Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker has hired a new Education Policy Advisor as the county gears up for one of its most difficult fiduciary challenges regarding the school system.
Christian Rhodes will serve Baker after serving as a government relations specialist for the Maryland State Education Association. He will work to bridge the gap between the county’s board of education, Baker and the county council.
“I have made it clear that education is a top priority of my administration,” said Baker. “That is why it was so important to add Christian Rhodes to my team. His dedication to public education and working collaboratively with key stakeholders around the state made him a clear choice. I am confident that he has the skill and knowledge that will help my office work more effectively with Hite, the Board of Education, and their team as we strive to improve our schools for the children of Prince George’s County.”
Rhodes holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of North Carolina and masters in Public Administration from American University. At the MSEA, he worked with over 71,000 teachers, administrators and other education professionals. According to Baker’s office, he worked to increase salaries and benefits for Maryland public school employees.
“I am sincerely humbled by the opportunity to work on such an important issue at such an important time in this County, “said Rhodes. “County Executive Baker has elevated the importance of education to new heights in Prince George’s County, and I look forward to doing my part to help move this County’s public school system forward. Dr. Hite is a great leader and I look forward to working closely with him and his team.”
Rhodes is happy to join Baker staff at a critical time for the school system. Hite is attempting to change the county model for the way it budgets with student-based budgeting, which the superintendent’s office says aims to provide equity in funding to each student, give principals some flexibility with the budgets of their schools and provide a more effective way to allocate resources.
“Despite our challenges in this tough economic climate, our goal is to create a budget that keeps our schools moving forward,” stated Hite. “We have made difficult cuts and we still face difficult decisions. However, we must focus our vision and priorities on the school district’s long-term success.”
Hite has proposed a budget that’s roughly $1.6 billion and represents a $238,200 increase over last year. Hite said the increase is necessary to meet the needs of every student.
“The goals of this budget are to address structural issues, allow adequate investment in student needs and build on our fiscal stability, while cutting our overall Maintenance of Effort,” he continued. “We are also empowering school leaders to design unique instructional models that meet student needs. We are promoting transparency in funding decisions. And we are enabling central office to responsively support schools in a culture of innovation.”
