Starr to place spending restrictions on Montgomery school system

[Anonymous]

And so the budget cuts begin...

Seems like they should begin by eliminating Starr's marketing department before institutionalizing full-time subs, but who am I to say - I'm just a resident taxpayer. Nice to see they will no longer fund non-local travel, though I'm sure some exemptions can be made for our fearless leader if he feels like going anywhere.

Another article mentioned that income tax revenue came in "lower than expected." Go figure. MoCo policies of building condos and townhouses on every square inch of available land, loading schools to 150% capacity, minimal road and transit construction, rampant anti-business (ex-housing developers) policies, and excessive tax increases for the past half decade have driven the producing classes to NoVA.



http://www.gazette.net/article/20141128/NEWS/141129305/1124/starr-to-place-spending-restrictions-on-montgomery-school-system&template=FrontpageMobile

"Among the restrictions, the system will not fill vacant classroom-teacher positions with permanent employees, Bowers said. Schools will instead be able to hire substitute teachers.

For other jobs that involve teaching but are not in the classroom — such as counselors or staff development positions — the system will require schools to request a spending exemption, even for a substitute, Bowers said.

Schools can hire only temporary part-time employees for certain other positions, including special education paraeducators, lunch-hour aides, and interpreters, according to a memo from Bowers on Monday.

Other empty positions, including those for principals, assistant principals and building service managers, will be filled only through assigning a current employee at a lower level to a vacant position."

[Anonymous]

have driven the producing classes to NoVA.

I believe Fairfax County has a huge deficit this year too so the producers are not doing very well for them.

[Anonymous]

Looks like the writing is on the wall for teachers... Its a huge devaluation to not replace classroom teachers with full time employees, subs are there to help break the union and eliminate the expenditure for benefits.

The whole of C2.0 is insulting to teachers.

[Anonymous]

If a huge amount of money goes to poor immigrants (legal and especially illegal) there has to be cuts and a lot of them. You want a better school system, less overcrowding, more money going towards your kids and less towards ESL? You need to fight this influx of immigrants entering Montgomery County. Our local government seems to welcome them with open arms with YOUR taxes and seems to think if you question them, you are a racist. You do all realize, this liberal state plays mind games for these minority votes knowing the middle class has to pay the taxes. We finally got a republican governor. Let's hope MC finally wakes up too.

[Anonymous]

This is not the first time these restrictions have been used since my kids were in MCPS. But it is great to see that in 3 posts we can cover/condemn both 2.0 and immigration.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is not the first time these restrictions have been used since my kids were in MCPS. But it is great to see that in 3 posts we can cover/condemn both 2.0 and immigration.

Yes, very efficient. It would be nice if we could now take "2.0 is the worst thing ever!" and "It's all the illegal aliens' fault!" as said and move onto a more substantive discussion.

[Anonymous]

The only reason I supported the gambling legislation several years ago was because the funds were supposed to be directed towards schools. Does anyone know what happened to that money? Also, I am surprised to hear tax revenue has gone down w/ the economy slowly improving. Something doesn't sound right.

[Anonymous]

The only reason I supported the gambling legislation several years ago was because the funds were supposed to be directed towards schools. Does anyone know what happened to that money? Also, I am surprised to hear tax revenue has gone down w/ the economy slowly improving. Something doesn't sound right.

The growth in this area is in DC, VA and Howard County. Montgomery County revenue is declining as a result of the county council's really bad decisions over the past ten years. There is no industry growth in Montgomery County and we're too far behind to compete now for lucrative tech sector jobs. MCPS employees can pretend all they want that 2.0 isn't a disaster but there's no doubt that its hurting real estate values in areas farther outside the beltway that once attracted people looking for good schools. More of the Asian and highly educated families are opting for VA. Howard, or staying where they can afford private schools.

Gambling revenues are always marketed as serving education but almost never result in a net increase in education funding, anywhere. The state's simply reduce the pre-existing allocation for education when the gambling revenue comes in. This political maneuver isn't unique to MD.

[Anonymous]

Is this maybe not a big deal and just a quick bandaid to bridge a one-time budget gap?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is this maybe not a big deal and just a quick bandaid to bridge a one-time budget gap?

I really don't believe so. MCPS/MoCo simply doesn't have money to support projected increase of students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
The growth in this area is in DC, VA and Howard County. Montgomery County revenue is declining as a result of the county council's really bad decisions over the past ten years. There is no industry growth in Montgomery County and we're too far behind to compete now for lucrative tech sector jobs. MCPS employees can pretend all they want that 2.0 isn't a disaster but there's no doubt that its hurting real estate values in areas farther outside the beltway that once attracted people looking for good schools. More of the Asian and highly educated families are opting for VA. Howard, or staying where they can afford private schools.

Gambling revenues are always marketed as serving education but almost never result in a net increase in education funding, anywhere. The state's simply reduce the pre-existing allocation for education when the gambling revenue comes in. This political maneuver isn't unique to MD.

I disagree with every unbolded word in the PP's post, including "and" and "for". But I agree with the bolded part.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If a huge amount of money goes to poor immigrants (legal and especially illegal) there has to be cuts and a lot of them. You want a better school system, less overcrowding, more money going towards your kids and less towards ESL? You need to fight this influx of immigrants entering Montgomery County. Our local government seems to welcome them with open arms with YOUR taxes and seems to think if you question them, you are a racist. You do all realize, this liberal state plays mind games for these minority votes knowing the middle class has to pay the taxes. We finally got a republican governor. Let's hope MC finally wakes up too.

Yes, we should only let rich legal or illegal immigrants into this country because they don't send their kids to public school and use up precious taxpayer funds. How dare those poor Asian immigrants (legal or illegal) increase test scores and make it harder for the middle class white kids to compete. Those Asian immigrants are taking spots away from the white kids in the GT, magnet, IB, TJ programs. They've made schools too competitive with their high test scores. As taxpayers, we should demand they stop their high achievement because it is making it too hard to compete for middle class white kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is not the first time these restrictions have been used since my kids were in MCPS. But it is great to see that in 3 posts we can cover/condemn both 2.0 and immigration.

Yes, very efficient. It would be nice if we could now take "2.0 is the worst thing ever!" and "It's all the illegal aliens' fault!" as said and move onto a more substantive discussion.

So you are saying you believe that the increase in illegal immigrants in this country has had no side effects on the economy or the school's budget? Look, enough with the PC garbage. No one is saying it is all their fault but the reality is, the influx of poor minorities with the decrease of wealthier or middle class citizens leaves a county stretched beyond it's means. That is where MC is right now. How do you suppose we get better. How do we prevent becoming PG county?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is not the first time these restrictions have been used since my kids were in MCPS. But it is great to see that in 3 posts we can cover/condemn both 2.0 and immigration.

Yes, very efficient. It would be nice if we could now take "2.0 is the worst thing ever!" and "It's all the illegal aliens' fault!" as said and move onto a more substantive discussion.

So you are saying you believe that the increase in illegal immigrants in this country has had no side effects on the economy or the school's budget? Look, enough with the PC garbage. No one is saying it is all their fault but the reality is, the influx of poor minorities with the decrease of wealthier or middle class citizens leaves a county stretched beyond it's means. That is where MC is right now. How do you suppose we get better. How do we prevent becoming PG county?

The people who make Prince George's County Prince George's County in the "how can we stop Montgomery County from becoming PG County" sense are not illegal immigrants. Their ancestors have been in the US far longer than mine. (My ancestors are from Europe.)

But if you're asking me how we can make sure that Montgomery County remains an affluent white suburb -- we can't. It's not 1975 any more, even if some people wish it were.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If a huge amount of money goes to poor immigrants (legal and especially illegal) there has to be cuts and a lot of them. You want a better school system, less overcrowding, more money going towards your kids and less towards ESL? You need to fight this influx of immigrants entering Montgomery County. Our local government seems to welcome them with open arms with YOUR taxes and seems to think if you question them, you are a racist. You do all realize, this liberal state plays mind games for these minority votes knowing the middle class has to pay the taxes. We finally got a republican governor. Let's hope MC finally wakes up too.

Yes, we should only let rich legal or illegal immigrants into this country because they don't send their kids to public school and use up precious taxpayer funds. How dare those poor Asian immigrants (legal or illegal) increase test scores and make it harder for the middle class white kids to compete. Those Asian immigrants are taking spots away from the white kids in the GT, magnet, IB, TJ programs. They've made schools too competitive with their high test scores. As taxpayers, we should demand they stop their high achievement because it is making it too hard to compete for middle class white kids.

Um, no one said anything about Asians or test scores. You really are paranoid.