [Mark] Bedell’s ambitious and carefully-crafted budget request. Our Board of Education represents diverse political viewpoints, but came together around one urgent and important agenda ― better pay for teachers and school staff.

“Asking taxpayers to step up and invest their hard-earned dollars in education is never easy, but these board members sent a strong signal that without these salary enhancements our schools won’t have the personnel that it takes to deliver the quality of education that our kids and our county demand.

“This vote, and the input I received from the nearly 800 county residents who attended our Budget Town Hall series, gives me and our budget team a strong signal as we enter the final 10 weeks of [fiscal 2024] budget preparation. It will soon be time for some tough choices to be made.”