Has the fall off of MCPS been as bad as people say?

[Anonymous]

We have kids at a DCC elementary school (Focus school with demographics pretty close to the county average, i.e. 40%ish FARMS, 30%ish EML, racial demographics similar as well) and are pretty happy. It's not, like, an A+ school experience, but a solid B+/A- type school experience, if you know what I mean? I don't know about how things "used to be" but I certainly wouldn't call things "bad," not for us anyway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What are the chances that all the positive comments are coming from parents of Ws (including "honorary" BCC), Blair/Poolesville magnets or RMIB? The OP/topic clearly is system-wide, and we know MCPS doesn't provide equitable experiences across clusters.

The vast majority of MoCo parents IRL are happy with MCPS.
Most of the ones posting here are private schools parents, trolls and wannabes.
DCUM is not real life.

And that's not true but it's okkay...

It's true. Over 80%

No, it's not.

https://montgomeryperspective.com/2025/03/06/county-survey-resident-perception-of-moco-declines/

K-12 education received a 68% positive rating in 2024. That’s below the 81-82% range of the earlier surveys, a precipitous drop. Superintendent Thomas Taylor’s recommended budget increase is so huge that it will probably require a property tax increase to fully fund. If residents’ perceptions of MCPS are indeed declining, are they willing to pay?

13% response rate. < 1000 responses.

Happy people don’t take surveys.

So 42% of 13% are unhappy. That is 5% so that’s a 95% positivity rating

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What are the chances that all the positive comments are coming from parents of Ws (including "honorary" BCC), Blair/Poolesville magnets or RMIB? The OP/topic clearly is system-wide, and we know MCPS doesn't provide equitable experiences across clusters.

The vast majority of MoCo parents IRL are happy with MCPS.
Most of the ones posting here are private schools parents, trolls and wannabes.
DCUM is not real life.

And that's not true but it's okkay...

It's true. Over 80%

No, it's not.

https://montgomeryperspective.com/2025/03/06/county-survey-resident-perception-of-moco-declines/

K-12 education received a 68% positive rating in 2024. That’s below the 81-82% range of the earlier surveys, a precipitous drop. Superintendent Thomas Taylor’s recommended budget increase is so huge that it will probably require a property tax increase to fully fund. If residents’ perceptions of MCPS are indeed declining, are they willing to pay?

13% response rate. < 1000 responses.

Happy people don’t take surveys.

So 42% of 13% are unhappy. That is 5% so that’s a 95% positivity rating

That response rate is up from 2021. Did you dismiss the previous survey results as invalid based on response rate or do you only dismiss the results when they’re unfavorable to MCPS?

If you have issues with the county’s methodology, take it up with the county.

[Anonymous]

The Takoma Park crowd and County Council has really led the County and MCPS to a bad place. 15 years ago MCPS had the best schools in the DMV. Now, folks are trying wondering what happened and how did it get so bad so quickly. Well, its likely going to get worse, unless the County realizes its mistakes and MCPS will continue the trend of most of the best student leaving for private school which will further erode school performance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Takoma Park crowd and County Council has really led the County and MCPS to a bad place. 15 years ago MCPS had the best schools in the DMV. Now, folks are trying wondering what happened and how did it get so bad so quickly. Well, its likely going to get worse, unless the County realizes its mistakes and MCPS will continue the trend of most of the best student leaving for private school which will further erode school performance.

So your understanding is that "school performance" is driven by the best students and if those students leave then the schools become worse?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Takoma Park crowd and County Council has really led the County and MCPS to a bad place. 15 years ago MCPS had the best schools in the DMV. Now, folks are trying wondering what happened and how did it get so bad so quickly. Well, its likely going to get worse, unless the County realizes its mistakes and MCPS will continue the trend of most of the best student leaving for private school which will further erode school performance.

So your understanding is that "school performance" is driven by the best students and if those students leave then the schools become worse?

Doesnt it stand to reason?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Takoma Park crowd and County Council has really led the County and MCPS to a bad place. 15 years ago MCPS had the best schools in the DMV. Now, folks are trying wondering what happened and how did it get so bad so quickly. Well, its likely going to get worse, unless the County realizes its mistakes and MCPS will continue the trend of most of the best student leaving for private school which will further erode school performance.

Only those loud minority on DCUM.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Takoma Park crowd and County Council has really led the County and MCPS to a bad place. 15 years ago MCPS had the best schools in the DMV. Now, folks are trying wondering what happened and how did it get so bad so quickly. Well, its likely going to get worse, unless the County realizes its mistakes and MCPS will continue the trend of most of the best student leaving for private school which will further erode school performance.

Different person. Yup. You nailed it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Takoma Park crowd and County Council has really led the County and MCPS to a bad place. 15 years ago MCPS had the best schools in the DMV. Now, folks are trying wondering what happened and how did it get so bad so quickly. Well, its likely going to get worse, unless the County realizes its mistakes and MCPS will continue the trend of most of the best student leaving for private school which will further erode school performance.

Only those loud minority on DCUM.

Another BOE or MCPS CO or TKPK rah, rah cheerleader? But it won't change the facts, no matter how much you blog here. Go ahead and do the Marie Antoinette thing all you want. Just don't be surprised when TKPK feels the squeeze.

MCPS is sliding and if they don't cut it out, they're headed to the dumpster. And guess what. All those cush six-figure Hungerford CO jobs and TKPK programs and special buses to TJ will be the first things cut from the budget. MCPS really can't read the handwriting on the wall, can they? Let me connect the dots for you.

1. Electric prices are through the roof. Not only are residents pocketbooks hit, but all those shiny electric buses that MCPS bought will draw down their operating budget.
2. Feds are let go. Many of them were in MC (ex. FDA, USDA, etc.). Even though they got a temporary boost from a VERA or VSIP, that money will run out by around xmas. From there, the job market is pretty bleak and you should see a whole bunch of super expensive houses up for fire sale come spring.
3. No expensive houses = less tax revenue = budget shortfall. Who's got the biggest chunk of labor budget who can be cut? You guessed it. MCPS will be belt tightening.
4. MAGA turned all those same TKPK lefties MCPS catered to into omega dogs... so no bailout help coming for at least 3+ years. That's a lot of budget shortfall to eat.

IF MCPS was smart, they'd start drawing down the budget now to avoid teacher cuts. The problem is that when was the last time MCPS did anything that made common sense? My guess is two years from now it will be a bloodbath. And here's the rub - if MCPS does something really stupid like cut academic programs in favor of friends-and-family programs, you can bet that parents will push for vouchers. MC Council won't have any choice but to pass it. Why? Because it's cheaper and they can draw down labor. Once that happens, MCPS will go the way of many, many other metropolitan public school systems and become a place that's more of a penal colony than an educational system.

Y'all better wake up. If you care about public education, better stop playing games.

But whatever. I've said my peace. Y'all can go on and bicker like you always do about how great MCPS is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Takoma Park crowd and County Council has really led the County and MCPS to a bad place. 15 years ago MCPS had the best schools in the DMV. Now, folks are trying wondering what happened and how did it get so bad so quickly. Well, its likely going to get worse, unless the County realizes its mistakes and MCPS will continue the trend of most of the best student leaving for private school which will further erode school performance.

Only those loud minority on DCUM.

Another BOE or MCPS CO or TKPK rah, rah cheerleader? But it won't change the facts, no matter how much you blog here. Go ahead and do the Marie Antoinette thing all you want. Just don't be surprised when TKPK feels the squeeze.

MCPS is sliding and if they don't cut it out, they're headed to the dumpster. And guess what. All those cush six-figure Hungerford CO jobs and TKPK programs and special buses to TJ will be the first things cut from the budget. MCPS really can't read the handwriting on the wall, can they? Let me connect the dots for you.

1. Electric prices are through the roof. Not only are residents pocketbooks hit, but all those shiny electric buses that MCPS bought will draw down their operating budget.
2. Feds are let go. Many of them were in MC (ex. FDA, USDA, etc.). Even though they got a temporary boost from a VERA or VSIP, that money will run out by around xmas. From there, the job market is pretty bleak and you should see a whole bunch of super expensive houses up for fire sale come spring.
3. No expensive houses = less tax revenue = budget shortfall. Who's got the biggest chunk of labor budget who can be cut? You guessed it. MCPS will be belt tightening.
4. MAGA turned all those same TKPK lefties MCPS catered to into omega dogs... so no bailout help coming for at least 3+ years. That's a lot of budget shortfall to eat.

IF MCPS was smart, they'd start drawing down the budget now to avoid teacher cuts. The problem is that when was the last time MCPS did anything that made common sense? My guess is two years from now it will be a bloodbath. And here's the rub - if MCPS does something really stupid like cut academic programs in favor of friends-and-family programs, you can bet that parents will push for vouchers. MC Council won't have any choice but to pass it. Why? Because it's cheaper and they can draw down labor. Once that happens, MCPS will go the way of many, many other metropolitan public school systems and become a place that's more of a penal colony than an educational system.

Y'all better wake up. If you care about public education, better stop playing games.

But whatever. I've said my peace. Y'all can go on and bicker like you always do about how great MCPS is.

This.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Takoma Park crowd and County Council has really led the County and MCPS to a bad place. 15 years ago MCPS had the best schools in the DMV. Now, folks are trying wondering what happened and how did it get so bad so quickly. Well, its likely going to get worse, unless the County realizes its mistakes and MCPS will continue the trend of most of the best student leaving for private school which will further erode school performance.

Only those loud minority on DCUM.

Another BOE or MCPS CO or TKPK rah, rah cheerleader? But it won't change the facts, no matter how much you blog here. Go ahead and do the Marie Antoinette thing all you want. Just don't be surprised when TKPK feels the squeeze.

MCPS is sliding and if they don't cut it out, they're headed to the dumpster. And guess what. All those cush six-figure Hungerford CO jobs and TKPK programs and special buses to TJ will be the first things cut from the budget. MCPS really can't read the handwriting on the wall, can they? Let me connect the dots for you.

1. Electric prices are through the roof. Not only are residents pocketbooks hit, but all those shiny electric buses that MCPS bought will draw down their operating budget.
2. Feds are let go. Many of them were in MC (ex. FDA, USDA, etc.). Even though they got a temporary boost from a VERA or VSIP, that money will run out by around xmas. From there, the job market is pretty bleak and you should see a whole bunch of super expensive houses up for fire sale come spring.
3. No expensive houses = less tax revenue = budget shortfall. Who's got the biggest chunk of labor budget who can be cut? You guessed it. MCPS will be belt tightening.
4. MAGA turned all those same TKPK lefties MCPS catered to into omega dogs... so no bailout help coming for at least 3+ years. That's a lot of budget shortfall to eat.

IF MCPS was smart, they'd start drawing down the budget now to avoid teacher cuts. The problem is that when was the last time MCPS did anything that made common sense? My guess is two years from now it will be a bloodbath. And here's the rub - if MCPS does something really stupid like cut academic programs in favor of friends-and-family programs, you can bet that parents will push for vouchers. MC Council won't have any choice but to pass it. Why? Because it's cheaper and they can draw down labor. Once that happens, MCPS will go the way of many, many other metropolitan public school systems and become a place that's more of a penal colony than an educational system.

Y'all better wake up. If you care about public education, better stop playing games.

But whatever. I've said my peace. Y'all can go on and bicker like you always do about how great MCPS is.

Really doubt you’ll see firesale on MoCo houses— and no idea what “omega dogs” are or how that’s relevant.

Bottom line is no one doubts there’s been changes to the county and MCPS and for DCUMlandia they probably haven’t been improvements but neither the county nor the schools are the shithole that some of you seem to want to think they are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Takoma Park crowd and County Council has really led the County and MCPS to a bad place. 15 years ago MCPS had the best schools in the DMV. Now, folks are trying wondering what happened and how did it get so bad so quickly. Well, its likely going to get worse, unless the County realizes its mistakes and MCPS will continue the trend of most of the best student leaving for private school which will further erode school performance.

Only those loud minority on DCUM.

Another BOE or MCPS CO or TKPK rah, rah cheerleader? But it won't change the facts, no matter how much you blog here. Go ahead and do the Marie Antoinette thing all you want. Just don't be surprised when TKPK feels the squeeze.

MCPS is sliding and if they don't cut it out, they're headed to the dumpster. And guess what. All those cush six-figure Hungerford CO jobs and TKPK programs and special buses to TJ will be the first things cut from the budget. MCPS really can't read the handwriting on the wall, can they? Let me connect the dots for you.

1. Electric prices are through the roof. Not only are residents pocketbooks hit, but all those shiny electric buses that MCPS bought will draw down their operating budget.
2. Feds are let go. Many of them were in MC (ex. FDA, USDA, etc.). Even though they got a temporary boost from a VERA or VSIP, that money will run out by around xmas. From there, the job market is pretty bleak and you should see a whole bunch of super expensive houses up for fire sale come spring.
3. No expensive houses = less tax revenue = budget shortfall. Who's got the biggest chunk of labor budget who can be cut? You guessed it. MCPS will be belt tightening.
4. MAGA turned all those same TKPK lefties MCPS catered to into omega dogs... so no bailout help coming for at least 3+ years. That's a lot of budget shortfall to eat.

IF MCPS was smart, they'd start drawing down the budget now to avoid teacher cuts. The problem is that when was the last time MCPS did anything that made common sense? My guess is two years from now it will be a bloodbath. And here's the rub - if MCPS does something really stupid like cut academic programs in favor of friends-and-family programs, you can bet that parents will push for vouchers. MC Council won't have any choice but to pass it. Why? Because it's cheaper and they can draw down labor. Once that happens, MCPS will go the way of many, many other metropolitan public school systems and become a place that's more of a penal colony than an educational system.

Y'all better wake up. If you care about public education, better stop playing games.

But whatever. I've said my peace. Y'all can go on and bicker like you always do about how great MCPS is.

These trolls always reveal themselves

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Takoma Park crowd and County Council has really led the County and MCPS to a bad place. 15 years ago MCPS had the best schools in the DMV. Now, folks are trying wondering what happened and how did it get so bad so quickly. Well, its likely going to get worse, unless the County realizes its mistakes and MCPS will continue the trend of most of the best student leaving for private school which will further erode school performance.

Only those loud minority on DCUM.

Another BOE or MCPS CO or TKPK rah, rah cheerleader? But it won't change the facts, no matter how much you blog here. Go ahead and do the Marie Antoinette thing all you want. Just don't be surprised when TKPK feels the squeeze.

MCPS is sliding and if they don't cut it out, they're headed to the dumpster. And guess what. All those cush six-figure Hungerford CO jobs and TKPK programs and special buses to TJ will be the first things cut from the budget. MCPS really can't read the handwriting on the wall, can they? Let me connect the dots for you.

1. Electric prices are through the roof. Not only are residents pocketbooks hit, but all those shiny electric buses that MCPS bought will draw down their operating budget.
2. Feds are let go. Many of them were in MC (ex. FDA, USDA, etc.). Even though they got a temporary boost from a VERA or VSIP, that money will run out by around xmas. From there, the job market is pretty bleak and you should see a whole bunch of super expensive houses up for fire sale come spring.
3. No expensive houses = less tax revenue = budget shortfall. Who's got the biggest chunk of labor budget who can be cut? You guessed it. MCPS will be belt tightening.
4. MAGA turned all those same TKPK lefties MCPS catered to into omega dogs... so no bailout help coming for at least 3+ years. That's a lot of budget shortfall to eat.

IF MCPS was smart, they'd start drawing down the budget now to avoid teacher cuts. The problem is that when was the last time MCPS did anything that made common sense? My guess is two years from now it will be a bloodbath. And here's the rub - if MCPS does something really stupid like cut academic programs in favor of friends-and-family programs, you can bet that parents will push for vouchers. MC Council won't have any choice but to pass it. Why? Because it's cheaper and they can draw down labor. Once that happens, MCPS will go the way of many, many other metropolitan public school systems and become a place that's more of a penal colony than an educational system.

Y'all better wake up. If you care about public education, better stop playing games.

But whatever. I've said my peace. Y'all can go on and bicker like you always do about how great MCPS is.

This.

Troll agreeing with troll

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Takoma Park crowd and County Council has really led the County and MCPS to a bad place. 15 years ago MCPS had the best schools in the DMV. Now, folks are trying wondering what happened and how did it get so bad so quickly. Well, its likely going to get worse, unless the County realizes its mistakes and MCPS will continue the trend of most of the best student leaving for private school which will further erode school performance.

Only those loud minority on DCUM.

Another BOE or MCPS CO or TKPK rah, rah cheerleader? But it won't change the facts, no matter how much you blog here. Go ahead and do the Marie Antoinette thing all you want. Just don't be surprised when TKPK feels the squeeze.

MCPS is sliding and if they don't cut it out, they're headed to the dumpster. And guess what. All those cush six-figure Hungerford CO jobs and TKPK programs and special buses to TJ will be the first things cut from the budget. MCPS really can't read the handwriting on the wall, can they? Let me connect the dots for you.

1. Electric prices are through the roof. Not only are residents pocketbooks hit, but all those shiny electric buses that MCPS bought will draw down their operating budget.
2. Feds are let go. Many of them were in MC (ex. FDA, USDA, etc.). Even though they got a temporary boost from a VERA or VSIP, that money will run out by around xmas. From there, the job market is pretty bleak and you should see a whole bunch of super expensive houses up for fire sale come spring.
3. No expensive houses = less tax revenue = budget shortfall. Who's got the biggest chunk of labor budget who can be cut? You guessed it. MCPS will be belt tightening.
4. MAGA turned all those same TKPK lefties MCPS catered to into omega dogs... so no bailout help coming for at least 3+ years. That's a lot of budget shortfall to eat.

IF MCPS was smart, they'd start drawing down the budget now to avoid teacher cuts. The problem is that when was the last time MCPS did anything that made common sense? My guess is two years from now it will be a bloodbath. And here's the rub - if MCPS does something really stupid like cut academic programs in favor of friends-and-family programs, you can bet that parents will push for vouchers. MC Council won't have any choice but to pass it. Why? Because it's cheaper and they can draw down labor. Once that happens, MCPS will go the way of many, many other metropolitan public school systems and become a place that's more of a penal colony than an educational system.

Y'all better wake up. If you care about public education, better stop playing games.

But whatever. I've said my peace. Y'all can go on and bicker like you always do about how great MCPS is.

Really doubt you’ll see firesale on MoCo houses— and no idea what “omega dogs” are or how that’s relevant.

Bottom line is no one doubts there’s been changes to the county and MCPS and for DCUMlandia they probably haven’t been improvements but neither the county nor the schools are the shithole that some of you seem to want to think they are.

That’s because your standards are low. I don’t even know how people like you ended up in moco. That itself says a lot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Takoma Park crowd and County Council has really led the County and MCPS to a bad place. 15 years ago MCPS had the best schools in the DMV. Now, folks are trying wondering what happened and how did it get so bad so quickly. Well, its likely going to get worse, unless the County realizes its mistakes and MCPS will continue the trend of most of the best student leaving for private school which will further erode school performance.

Only those loud minority on DCUM.

Another BOE or MCPS CO or TKPK rah, rah cheerleader? But it won't change the facts, no matter how much you blog here. Go ahead and do the Marie Antoinette thing all you want. Just don't be surprised when TKPK feels the squeeze.

MCPS is sliding and if they don't cut it out, they're headed to the dumpster. And guess what. All those cush six-figure Hungerford CO jobs and TKPK programs and special buses to TJ will be the first things cut from the budget. MCPS really can't read the handwriting on the wall, can they? Let me connect the dots for you.

1. Electric prices are through the roof. Not only are residents pocketbooks hit, but all those shiny electric buses that MCPS bought will draw down their operating budget.
2. Feds are let go. Many of them were in MC (ex. FDA, USDA, etc.). Even though they got a temporary boost from a VERA or VSIP, that money will run out by around xmas. From there, the job market is pretty bleak and you should see a whole bunch of super expensive houses up for fire sale come spring.
3. No expensive houses = less tax revenue = budget shortfall. Who's got the biggest chunk of labor budget who can be cut? You guessed it. MCPS will be belt tightening.
4. MAGA turned all those same TKPK lefties MCPS catered to into omega dogs... so no bailout help coming for at least 3+ years. That's a lot of budget shortfall to eat.

IF MCPS was smart, they'd start drawing down the budget now to avoid teacher cuts. The problem is that when was the last time MCPS did anything that made common sense? My guess is two years from now it will be a bloodbath. And here's the rub - if MCPS does something really stupid like cut academic programs in favor of friends-and-family programs, you can bet that parents will push for vouchers. MC Council won't have any choice but to pass it. Why? Because it's cheaper and they can draw down labor. Once that happens, MCPS will go the way of many, many other metropolitan public school systems and become a place that's more of a penal colony than an educational system.

Y'all better wake up. If you care about public education, better stop playing games.

But whatever. I've said my peace. Y'all can go on and bicker like you always do about how great MCPS is.

This.

Troll agreeing with troll

How am I troll for agreeing with something we’re free to have opinions aren’t we?