Who is Mike Durso?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anyone else think it’s weird that in the press release announcing his hire, of all the things MCPS could have highlighted, they chose to specify his close relationship to Nancy Navarro? It’s as if McKnight thinks the only way to get back to the days of MCPS being a good school system is to hire all of the olds and let them run things behind the scenes.

They never worked together. He replaced her on the Board of Education. You misread the article.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mcps wastes so much money on fluff and neglects real working people so much.

+1 More teachers are needed in the classroom instead of more expensive hires for Central Office. Seriously, what’s the logic of hiring someone for $200,000 who is 81 years old?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mcps wastes so much money on fluff and neglects real working people so much.

+1 More teachers are needed in the classroom instead of more expensive hires for Central Office. Seriously, what’s the logic of hiring someone for $200,000 who is 81 years old?

It's a temp appointment to fill a vacancy. What does his age have to do with anything?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone else think it’s weird that in the press release announcing his hire, of all the things MCPS could have highlighted, they chose to specify his close relationship to Nancy Navarro? It’s as if McKnight thinks the only way to get back to the days of MCPS being a good school system is to hire all of the olds and let them run things behind the scenes.

They never worked together. He replaced her on the Board of Education. You misread the article.

You misread my post. He’s going to be working closely with Navarro per the press release. It’s the one thing about his role they chose to highlight and be specific about.

[Anonymous]

My former HS principal. A good one too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mcps wastes so much money on fluff and neglects real working people so much.

+1 More teachers are needed in the classroom instead of more expensive hires for Central Office. Seriously, what’s the logic of hiring someone for $200,000 who is 81 years old?

It's a temp appointment to fill a vacancy. What does his age have to do with anything?

It’s reasonable to question if an 81-year-old man has the energy, insight and context to manage or assist a post-pandemic school system.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My child is only in 3rd grade so I never paid attention to the board of education while he was on it. I saw a couple of articles that he is the new chief of staff? Is he any good?

81 year old former BOE member who endorsed McKnight for superintendent. She is now paying him back with advisory appointments and now a full-time job with benefits (car and credit card).

Revolving door. I'm surprised MCPS is allowed to hire former BOE members. Seems unethical to me.

[Anonymous]

I have no problems with Mike Durso, and know nothing about him outside the article. However, I really don’t understand why MCPS is bringing all these folks out of retirement to fill temporary appointments. There are plenty of folks all around the country who will come in and fill a 6month consultant/fixer position for MCPs for $200k/yr.

The folks don’t need to have been in MCPS. The need to understand K-12 educational landscape as of 2023, current problems of the district, and have good leadership skills to include collaboration, communication, and decision making. Having some intuitiveness and basic political savvy would be helpful. If anything, then not being a part of MCPS would be a plus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have no problems with Mike Durso, and know nothing about him outside the article. However, I really don’t understand why MCPS is bringing all these folks out of retirement to fill temporary appointments. There are plenty of folks all around the country who will come in and fill a 6month consultant/fixer position for MCPs for $200k/yr.

The folks don’t need to have been in MCPS. The need to understand K-12 educational landscape as of 2023, current problems of the district, and have good leadership skills to include collaboration, communication, and decision making. Having some intuitiveness and basic political savvy would be helpful. If anything, then not being a part of MCPS would be a plus.

Because McKnight is in over her head and needs a team to surround her and cover for her. It is actually her job to do what she is saying Durso and Navarro are going to do but since she can't do it, she needs to bring in people to do her job for her.

[Anonymous]

He is a truly wonderful, competent, capable educator who genuinely cares about students, staff, and the community as a whole. Many years ago, he was an assistant principal at FKA Wilson HS. He had the respect and the affection of the students— a rare skill that speaks well of him. The more I’ve worked in education, the more I respect “Durso” as I’ve learned more about his career. So, yeah, my opinions are based on very dated first hand experiences, and less dated secondhand information, but as a Montgomery County resident, I’m happy to have my tax dollars spent to hire people with his expertise and experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He is a truly wonderful, competent, capable educator who genuinely cares about students, staff, and the community as a whole. Many years ago, he was an assistant principal at FKA Wilson HS. He had the respect and the affection of the students— a rare skill that speaks well of him. The more I’ve worked in education, the more I respect “Durso” as I’ve learned more about his career. So, yeah, my opinions are based on very dated first hand experiences, and less dated secondhand information, but as a Montgomery County resident, I’m happy to have my tax dollars spent to hire people with his expertise and experience.

But he's 81. Is an octogenarian really the best person for the job? (Yes, I have the same questions about Biden.. seeing how my father is doing cognitively who is similar in age.)

[Anonymous]

If he genuinely cares put him in a classroom and maybe geriatric people will be less likely to be abused by their students. I doubt it though. Let the geezer retire. He's been able to make 6 fig salaries for how many decades. For gosh sakes let the old man retire.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:He is a truly wonderful, competent, capable educator who genuinely cares about students, staff, and the community as a whole. Many years ago, he was an assistant principal at FKA Wilson HS. He had the respect and the affection of the students— a rare skill that speaks well of him. The more I’ve worked in education, the more I respect “Durso” as I’ve learned more about his career. So, yeah, my opinions are based on very dated first hand experiences, and less dated secondhand information, but as a Montgomery County resident, I’m happy to have my tax dollars spent to hire people with his expertise and experience.

But he's 81. Is an octogenarian really the best person for the job? (Yes, I have the same questions about Biden.. seeing how my father is doing cognitively who is similar in age.)

Probably. He’s very well-known, and understands the system and the community from the inside. To me, this suggests an extremely short learning curve, and starting from a place of competence and respect. For a temporary high level position, I can see this being an excellent fit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Somewhere along the line mcps thought it made sense to hire 1 extremely old man to sit in an ivory tower instead of 4 first year graduates to teach the kids face to face. This is where priority lies.

While I understand your math and your priorities, it takes a LOT of support and experience to get most 4 first year graduates to the place where they are able to be genuinely competent teachers. You’re comparing oranges and bananas here. Having an extremely competent elderly educator who knows how to achieve results based on a proven track record really does make sense. It’s also possible to have more than one priority.

I say this as someone who lost my entire third grade year because of an overwhelmed first year graduate. I also lost half of my fourth grade year when my excellent teacher went on maternity leave, and our class got subs. Even as a third grader, I would have found it reassuring to know that someone like Durso was in a position to manage things.

[Anonymous]

Nothing says technology expert more that your grandparents who want you to show them how the internet works. It's a quarter million dollar jobs program. This is why in America socialism is for the rich only.