Are Principals, Assistant Principals ALLOWED to advocate?

[Anonymous]

Are they ALLOWED to advocate to make changes to the neighborhood in which the MCPS school where they work is located, i.e. contact a County Representative or State Delegate or State Senator, MD DOT, MCDOT to bring a dangerous intersection that is used to cross by students of their school? Is the PTSA allowed to advocate? A very annoying PTSA President said they can not get involved in political "stuff." It is not political, it is a safety thing but that PTSA President thinks if involving county and state elected officials, it is political. Please provide any insights you may have.

[Anonymous]

No, they are not.

[Anonymous]

Street across our HS needs a new pedestrian signal because there is a dangerous curve where a vehichle can't see pedestrians, cyclists coming on the sidewalk to cross at the crosswalk. The school's administration team told parents to call 311. That's all. No advice and not willing to advocate. Didn't know they can't advocate for their own community. Sad.

[Anonymous]

Are you asking about road/sidewalk/intersection improvements in the neighborhood? Yes, of course they can advocate for safety improvements. Any citizen can. The Principal/AP can bring it up to internal MCPS transportation for safety review. Don’t know why your PTSA thinks they can’t.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are you asking about road/sidewalk/intersection improvements in the neighborhood? Yes, of course they can advocate for safety improvements. Any citizen can. The Principal/AP can bring it up to internal MCPS transportation for safety review. Don’t know why your PTSA thinks they can’t.

Thanks. Please become a PTSA president if you can, need more competent ones, not just loquacious ones gossiping

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are they ALLOWED to advocate to make changes to the neighborhood in which the MCPS school where they work is located, i.e. contact a County Representative or State Delegate or State Senator, MD DOT, MCDOT to bring a dangerous intersection that is used to cross by students of their school? Is the PTSA allowed to advocate? A very annoying PTSA President said they can not get involved in political "stuff." It is not political, it is a safety thing but that PTSA President thinks if involving county and state elected officials, it is political. Please provide any insights you may have.

*to bring improvements/changes, obviously not to bring a dangerous intersection

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are you asking about road/sidewalk/intersection improvements in the neighborhood? Yes, of course they can advocate for safety improvements. Any citizen can. The Principal/AP can bring it up to internal MCPS transportation for safety review. Don’t know why your PTSA thinks they can’t.

+1 A PTSA can't get involved in political campaigns or advocate for candidates, but they can absolutely advocate for safety issues such as this one. In fact, I'd argue that facilitating engagement between the school community and elected officials is one of the most impactful things a PTSA can do, much more than a bake sale or cultural night.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you asking about road/sidewalk/intersection improvements in the neighborhood? Yes, of course they can advocate for safety improvements. Any citizen can. The Principal/AP can bring it up to internal MCPS transportation for safety review. Don’t know why your PTSA thinks they can’t.

+1 A PTSA can't get involved in political campaigns or advocate for candidates, but they can absolutely advocate for safety issues such as this one. In fact, I'd argue that facilitating engagement between the school community and elected officials is one of the most impactful things a PTSA can do, much more than a bake sale or cultural night.

Yes a PTA can advocate for safety issues. They cannot advocate for political parties or individuals. If your PTA does not want to advocate then form a concerned parents group and advocate yourself. Ultimately PTAs are made of volunteers donating their time unpaid so to a large extent they decide if they have the time or energy to take on projects. If your PTA really believes it is not allowed to advocate you should become the PTA MCCPTA delegate which will allow you full access to all the rules plus a community of PTAs who do advocate who can give advice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you asking about road/sidewalk/intersection improvements in the neighborhood? Yes, of course they can advocate for safety improvements. Any citizen can. The Principal/AP can bring it up to internal MCPS transportation for safety review. Don’t know why your PTSA thinks they can’t.

Thanks. Please become a PTSA president if you can, need more competent ones, not just loquacious ones gossiping

Have you run for president in your PTSA?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you asking about road/sidewalk/intersection improvements in the neighborhood? Yes, of course they can advocate for safety improvements. Any citizen can. The Principal/AP can bring it up to internal MCPS transportation for safety review. Don’t know why your PTSA thinks they can’t.

+1 A PTSA can't get involved in political campaigns or advocate for candidates, but they can absolutely advocate for safety issues such as this one. In fact, I'd argue that facilitating engagement between the school community and elected officials is one of the most impactful things a PTSA can do, much more than a bake sale or cultural night.

Yes a PTA can advocate for safety issues. They cannot advocate for political parties or individuals. If your PTA does not want to advocate then form a concerned parents group and advocate yourself. Ultimately PTAs are made of volunteers donating their time unpaid so to a large extent they decide if they have the time or energy to take on projects. If your PTA really believes it is not allowed to advocate you should become the PTA MCCPTA delegate which will allow you full access to all the rules plus a community of PTAs who do advocate who can give advice.

Thanks for thinking of us little ole parents. But no thanks to MCCPTA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you asking about road/sidewalk/intersection improvements in the neighborhood? Yes, of course they can advocate for safety improvements. Any citizen can. The Principal/AP can bring it up to internal MCPS transportation for safety review. Don’t know why your PTSA thinks they can’t.

Thanks. Please become a PTSA president if you can, need more competent ones, not just loquacious ones gossiping

Have you run for president in your PTSA?

Smart one dont. If that PTSA president didn't want to work on safety issues, they shouldn't have run.

[Anonymous]

I would like to know why the MCCPTA has not taken a position on the budget cuts that have been proposed. The silence is deafening.

[Anonymous]

Both our PTA president and elementary school principal submitted letters to the county in support of installing a sidewalk in an area close to the school that didn’t have any. This was 5 or so years ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Both our PTA president and elementary school principal submitted letters to the county in support of installing a sidewalk in an area close to the school that didn’t have any. This was 5 or so years ago.

Yes, that is true they did that near ours too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are they ALLOWED to advocate to make changes to the neighborhood in which the MCPS school where they work is located, i.e. contact a County Representative or State Delegate or State Senator, MD DOT, MCDOT to bring a dangerous intersection that is used to cross by students of their school? Is the PTSA allowed to advocate? A very annoying PTSA President said they can not get involved in political "stuff." It is not political, it is a safety thing but that PTSA President thinks if involving county and state elected officials, it is political. Please provide any insights you may have.

My kid's elementary principal advocated and testified about overcrowding and why a new school was needed to alleviate the problem. She was involuntarily transferred the next year.