School Board Reviews Next Budget Early, Construction Projects On Tap

A new sidewalk project and a special rainy day fund are among the proposals for this year's budget.

The school board met Tuesday for an evening workshop on the $200 million capital budget for FY 2013 that lists the major construction projects that will be undertaken. Schools’ Chief Operating Officer Alex Szachnowicz led a presentation to the board on the system’s 2013 capital improvement plan. The plan lists a series of 33 priority construction projects for the upcoming budget year, all with a price tag. Among the priorities are: The projects are prioritized in a list form in case the Anne Arundel County Council decides to remove any of them individually. Schools that are at capacity, or projects that have already been underway, are given a higher priority. Newer projects are lower on the list. The idea is to finish the construction …

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On the Money

3 Simple Tools to Minimize Overspending this Holiday Season

Edgewater financial adviser on how to keep your finances in check over the holidays.

We all understand the horror somewhere around Jan. 20 or so when we open that credit card bill and realize that we spent way too much money over the holidays. Then the anxiety sets in: "How will I ever pay this off?"  The rest of the year we go about our daily lives with a financial cloud over our heads until that principal balance is reduced. The interest alone, by the end of the year, often costs us about half as much again as we paid for the items themselves. There is hope, however.  With a few, simple tools, you can beat back debt and even avoid the overspending in the first place. Budget Yes, it's that darned word again.  We all claim that we do budget ourselves, but research shows that less than 8 percent of Americans actually do …

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