FCPS School Board and Brabrand Must Go

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, from all the board meetings I've seen and all the town halls, I think the school board is the problem. If Brabrand and Presidio were allowed to just roll with the plans they have, we would have a lot more certainty and that would allow the plans to be rolled out more effectively.

What seems to happen is that Brabrand presents a plan, then the school board amazes themselves with their ingenious modifications and questions about how every one else is doing X, and then they ask for more time and more information, which delays their approval. Then after they adjust and modify and change their priorities, the sausage that comes out is disgusting.

We all would be better off just allowing the chef to make the meal and accept that it isn't keto-friendly, lactose-free, vegan or made-to-order. But it will nourish you and taste better than when you have 12 different amateur cooks all adding a little of this and taking out a little of that and generally making a disgusting mess of a meal.

I am not a fan of Brabrand, but I agree that the majority of the SB are the failure. Unfortunately, they can only be re-elected in 2023. The only way to remove any of them is by petition. People can start it, who knows, maybe we will see changes. The level of experience and education of some school board members just shocking...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This Post article is an indictment of some deep incompetence within FCPS: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/fairfax-schools-online-learning-blackboard/2020/04/18/3db6b19c-80b5-11ea-9040-68981f488eed_story.html

Making one IT person (Luftglass) the fall person for this disaster will not suffice.

Brabrand needs to step down immediately.

Corbett Sanders must leave the School Board. As a two time Chair of the School Board, it was her responsibility to make sure FCPS administrators were on top of things. She failed miserably, just as she has failed before in recent years (while making sure money that should have spent across the county ended up spent largely in her district).

Agree that Braband needs to go. But most of the school board was brand new when covid hit and are only cleaning up a mess that was left after years of control by people who simply did whatever the superintendent wanted and never questioned or performed any real oversight at all. Administration literally had NO oversight, and largely did nothing but pay itself a lot of money and expand its numbers for years. This school board is dedicated to addressing that and providing more accountability, but the pandemic started just after they did and they did not have time to even start on their agenda before they had to deal with it. The incompetence shown was the result of years of lack of oversight in the administration itself, which left a bunch of useless paper pushers just marking time until retirement and not doing the jobs they were being over paid for.

+1000. And there are others in senior roles at Gatehouse whose incompetence would receive more scrutiny, but for the fact that the kids have not been in the buildings. FTS is every bit as big a mess as IT, except they get to spend even more money.

[Anonymous]

The School Board is a mess, and has been the past couple cycles. They try to micromanage with little or no knowledge. They do not act like a Board, they try to act as administrator, counselor, and teacher experts. Garza ran for the hills for good reason. Who would want to work with such a dysfunctional, self-aggrandizing crew? It actually seems a little better now with this group, but they are still a wrecking ball.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is no question that FCPS over the past few months has been a disaster. This new FCPS school board is filled with egomaniacal fools. They lack the experience and strength to hold Superintendent Brabrand and administration to account, and they instead focus all their energy on sending out repetitive newsletters, isolating video clips of themselves and holding juvenile “quaranstreams.” I’ve received as many as six newsletters from school board members in one day. This shows their lack of respect for the community—they only respect themselves. Most gallingly, they voted in secret to add 1.5 personal staff for each board member without disclosing it to the public, amounting to more than $1M in additional taxpayer dollars.

They’ve been in office less than four months and have already run the system into the ground. It’s no wonder principals and staff are revolting against the board and Brabrand. Hopefully the community and parents will revolt, too, so we can get new leadership.

You have no idea what a real disaster is, and want a quick fix. A post on DCUM gets you nowhere. Focus your energy on solutions you can provide. And, run for school board if you think you can do much better. Or even better, try being a Superintendent for a day and see how well you do.

Just stop complaining. Get out of the FCPS and DCUM bubble and check out the real world.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The School Board is a mess, and has been the past couple cycles. They try to micromanage with little or no knowledge. They do not act like a Board, they try to act as administrator, counselor, and teacher experts. Garza ran for the hills for good reason. Who would want to work with such a dysfunctional, self-aggrandizing crew? It actually seems a little better now with this group, but they are still a wrecking ball.

Garza was useless. And she left before her contract was done just to cash in on her FCPS stint with a for profit company. Shameless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is no question that FCPS over the past few months has been a disaster. This new FCPS school board is filled with egomaniacal fools. They lack the experience and strength to hold Superintendent Brabrand and administration to account, and they instead focus all their energy on sending out repetitive newsletters, isolating video clips of themselves and holding juvenile “quaranstreams.” I’ve received as many as six newsletters from school board members in one day. This shows their lack of respect for the community—they only respect themselves. Most gallingly, they voted in secret to add 1.5 personal staff for each board member without disclosing it to the public, amounting to more than $1M in additional taxpayer dollars.

They’ve been in office less than four months and have already run the system into the ground. It’s no wonder principals and staff are revolting against the board and Brabrand. Hopefully the community and parents will revolt, too, so we can get new leadership.

You have no idea what a real disaster is, and want a quick fix. A post on DCUM gets you nowhere. Focus your energy on solutions you can provide. And, run for school board if you think you can do much better. Or even better, try being a Superintendent for a day and see how well you do.

Just stop complaining. Get out of the FCPS and DCUM bubble and check out the real world.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The School Board is a mess, and has been the past couple cycles. They try to micromanage with little or no knowledge. They do not act like a Board, they try to act as administrator, counselor, and teacher experts. Garza ran for the hills for good reason. Who would want to work with such a dysfunctional, self-aggrandizing crew? It actually seems a little better now with this group, but they are still a wrecking ball.

Garza was useless. And she left before her contract was done just to cash in on her FCPS stint with a for profit company. Shameless.

She left because the School Board was a menacing mess. She was not going to be pushed around and had a better offer. The Board blew that one and they know it, though it has not seemed to change them or influence the new Board much. They are in charge now and everything is going great

[Anonymous]

You wack jobs. Do you want them to get rid of covid too?

They acted decisively and early and we are lucky to have them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You wack jobs. Do you want them to get rid of covid too?

They acted decisively and early and we are lucky to have them.

Exactly. It's amazing to me how much you can say when you don't know what you're talking about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why don't you let them figure this out. Then find out what went wrong. Then advicate for corrective action.

Demanding termination of the superintendent at this time would be even more disruptive. He's doing his best to solve the problem. Maybe it's someone in IT who screwed up.. Maybe it's BB didn't provide what they promised. Maybe it's something else.

Proceed with logic. Not a lynch mob emotion.

They should require you use your school login to join videoconferencing (so your real name appears), and the teacher to let each person into the room.

MCPS did this from the start. It's a configuration option. Why did FCPS not think to do the same thing. This is basic IT stuff, and with numerous articles about "zoombombing", how did they not think of this?

MCPS only did it because we saw the sh!tshow that happened in your district.

[Anonymous]

Yes, Montgomery County got it right. Good job. Keep up the good work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This Post article is an indictment of some deep incompetence within FCPS: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/fairfax-schools-online-learning-blackboard/2020/04/18/3db6b19c-80b5-11ea-9040-68981f488eed_story.html

Making one IT person (Luftglass) the fall person for this disaster will not suffice.

Brabrand needs to step down immediately.

Corbett Sanders must leave the School Board. As a two time Chair of the School Board, it was her responsibility to make sure FCPS administrators were on top of things. She failed miserably, just as she has failed before in recent years (while making sure money that should have spent across the county ended up spent largely in her district).

Agree that Braband needs to go. But most of the school board was brand new when covid hit and are only cleaning up a mess that was left after years of control by people who simply did whatever the superintendent wanted and never questioned or performed any real oversight at all. Administration literally had NO oversight, and largely did nothing but pay itself a lot of money and expand its numbers for years. This school board is dedicated to addressing that and providing more accountability, but the pandemic started just after they did and they did not have time to even start on their agenda before they had to deal with it. The incompetence shown was the result of years of lack of oversight in the administration itself, which left a bunch of useless paper pushers just marking time until retirement and not doing the jobs they were being over paid for.

+1000. And there are others in senior roles at Gatehouse whose incompetence would receive more scrutiny, but for the fact that the kids have not been in the buildings. FTS is every bit as big a mess as IT, except they get to spend even more money.

Most of the school board are repeat members.

[Anonymous]

The School Board needs to focus on education, not social issues. Right now, the biggest issue facing the SB is how to best support our kids in the current environment. They need to understand that parents want their kids educated, and, from what I am seeing, most parents want that to be in school. They also need to understand that not every FCPS parent is UMC and able to stay home and help their kids with DL or work from home and help.

The snarky comments about those parents who cannot do this are troubling. By all means, those who are able and think it is best for their own kids to stay home, should go for it.

With all the lip service our SB gives to helping the underserved, it appears that they are more supportive of those who are choosing DL.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This Post article is an indictment of some deep incompetence within FCPS: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/fairfax-schools-online-learning-blackboard/2020/04/18/3db6b19c-80b5-11ea-9040-68981f488eed_story.html

Making one IT person (Luftglass) the fall person for this disaster will not suffice.

Brabrand needs to step down immediately.

Corbett Sanders must leave the School Board. As a two time Chair of the School Board, it was her responsibility to make sure FCPS administrators were on top of things. She failed miserably, just as she has failed before in recent years (while making sure money that should have spent across the county ended up spent largely in her district).

Agree that Braband needs to go. But most of the school board was brand new when covid hit and are only cleaning up a mess that was left after years of control by people who simply did whatever the superintendent wanted and never questioned or performed any real oversight at all. Administration literally had NO oversight, and largely did nothing but pay itself a lot of money and expand its numbers for years. This school board is dedicated to addressing that and providing more accountability, but the pandemic started just after they did and they did not have time to even start on their agenda before they had to deal with it. The incompetence shown was the result of years of lack of oversight in the administration itself, which left a bunch of useless paper pushers just marking time until retirement and not doing the jobs they were being over paid for.

+1000. And there are others in senior roles at Gatehouse whose incompetence would receive more scrutiny, but for the fact that the kids have not been in the buildings. FTS is every bit as big a mess as IT, except they get to spend even more money.

Most of the school board are repeat members.

False. Only 3 out of 12 were on the prior 2015-19 Board (Derenak-Kaufax, Keys Gamarra, and McLaughlin). The other 9 are new members first elected last fall.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This Post article is an indictment of some deep incompetence within FCPS: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/fairfax-schools-online-learning-blackboard/2020/04/18/3db6b19c-80b5-11ea-9040-68981f488eed_story.html

Making one IT person (Luftglass) the fall person for this disaster will not suffice.

Brabrand needs to step down immediately.

Corbett Sanders must leave the School Board. As a two time Chair of the School Board, it was her responsibility to make sure FCPS administrators were on top of things. She failed miserably, just as she has failed before in recent years (while making sure money that should have spent across the county ended up spent largely in her district).

Agree that Braband needs to go. But most of the school board was brand new when covid hit and are only cleaning up a mess that was left after years of control by people who simply did whatever the superintendent wanted and never questioned or performed any real oversight at all. Administration literally had NO oversight, and largely did nothing but pay itself a lot of money and expand its numbers for years. This school board is dedicated to addressing that and providing more accountability, but the pandemic started just after they did and they did not have time to even start on their agenda before they had to deal with it. The incompetence shown was the result of years of lack of oversight in the administration itself, which left a bunch of useless paper pushers just marking time until retirement and not doing the jobs they were being over paid for.

+1000. And there are others in senior roles at Gatehouse whose incompetence would receive more scrutiny, but for the fact that the kids have not been in the buildings. FTS is every bit as big a mess as IT, except they get to spend even more money.

Most of the school board are repeat members.

ARe you slow? Nine of the twelve are new this year.