5/12 County Council Meeting -- Gutting MCPS Budget Request to the Tune of $180M

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did they pass the full budget request? I just logged in to watch the live and heard some thing along this line?

It's not official until next week but I believe they have finalized their plan and did their "straw vote" to verify they have enough votes-- if I understand correctly, they took $36M from the MCPS capital budget and shifted it to the MCPS operating budget to limit the MCPS operating budget cuts to $36M.

A $36M cut would mean the first two pages of cuts on the document that Taylor sent out earlier this week (assuming Taylor does not make any adjustments to his recommendations on where to cut from, and the Board of Ed does not make any adjustments either), but no cuts from pages 3-5.

It's not a cut. It is a lower increase than what they asked for.

Yes, but that increase is needed to cover all the things in the budget. You can’t expect them to plug the employee benefits hole, take on more pension cost from the state, have to implement new requirements for Math and for Blueprint, lose government grants and then still have funding for everything. Cuts and changes have to come from somewhere.

I saw this every year, the community should list out what it is they are willing to see cut.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did they pass the full budget request? I just logged in to watch the live and heard some thing along this line?

It's not official until next week but I believe they have finalized their plan and did their "straw vote" to verify they have enough votes-- if I understand correctly, they took $36M from the MCPS capital budget and shifted it to the MCPS operating budget to limit the MCPS operating budget cuts to $36M.

A $36M cut would mean the first two pages of cuts on the document that Taylor sent out earlier this week (assuming Taylor does not make any adjustments to his recommendations on where to cut from, and the Board of Ed does not make any adjustments either), but no cuts from pages 3-5.

It's not a cut. It is a lower increase than what they asked for.

Yes, but that increase is needed to cover all the things in the budget. You can’t expect them to plug the employee benefits hole, take on more pension cost from the state, have to implement new requirements for Math and for Blueprint, lose government grants and then still have funding for everything. Cuts and changes have to come from somewhere.

I saw this every year, the community should list out what it is they are willing to see cut.

$700,000 in swag for Taylor.

Cut

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish we could get legislation passed where county employees (teachers, police, etc) who live outside the county would be taxed an additional 1%. You all chose to move away to make your paychecks stretch farther. You shouldn't get to enjoy MoCo COLA wages while living in Hagerstown.

If they get mad and leave, oh well. Hope they enjoy working for the other districts that pay 25% less than MoCo.

Many cannot afford to live in the county or they would. Most teachers cannot afford it.

Most teachers live in Montgomery County. Quit with the lie that they can't afford it. Lots of us live here on less than a teacher's salary. If they think they're too good to live the lives of the families of the kids they teach, that's a problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish we could get legislation passed where county employees (teachers, police, etc) who live outside the county would be taxed an additional 1%. You all chose to move away to make your paychecks stretch farther. You shouldn't get to enjoy MoCo COLA wages while living in Hagerstown.

If they get mad and leave, oh well. Hope they enjoy working for the other districts that pay 25% less than MoCo.

Many cannot afford to live in the county or they would. Most teachers cannot afford it.

Most teachers live in Montgomery County. Quit with the lie that they can't afford it. Lots of us live here on less than a teacher's salary. If they think they're too good to live the lives of the families of the kids they teach, that's a problem.

What are you even talking about? You sound unhinged. We live in the DMV. Most people don't live in the city they work in. Grow up. Also- "cant afford to" isnt the same as "think they're too good" in any world.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did they pass the full budget request? I just logged in to watch the live and heard some thing along this line?

It's not official until next week but I believe they have finalized their plan and did their "straw vote" to verify they have enough votes-- if I understand correctly, they took $36M from the MCPS capital budget and shifted it to the MCPS operating budget to limit the MCPS operating budget cuts to $36M.

A $36M cut would mean the first two pages of cuts on the document that Taylor sent out earlier this week (assuming Taylor does not make any adjustments to his recommendations on where to cut from, and the Board of Ed does not make any adjustments either), but no cuts from pages 3-5.

It's not a cut. It is a lower increase than what they asked for.

Yes, but that increase is needed to cover all the things in the budget. You can’t expect them to plug the employee benefits hole, take on more pension cost from the state, have to implement new requirements for Math and for Blueprint, lose government grants and then still have funding for everything. Cuts and changes have to come from somewhere.

I saw this every year, the community should list out what it is they are willing to see cut.

Just be honest the money is mostly for the raises. They could reduce them a little to the level the county employees are getting and easily pay for the positions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish we could get legislation passed where county employees (teachers, police, etc) who live outside the county would be taxed an additional 1%. You all chose to move away to make your paychecks stretch farther. You shouldn't get to enjoy MoCo COLA wages while living in Hagerstown.

If they get mad and leave, oh well. Hope they enjoy working for the other districts that pay 25% less than MoCo.

Many cannot afford to live in the county or they would. Most teachers cannot afford it.

Most teachers live in Montgomery County. Quit with the lie that they can't afford it. Lots of us live here on less than a teacher's salary. If they think they're too good to live the lives of the families of the kids they teach, that's a problem.

What are you even talking about? You sound unhinged. We live in the DMV. Most people don't live in the city they work in. Grow up. Also- "cant afford to" isnt the same as "think they're too good" in any world.

You sound like someone says "unhinged" and "grow up" when you don't like the facts. The facts are that the lowest paid MCPS employees live in Montgomery County at the highest rates and the highest paid employees live in Montgomery County at the lowest rates (administrators). Teachers live here at medium rates (approximately 60% of MCEA members live in the county which is why I said most). Another fact is that lots of people live in Montgomery County who couldn't dream of making what a teacher makes. Lots of them have kids that go to our schools.

What that means is that your claim that "most teachers cannot afford it" is just a lie. Most of them can and do afford it and if there are others who choose to live elsewhere, we need to stop acting like that's a crisis. It's not real.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish we could get legislation passed where county employees (teachers, police, etc) who live outside the county would be taxed an additional 1%. You all chose to move away to make your paychecks stretch farther. You shouldn't get to enjoy MoCo COLA wages while living in Hagerstown.

If they get mad and leave, oh well. Hope they enjoy working for the other districts that pay 25% less than MoCo.

Many cannot afford to live in the county or they would. Most teachers cannot afford it.

Most teachers live in Montgomery County. Quit with the lie that they can't afford it. Lots of us live here on less than a teacher's salary. If they think they're too good to live the lives of the families of the kids they teach, that's a problem.

What are you even talking about? You sound unhinged. We live in the DMV. Most people don't live in the city they work in. Grow up. Also- "cant afford to" isnt the same as "think they're too good" in any world.

You sound like someone says "unhinged" and "grow up" when you don't like the facts. The facts are that the lowest paid MCPS employees live in Montgomery County at the highest rates and the highest paid employees live in Montgomery County at the lowest rates (administrators). Teachers live here at medium rates (approximately 60% of MCEA members live in the county which is why I said most). Another fact is that lots of people live in Montgomery County who couldn't dream of making what a teacher makes. Lots of them have kids that go to our schools.

What that means is that your claim that "most teachers cannot afford it" is just a lie. Most of them can and do afford it and if there are others who choose to live elsewhere, we need to stop acting like that's a crisis. It's not real.

DP they make it sound like a crisis because they know the councilmembers are a bunch of scared little biches with no backbone who will cave and give them money we don't have

This budget is going to be a nightmare, there will be savings plans and furloughs

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish we could get legislation passed where county employees (teachers, police, etc) who live outside the county would be taxed an additional 1%. You all chose to move away to make your paychecks stretch farther. You shouldn't get to enjoy MoCo COLA wages while living in Hagerstown.

If they get mad and leave, oh well. Hope they enjoy working for the other districts that pay 25% less than MoCo.

Many cannot afford to live in the county or they would. Most teachers cannot afford it.

Most teachers live in Montgomery County. Quit with the lie that they can't afford it. Lots of us live here on less than a teacher's salary. If they think they're too good to live the lives of the families of the kids they teach, that's a problem.

What are you even talking about? You sound unhinged. We live in the DMV. Most people don't live in the city they work in. Grow up. Also- "cant afford to" isnt the same as "think they're too good" in any world.

You sound like someone says "unhinged" and "grow up" when you don't like the facts. The facts are that the lowest paid MCPS employees live in Montgomery County at the highest rates and the highest paid employees live in Montgomery County at the lowest rates (administrators). Teachers live here at medium rates (approximately 60% of MCEA members live in the county which is why I said most). Another fact is that lots of people live in Montgomery County who couldn't dream of making what a teacher makes. Lots of them have kids that go to our schools.

What that means is that your claim that "most teachers cannot afford it" is just a lie. Most of them can and do afford it and if there are others who choose to live elsewhere, we need to stop acting like that's a crisis. It's not real.

DP- you sound like an angry human being who doesn't know how reality works. Good luck in the future-you'll definitely need it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish we could get legislation passed where county employees (teachers, police, etc) who live outside the county would be taxed an additional 1%. You all chose to move away to make your paychecks stretch farther. You shouldn't get to enjoy MoCo COLA wages while living in Hagerstown.

If they get mad and leave, oh well. Hope they enjoy working for the other districts that pay 25% less than MoCo.

Many cannot afford to live in the county or they would. Most teachers cannot afford it.

Most teachers live in Montgomery County. Quit with the lie that they can't afford it. Lots of us live here on less than a teacher's salary. If they think they're too good to live the lives of the families of the kids they teach, that's a problem.

What are you even talking about? You sound unhinged. We live in the DMV. Most people don't live in the city they work in. Grow up. Also- "cant afford to" isnt the same as "think they're too good" in any world.

You sound like someone says "unhinged" and "grow up" when you don't like the facts. The facts are that the lowest paid MCPS employees live in Montgomery County at the highest rates and the highest paid employees live in Montgomery County at the lowest rates (administrators). Teachers live here at medium rates (approximately 60% of MCEA members live in the county which is why I said most). Another fact is that lots of people live in Montgomery County who couldn't dream of making what a teacher makes. Lots of them have kids that go to our schools.

What that means is that your claim that "most teachers cannot afford it" is just a lie. Most of them can and do afford it and if there are others who choose to live elsewhere, we need to stop acting like that's a crisis. It's not real.

What a whiny pathetic person. DCPS teachers make significantly more than MCPS teachers do and practically none of them live in DC. You'd never see a parent complaining about this on a DCPS forum. You just sound like someone who doesn't make much money,so teachers are the easiest public figures to blame your woes on. Tale as old as time in MCPS bizarro world.

[Anonymous]

Most classroom teachers at my school live in Frederick or Howard counties. I can only think of a few that aren't. I'm not too sure where the claim that the majority reside here is coming from. Can you cite a source?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish we could get legislation passed where county employees (teachers, police, etc) who live outside the county would be taxed an additional 1%. You all chose to move away to make your paychecks stretch farther. You shouldn't get to enjoy MoCo COLA wages while living in Hagerstown.

If they get mad and leave, oh well. Hope they enjoy working for the other districts that pay 25% less than MoCo.

Many cannot afford to live in the county or they would. Most teachers cannot afford it.

Most teachers live in Montgomery County. Quit with the lie that they can't afford it. Lots of us live here on less than a teacher's salary. If they think they're too good to live the lives of the families of the kids they teach, that's a problem.

Younger teachers we know live with parents, roommates or Frederick. If you have a two income household or bought even a few years ago or family money it’s easier.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most classroom teachers at my school live in Frederick or Howard counties. I can only think of a few that aren't. I'm not too sure where the claim that the majority reside here is coming from. Can you cite a source?

What school are you at?

The source is up thread, you can search for it if you want.

Teacher salaries and benefits are better than the median income of most workers in Montgomery County. Those teachers are living in other places because they want a bigger house than most people who live here

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did they pass the full budget request? I just logged in to watch the live and heard some thing along this line?

It's not official until next week but I believe they have finalized their plan and did their "straw vote" to verify they have enough votes-- if I understand correctly, they took $36M from the MCPS capital budget and shifted it to the MCPS operating budget to limit the MCPS operating budget cuts to $36M.

A $36M cut would mean the first two pages of cuts on the document that Taylor sent out earlier this week (assuming Taylor does not make any adjustments to his recommendations on where to cut from, and the Board of Ed does not make any adjustments either), but no cuts from pages 3-5.

It's not a cut. It is a lower increase than what they asked for.

Yes, but that increase is needed to cover all the things in the budget. You can’t expect them to plug the employee benefits hole, take on more pension cost from the state, have to implement new requirements for Math and for Blueprint, lose government grants and then still have funding for everything. Cuts and changes have to come from somewhere.

I saw this every year, the community should list out what it is they are willing to see cut.

Just be honest the money is mostly for the raises. They could reduce them a little to the level the county employees are getting and easily pay for the positions.

No it’s the new regional plan and other changes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did they pass the full budget request? I just logged in to watch the live and heard some thing along this line?

It's not official until next week but I believe they have finalized their plan and did their "straw vote" to verify they have enough votes-- if I understand correctly, they took $36M from the MCPS capital budget and shifted it to the MCPS operating budget to limit the MCPS operating budget cuts to $36M.

A $36M cut would mean the first two pages of cuts on the document that Taylor sent out earlier this week (assuming Taylor does not make any adjustments to his recommendations on where to cut from, and the Board of Ed does not make any adjustments either), but no cuts from pages 3-5.

It's not a cut. It is a lower increase than what they asked for.

Yes, but that increase is needed to cover all the things in the budget. You can’t expect them to plug the employee benefits hole, take on more pension cost from the state, have to implement new requirements for Math and for Blueprint, lose government grants and then still have funding for everything. Cuts and changes have to come from somewhere.

I saw this every year, the community should list out what it is they are willing to see cut.

Just be honest the money is mostly for the raises. They could reduce them a little to the level the county employees are getting and easily pay for the positions.

No it’s the new regional plan and other changes.

Nope, compensation changes cost much more than anything else

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did they pass the full budget request? I just logged in to watch the live and heard some thing along this line?

It's not official until next week but I believe they have finalized their plan and did their "straw vote" to verify they have enough votes-- if I understand correctly, they took $36M from the MCPS capital budget and shifted it to the MCPS operating budget to limit the MCPS operating budget cuts to $36M.

A $36M cut would mean the first two pages of cuts on the document that Taylor sent out earlier this week (assuming Taylor does not make any adjustments to his recommendations on where to cut from, and the Board of Ed does not make any adjustments either), but no cuts from pages 3-5.

It's not a cut. It is a lower increase than what they asked for.

Yes, but that increase is needed to cover all the things in the budget. You can’t expect them to plug the employee benefits hole, take on more pension cost from the state, have to implement new requirements for Math and for Blueprint, lose government grants and then still have funding for everything. Cuts and changes have to come from somewhere.

I saw this every year, the community should list out what it is they are willing to see cut.

Then they redo the budget to make what they have work.