MCPS has a $40 million deficit in its Employee Benefit Plan (EBP)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Today in the fiscal management meeting, they went into some pretty alarming details about where MCPS stands fiscally:

Apparently, the Employee Benefit Plan (EBP) fund balance has a $40 million deficit. This deficit is directly related to the spending freeze that's currently in place and why MCPS is looking to charge for summer school and transportation going forward.

Wonderful. Another reason to get rid of Dr. McKnight. She is a 360 degree disaster.

How exactly is this her fault? Not to mention the finance team has been bringing awareness about the potential flags for awhile(such as higher healthcare cost and more people acquiring them likely from things that got put off during the pandemic. Also they were very vocal about the fact the major cuts were going to be needed for FY2024 given that we’re forced to deplete the standing fund balance, ESSR funds were going a way, and inflation, while lower still had prices overall higher.

And now upon seeing the latest project they input expenditure freezes. What exactly do you expect them to do?

I mean I guess last year they could have cut another 70-100M from the budget, but not sure anyone would have been happy about that either.

I wouldn't let McKnight and MCPS off the hook that easily. Lynn Harris rightly asked Reilly why MCPS wasn't doing a better job of tracking this, and Reilly's answer was shaky and two-fold.

1. That they were caught off guard by how steep the inflation impacted them (which is just...I don't know how that happened since inflation has been a thing for at least two years now)

2. That cuts he would have liked to implement weren't palatable since it would have meant cutting student-facing services or initiatives (this points to MCPS finance not being able to push back against McKnight. The AP/IB exam thing is an example of this)

3. The Ozempic/WeGovy thing and the use of those drugs added to the increase in claims costs. (He didn't break down how much he attributed that specifically to though. So if Ozempic/WeGovy is only responsible for $1 million out of the $40 million hole they're in, that would be good to know.)

It’s not just that and health care costs are out of control. I’ve been on shots that were $2k per shot and infusions that were I far more than that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Today in the fiscal management meeting, they went into some pretty alarming details about where MCPS stands fiscally:

Apparently, the Employee Benefit Plan (EBP) fund balance has a $40 million deficit. This deficit is directly related to the spending freeze that's currently in place and why MCPS is looking to charge for summer school and transportation going forward.

Wonderful. Another reason to get rid of Dr. McKnight. She is a 360 degree disaster.

How exactly is this her fault? Not to mention the finance team has been bringing awareness about the potential flags for awhile(such as higher healthcare cost and more people acquiring them likely from things that got put off during the pandemic. Also they were very vocal about the fact the major cuts were going to be needed for FY2024 given that we’re forced to deplete the standing fund balance, ESSR funds were going a way, and inflation, while lower still had prices overall higher.

And now upon seeing the latest project they input expenditure freezes. What exactly do you expect them to do?

I mean I guess last year they could have cut another 70-100M from the budget, but not sure anyone would have been happy about that either.

Well technically it isn't but I like to blame her for the worlds problems too.

[Anonymous]

This is simple math. They collect premiums to pay for the cost of healthcare. The premiums they have been charging are not high enough to cover the claims. This is an avoidable problem. Somebody messed up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is simple math. They collect premiums to pay for the cost of healthcare. The premiums they have been charging are not high enough to cover the claims. This is an avoidable problem. Somebody messed up.

Indeed. Somebody definitely messed up because the gap between last year and this year is too steep to say that it's just normal cost increases.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Today in the fiscal management meeting, they went into some pretty alarming details about where MCPS stands fiscally:

Apparently, the Employee Benefit Plan (EBP) fund balance has a $40 million deficit. This deficit is directly related to the spending freeze that's currently in place and why MCPS is looking to charge for summer school and transportation going forward.

Wonderful. Another reason to get rid of Dr. McKnight. She is a 360 degree disaster.

How exactly is this her fault? Not to mention the finance team has been bringing awareness about the potential flags for awhile(such as higher healthcare cost and more people acquiring them likely from things that got put off during the pandemic. Also they were very vocal about the fact the major cuts were going to be needed for FY2024 given that we’re forced to deplete the standing fund balance, ESSR funds were going a way, and inflation, while lower still had prices overall higher.

And now upon seeing the latest project they input expenditure freezes. What exactly do you expect them to do?

I mean I guess last year they could have cut another 70-100M from the budget, but not sure anyone would have been happy about that either.

She’s in charge of the school system. That’s how it’s her fault.

[Anonymous]

First of all, teachers have mentioned the budget freeze on this board but other posters ignore or gaslight us.

Second, of course it’s getting more expensive to ensure MCPS teachers! We can’t get reliable sub coverage which means we don’t get to keep up with routine doctor’s visits. Even if we had subs, many of us have negative sick leave balances thanks to COVID. MCPS doesn’t care about rebound COVID for teachers or family members BTW. If I had 5 days of PTO each time myself or child had CoVID it would be a different story.

The stress of teaching in MCPS leads to all kinds of health issues. We also can’t keep up with our family’s appointments. Preventative care is cheaper than being reactive but MCPS doesn’t have a schedule friendly for that.

Teachers don’t have weekly work from home days. Heck, we can’t even call a doctor’s office let alone see a doctor. I can’t tell you how many times my doctors have called to cancel my 4:30 appointments because they want to cram them all in and go home early. Or my one doctor that decided to close on Friday, not even answer the phone or online messages. Or how about trying to call in a refill for my child’s ADHD meds? Can’t even do that outside the hours of 9-11 and 1-4 M-F.

What is the average age of MCPS employees? I bet it’s going up which will of course raise health insurance costs.

Show me these health care numbers side by side with the $ McPS has pumped into legal fees, PR/communications, and payouts for the student assault lawsuits. Not to mention the numerous high level employees that are paid on administrative leave at the same time their “acting” replacement is also getting paid.

MCPS is just finding another way to blame their sad state on teachers!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:First of all, teachers have mentioned the budget freeze on this board but other posters ignore or gaslight us.

Second, of course it’s getting more expensive to ensure MCPS teachers! We can’t get reliable sub coverage which means we don’t get to keep up with routine doctor’s visits. Even if we had subs, many of us have negative sick leave balances thanks to COVID. MCPS doesn’t care about rebound COVID for teachers or family members BTW. If I had 5 days of PTO each time myself or child had CoVID it would be a different story.

The stress of teaching in MCPS leads to all kinds of health issues. We also can’t keep up with our family’s appointments. Preventative care is cheaper than being reactive but MCPS doesn’t have a schedule friendly for that.

Teachers don’t have weekly work from home days. Heck, we can’t even call a doctor’s office let alone see a doctor. I can’t tell you how many times my doctors have called to cancel my 4:30 appointments because they want to cram them all in and go home early. Or my one doctor that decided to close on Friday, not even answer the phone or online messages. Or how about trying to call in a refill for my child’s ADHD meds? Can’t even do that outside the hours of 9-11 and 1-4 M-F.

What is the average age of MCPS employees? I bet it’s going up which will of course raise health insurance costs.

Show me these health care numbers side by side with the $ McPS has pumped into legal fees, PR/communications, and payouts for the student assault lawsuits. Not to mention the numerous high level employees that are paid on administrative leave at the same time their “acting” replacement is also getting paid.

MCPS is just finding another way to blame their sad state on teachers!

WHEW! You said a lot there, but this is the money quote!

[Anonymous]

As a mid 40’s teacher I see mainly older teachers now. Not enough young healthy staff to offset the expense us older staff. Definitely a lot of deferred health problems and treatments this year for me. Loads of staff out for longer lengths of time. Many should retire but can’t due to golden handcuffs.

I know of at least one admin on wegovy. They have been in and out of the hospital and in and out of leave due to major health issues. Definitely not a beauty based weight loss reason as some might infer here. People are just getting older and run into major life problems. All these modern miracles in medicine are expensive.

[Anonymous]

So we think the shortfall was caused by weight loss drugs and not the $13.7 million in settlements and judgments that MCPS has had to pay out since the budget year started?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Today in the fiscal management meeting, they went into some pretty alarming details about where MCPS stands fiscally:

Apparently, the Employee Benefit Plan (EBP) fund balance has a $40 million deficit. This deficit is directly related to the spending freeze that's currently in place and why MCPS is looking to charge for summer school and transportation going forward.

Wonderful. Another reason to get rid of Dr. McKnight. She is a 360 degree disaster.

How exactly is this her fault? Not to mention the finance team has been bringing awareness about the potential flags for awhile(such as higher healthcare cost and more people acquiring them likely from things that got put off during the pandemic. Also they were very vocal about the fact the major cuts were going to be needed for FY2024 given that we’re forced to deplete the standing fund balance, ESSR funds were going a way, and inflation, while lower still had prices overall higher.

And now upon seeing the latest project they input expenditure freezes. What exactly do you expect them to do?

I mean I guess last year they could have cut another 70-100M from the budget, but not sure anyone would have been happy about that either.

I think Monifa didn't help by obligating MCPS to pay in full for all AP/IB exams for starters. I'm sure that had a significant effect on expenditures for the county.

Actually the new Maryland Blueprint law/plans obligated MCPS to pay for AP/IB. You should educate yourself on it. In fact the CAO has given several updates to the BOE on implementations plans. You can go back and watch any of those.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm surprised that given we have so many teachers on this forum and that MCPS has implemented a spending freeze because of this deficit, that more teachers aren't concerned by this news.

Someone needs to do a serious line by line audit of both MCPS and the county and cut out all the wasteful spending. They get plenty of money and need to manage it better. Enough is enough.

I would focus on healthcare benefits- obscene, Cadillac healthcare

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First of all, teachers have mentioned the budget freeze on this board but other posters ignore or gaslight us.

Second, of course it’s getting more expensive to ensure MCPS teachers! We can’t get reliable sub coverage which means we don’t get to keep up with routine doctor’s visits. Even if we had subs, many of us have negative sick leave balances thanks to COVID. MCPS doesn’t care about rebound COVID for teachers or family members BTW. If I had 5 days of PTO each time myself or child had CoVID it would be a different story.

The stress of teaching in MCPS leads to all kinds of health issues. We also can’t keep up with our family’s appointments. Preventative care is cheaper than being reactive but MCPS doesn’t have a schedule friendly for that.

Teachers don’t have weekly work from home days. Heck, we can’t even call a doctor’s office let alone see a doctor. I can’t tell you how many times my doctors have called to cancel my 4:30 appointments because they want to cram them all in and go home early. Or my one doctor that decided to close on Friday, not even answer the phone or online messages. Or how about trying to call in a refill for my child’s ADHD meds? Can’t even do that outside the hours of 9-11 and 1-4 M-F.

What is the average age of MCPS employees? I bet it’s going up which will of course raise health insurance costs.

Show me these health care numbers side by side with the $ McPS has pumped into legal fees, PR/communications, and payouts for the student assault lawsuits. Not to mention the numerous high level employees that are paid on administrative leave at the same time their “acting” replacement is also getting paid.

MCPS is just finding another way to blame their sad state on teachers!

WHEW! You said a lot there, but this is the money quote!

Well 90% of core budget goes to them in salaries, healthcare and pensions! Gotta target the biggest line item. Would start with offering part time bus drivers full healthcare (gift already was paying them for nada during pandemic)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First of all, teachers have mentioned the budget freeze on this board but other posters ignore or gaslight us.

Second, of course it’s getting more expensive to ensure MCPS teachers! We can’t get reliable sub coverage which means we don’t get to keep up with routine doctor’s visits. Even if we had subs, many of us have negative sick leave balances thanks to COVID. MCPS doesn’t care about rebound COVID for teachers or family members BTW. If I had 5 days of PTO each time myself or child had CoVID it would be a different story.

The stress of teaching in MCPS leads to all kinds of health issues. We also can’t keep up with our family’s appointments. Preventative care is cheaper than being reactive but MCPS doesn’t have a schedule friendly for that.

Teachers don’t have weekly work from home days. Heck, we can’t even call a doctor’s office let alone see a doctor. I can’t tell you how many times my doctors have called to cancel my 4:30 appointments because they want to cram them all in and go home early. Or my one doctor that decided to close on Friday, not even answer the phone or online messages. Or how about trying to call in a refill for my child’s ADHD meds? Can’t even do that outside the hours of 9-11 and 1-4 M-F.

What is the average age of MCPS employees? I bet it’s going up which will of course raise health insurance costs.

Show me these health care numbers side by side with the $ McPS has pumped into legal fees, PR/communications, and payouts for the student assault lawsuits. Not to mention the numerous high level employees that are paid on administrative leave at the same time their “acting” replacement is also getting paid.

MCPS is just finding another way to blame their sad state on teachers!

WHEW! You said a lot there, but this is the money quote!

Well 90% of core budget goes to them in salaries, healthcare and pensions! Gotta target the biggest line item. Would start with offering part time bus drivers full healthcare (gift already was paying them for nada during pandemic)

And 40% of those salaries are Central office bloat

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So we think the shortfall was caused by weight loss drugs and not the $13.7 million in settlements and judgments that MCPS has had to pay out since the budget year started?

What does any of that have to do with a projected deficit in the Employee Benefit Plan???

[Anonymous]

Didn’t McKnight already propose an 8% cut to central office?