MCEA and Jennifer Martin act like a bunch of lunatics at Council yesterday

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Council's proclamation was hypocritical lip-service. "Y'all are great. Here's less money than you need."

MCEA can't strike. This was a reasonable balance.

(I'm not part of MCEA.)

If the MCEA wants to have an adult discussion about MCPS funding, they need to talk about the growth and bloat of admin and central office- at the expense of classroom positions.

And please do not belittle this tax increase as "a dime". For godsakes, its a ten percent property tax hike.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I don't see this being reported anywhere, but it was utter chaos. Martin took the opportunity to speak out against the Council during the Teacher Appreciation resolution, and that's fine. But then they tried to allow different teachers to continue to speak. Jawando (whom I really do not care for at all, but I feel he handled this mess pretty well) let one teacher speak. He tried to continue with the resolution and the union came down front, and camped out on the floor, forcing Council to cancel the resolution.

Would they be/are they OK with this type of behavior from students? Disrupting processes out of a sense of entitlement?

https://montgomeryperspective.com/2023/05/09/mcea-crashes-council-meeting-demands-full-funding/

They were not disrupting processes (oh no! disrupting processes!) out of a sense of entitlement. They were disrupting the proceeding to further their advocacy of a cause. Now, do I think this particular disruption was effective advocacy? Nope. I think it made them look silly for no purpose. Like the councilmembers are saying, "We're here to appreciate the teachers," and the teachers all say, "Boooooooooooooooo!" However, it's a pretty basic way to protest, and there's nothing wrong with it in principle, including if/when students do it.

Everyone else is limited to writing in to the Council, or testifying for 3 minutes during public hearings. Martin felt entitled to more.

Anybody who wants to can stage a protest during a Council session. Do you want to? Then go for it.

They actually can’t.

Why can't they? Council sessions are open to the public.

Same reason why you can't walk into Congress and disrupt proceedings unchecked without getting in trouble with the Capitol Police and landing a few charges for obstructing congress

Oh, you want to protest without fear of potential consequences. No, that's not how it works. Go, protest, accept the potential consequences.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Didn't teachers just get a pay hike?

No. MCPS agreed with MCEA to request a pay hike. The county hasn't agreed to pay for it yet.

That's what the protest is about.

https://news.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/staff-bulletin/mcps-mcea-reach-tentative-agreement-on-two-year-wage-increase/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Didn't teachers just get a pay hike?

No. MCPS agreed with MCEA to request a pay hike. The county hasn't agreed to pay for it yet.

That's what the protest is about.

https://news.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/staff-bulletin/mcps-mcea-reach-tentative-agreement-on-two-year-wage-increase/

MCPS can still honor the contracts, even with a reduced budget. MCEA is just full of drama.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Didn't teachers just get a pay hike?

No. MCPS agreed with MCEA to request a pay hike. The county hasn't agreed to pay for it yet.

That's what the protest is about.

https://news.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/staff-bulletin/mcps-mcea-reach-tentative-agreement-on-two-year-wage-increase/

Approve for classroom teachers and deny for Central Office admins

Need to force them to cut the bloat

[Anonymous]

Right because people “following the rules” is how change has always been done….. disruption is how change happens. Maybe a few of you pearl clutchers should read a history book instead of whining online.

[Anonymous]

The problem is that MCPS can request money without figuring out how to pay for it. The council has to actually find the money. They have to be the bad guys that raise taxes and/or don't fund other things as much to pay for this.

[Anonymous]

Please, anyone. Volunteer as a sub so you can see how insane the working conditions are for many teachers. If too many QUALIFIED teachers leave, then we are in big big trouble. Services won't happen for your own children. Everyone will be impacted. Everyone. I personally have one foot out the door. As soon as I graduate with my Master's in my new field, I will be leaving myself. This was my 2nd career, what I thought would be my last career. I was planning on the publically posted STEPS to help me plan my life. Now who knows what will happen year to year? I can't afford this much instability between working conditions (zero support) and always having to wonder if I will be making what I was supposed to be making. There is no way we will attract and retain good quality educators the way things are now. I guarantee if this was your career, you would be upset too. I get why they did that. They are fed up with not being listened to. Change won't happen unless someone speaks up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The problem is that MCPS can request money without figuring out how to pay for it. The council has to actually find the money. They have to be the bad guys that raise taxes and/or don't fund other things as much to pay for this.

This. They want to raise taxes 10%. Instead, they can cut or reduce the increase in non-MCPS programs, if schools are so important. Why isn't MCEA advocating for that instead of raising our taxes by so much?

[Anonymous]

I think whenever there are talks about teacher pay, it's helpful to have the actual information
https://www.mceanea.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/0355.21_MCEA_2021-2022_Contract-3.pdf (located on page 90 here)

Otherwise the narrative becomes "teachers are so underpaid".

OK, maybe they are. But let's have that discussion when framed with the actual numbers.

A teacher with 10 years experience and a masters (which you have to get) would earn 80,287.

That is not a bad salary for 10 months.

Maybe it should be more, but it is also higher than many people think, and is more than many Montgomery county residents make.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Please, anyone. Volunteer as a sub so you can see how insane the working conditions are for many teachers. If too many QUALIFIED teachers leave, then we are in big big trouble. Services won't happen for your own children. Everyone will be impacted. Everyone. I personally have one foot out the door. As soon as I graduate with my Master's in my new field, I will be leaving myself. This was my 2nd career, what I thought would be my last career. I was planning on the publically posted STEPS to help me plan my life. Now who knows what will happen year to year? I can't afford this much instability between working conditions (zero support) and always having to wonder if I will be making what I was supposed to be making. There is no way we will attract and retain good quality educators the way things are now. I guarantee if this was your career, you would be upset too. I get why they did that. They are fed up with not being listened to. Change won't happen unless someone speaks up.

Is that due to lack of funding, or poor management?

Montgomery is #3 in MD by local (country) contributions to school as a % of budget, behind tiny Worcester and Talbot counties.

http://dls.maryland.gov/pubs/prod/InterGovMatters/LocFinTaxRte/Overview-of-Maryland-Local-Governments-2019.pdf (see page 101 of the PDF)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Didn't teachers just get a pay hike?

No. MCPS agreed with MCEA to request a pay hike. The county hasn't agreed to pay for it yet.

That's what the protest is about.

https://news.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/staff-bulletin/mcps-mcea-reach-tentative-agreement-on-two-year-wage-increase/

MCPS can still honor the contracts, even with a reduced budget. MCEA is just full of drama.

Right. If preserving the pay increases is MCEA's main priority, why are they demanding and fighting for the FULL budget to be funded, which includes far more than just the teacher's wages? They need to focus on what their top priority is and not walking away with everything they want. That rarely ever happens in politics so that's a crazy strategy to have.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Please, anyone. Volunteer as a sub so you can see how insane the working conditions are for many teachers. If too many QUALIFIED teachers leave, then we are in big big trouble. Services won't happen for your own children. Everyone will be impacted. Everyone. I personally have one foot out the door. As soon as I graduate with my Master's in my new field, I will be leaving myself. This was my 2nd career, what I thought would be my last career. I was planning on the publically posted STEPS to help me plan my life. Now who knows what will happen year to year? I can't afford this much instability between working conditions (zero support) and always having to wonder if I will be making what I was supposed to be making. There is no way we will attract and retain good quality educators the way things are now. I guarantee if this was your career, you would be upset too. I get why they did that. They are fed up with not being listened to. Change won't happen unless someone speaks up.

Council is not who makes this change.

McKnight and the board are.

Council is a wallet.

McKnight and the board are the managers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Please, anyone. Volunteer as a sub so you can see how insane the working conditions are for many teachers. If too many QUALIFIED teachers leave, then we are in big big trouble. Services won't happen for your own children. Everyone will be impacted. Everyone. I personally have one foot out the door. As soon as I graduate with my Master's in my new field, I will be leaving myself. This was my 2nd career, what I thought would be my last career. I was planning on the publically posted STEPS to help me plan my life. Now who knows what will happen year to year? I can't afford this much instability between working conditions (zero support) and always having to wonder if I will be making what I was supposed to be making. There is no way we will attract and retain good quality educators the way things are now. I guarantee if this was your career, you would be upset too. I get why they did that. They are fed up with not being listened to. Change won't happen unless someone speaks up.

Nobody can become a substitute. MCPS makes the process so incredibly difficult. Much more difficult than surrounding jurisdictions. People who want to sub go where they are wanted. And it's not MCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please, anyone. Volunteer as a sub so you can see how insane the working conditions are for many teachers. If too many QUALIFIED teachers leave, then we are in big big trouble. Services won't happen for your own children. Everyone will be impacted. Everyone. I personally have one foot out the door. As soon as I graduate with my Master's in my new field, I will be leaving myself. This was my 2nd career, what I thought would be my last career. I was planning on the publically posted STEPS to help me plan my life. Now who knows what will happen year to year? I can't afford this much instability between working conditions (zero support) and always having to wonder if I will be making what I was supposed to be making. There is no way we will attract and retain good quality educators the way things are now. I guarantee if this was your career, you would be upset too. I get why they did that. They are fed up with not being listened to. Change won't happen unless someone speaks up.

Is that due to lack of funding, or poor management?

Montgomery is #3 in MD by local (country) contributions to school as a % of budget, behind tiny Worcester and Talbot counties.

http://dls.maryland.gov/pubs/prod/InterGovMatters/LocFinTaxRte/Overview-of-Maryland-Local-Governments-2019.pdf (see page 101 of the PDF)

I’m willing to bet poor management. 100%.