Reducing personnel at central office

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What was McKnight’s payout? So much silence after the firing - has to be over a million.

That's is what I have been asking. Why did she walk away free with $ when the reports clearly said she was involved in some way or another in the recent scandal? She was not questioned publicly besides the 1x (?) by County Council. They could have paid her x months salary and fired her since they had evidence of her covering up or asking people to alter dates in the scandal. But she walked away with three years salary in the million range.

[Anonymous]

What does Felder have planned to reduce personnel at CO?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So many comments about reducing overhead at central office. Is this only the hungerford drive location? How many employees are there of the central office? Is there a budget that shows the total salaries spent for central office personnel?

Students and staff

Students 160,554 (2022-23)
Teachers 13,994 (2022-23)
Staff 25,232 (2022-23)

Central office salary represents like 3% of the total budget. As other have said “ Staff” represents a lot of roles(secretaries, program director, building services, accounting, hr, food services, nurses, etc etc).

[Anonymous]

They have achievement specialist who used to be teachers but now, go around schools and meet with leadership. They could be cut. They have about 60 parent community coordinators who work from home. They could be cut. They have social workers who work with immigrant students, they should be sent directly to schools and supervised by principals. The social workers work out of Rocking Horse Road Center. Rocking Horse Road Center is another building filled with Central Office staff. They have a Spring Mill office off Kemp Mill Road filled with Central Office. English Manor filled with central office. Some of the Central Office positions are needed, but others are not. Just look to see who gets their PHD while working for Central Office. Those are the people that should be cut.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So many comments about reducing overhead at central office. Is this only the hungerford drive location? How many employees are there of the central office? Is there a budget that shows the total salaries spent for central office personnel?

Students and staff

Students 160,554 (2022-23)
Teachers 13,994 (2022-23)
Staff 25,232 (2022-23)

Central office salary represents like 3% of the total budget. As other have said “ Staff” represents a lot of roles(secretaries, program director, building services, accounting, hr, food services, nurses, etc etc).

Where can we find that info?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So many comments about reducing overhead at central office. Is this only the hungerford drive location? How many employees are there of the central office? Is there a budget that shows the total salaries spent for central office personnel?

Students and staff

Students 160,554 (2022-23)
Teachers 13,994 (2022-23)
Staff 25,232 (2022-23)

Central office salary represents like 3% of the total budget. As other have said “ Staff” represents a lot of roles(secretaries, program director, building services, accounting, hr, food services, nurses, etc etc).

Where can we find that info?

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/budget/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What was McKnight’s payout? So much silence after the firing - has to be over a million.

That's is what I have been asking. Why did she walk away free with $ when the reports clearly said she was involved in some way or another in the recent scandal? She was not questioned publicly besides the 1x (?) by County Council. They could have paid her x months salary and fired her since they had evidence of her covering up or asking people to alter dates in the scandal. But she walked away with three years salary in the million range.

Citation, please?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They have achievement specialist who used to be teachers but now, go around schools and meet with leadership. They could be cut. They have about 60 parent community coordinators who work from home. They could be cut. They have social workers who work with immigrant students, they should be sent directly to schools and supervised by principals. The social workers work out of Rocking Horse Road Center. Rocking Horse Road Center is another building filled with Central Office staff. They have a Spring Mill office off Kemp Mill Road filled with Central Office. English Manor filled with central office. Some of the Central Office positions are needed, but others are not. Just look to see who gets their PHD while working for Central Office. Those are the people that should be cut.

I had dinner last night with my sister who is a staff development teacher with MCPS. She said at her meeting yesterday, there were over ten achievement specialists just sitting in the back of their all day meeting. Of the ten, only about a handful took turns presenting content throughout the day. She couldn't understand why so many twelve month specialists were just sitting there all day when there are so many teacher vacancies in MCPS. I'm a former teacher myself and the bloat at central office always bothered me. I'm sure people are well-intentioned when taking those positions but it seems so wasteful given the staffing crisis in MCPS right now.

[Anonymous]

I am an elementary teacher in the county. Some areas of Central office are so understaffed, and other positions could be easily cut. For example, the county added 12 county-level math content coaches this year. They took 12 hard-working school-based teachers AWAY from working with students and placed them in Central in advisory roles. It is a horrible waste of money.

I think we need someone to come in and really evaluate each position and see what can be reduced or combined and what is essential.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So many comments about reducing overhead at central office. Is this only the hungerford drive location? How many employees are there of the central office? Is there a budget that shows the total salaries spent for central office personnel?

Students and staff

Students 160,554 (2022-23)
Teachers 13,994 (2022-23)
Staff 25,232 (2022-23)

In those numbers, "Staff" includes staff at the schools and elsewhere. Principals, secretaries, building, security, cafeteria, etc.

Sure, but MCPS has what 210 schools? This is an average of 120 staff per school which is nuts. Even at the high school level, how many staff could there possibly be, 100? That leaves the central office with high hundreds to even thousands of employees. Insane.

It’s the number of ghost employees- retired- who are scary. Pensions and healthcare for those cats- who have long departed for cheaper Red States. THIS is the reason budgets are in billions - and yet so many MCPS schools are shoddy and filthy.

Part of their employment agreement was a pension and health care, just like many other jobs, especially government way back when. That's no shoddy and filthy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What was McKnight’s payout? So much silence after the firing - has to be over a million.

That's is what I have been asking. Why did she walk away free with $ when the reports clearly said she was involved in some way or another in the recent scandal? She was not questioned publicly besides the 1x (?) by County Council. They could have paid her x months salary and fired her since they had evidence of her covering up or asking people to alter dates in the scandal. But she walked away with three years salary in the million range.

Citation, please?

That figure makes no sense. She only had two years left in her contract, and that's at least three times her annual salary. - DP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am an elementary teacher in the county. Some areas of Central office are so understaffed, and other positions could be easily cut. For example, the county added 12 county-level math content coaches this year. They took 12 hard-working school-based teachers AWAY from working with students and placed them in Central in advisory roles. It is a horrible waste of money.

I think we need someone to come in and really evaluate each position and see what can be reduced or combined and what is essential.

Aren’t math coaches assigned to a number of schools to work with teachers to deliver better math instruction, help analyze their data, teach the curriculum, work with students? If that works they will actually be helping more students .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They have achievement specialist who used to be teachers but now, go around schools and meet with leadership. They could be cut. They have about 60 parent community coordinators who work from home. They could be cut. They have social workers who work with immigrant students, they should be sent directly to schools and supervised by principals. The social workers work out of Rocking Horse Road Center. Rocking Horse Road Center is another building filled with Central Office staff. They have a Spring Mill office off Kemp Mill Road filled with Central Office. English Manor filled with central office. Some of the Central Office positions are needed, but others are not. Just look to see who gets their PHD while working for Central Office. Those are the people that should be cut.

The academic specialists who have to look busy, because Jesus is coming, unnescessarily take up the oxygen level of school leadership; cut them. The PCCs - cut them. When I have tried to get our assigned PCC involved with particular families, she has NEVER been available, even on our assigned days. Social workers? I teach ELD (ESOL) and I have never seen a social worker at our school. If one exists for our school, they should be housed at our school. Kemp Mill handles DCC activities, such as high school students matriculating into the DCC area. Is this necessary? The Spring Mill office is for NEC, right? If so, same thing.

If we could assign some of these FTEs to SPED support, so that it takes less than 18 months to test for and process IEPs, that would be responsive to families.

I would also assign more staff to the International office. Students are rubber-stamped through and those needing METS assignments do not get them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What was McKnight’s payout? So much silence after the firing - has to be over a million.

That's is what I have been asking. Why did she walk away free with $ when the reports clearly said she was involved in some way or another in the recent scandal? She was not questioned publicly besides the 1x (?) by County Council. They could have paid her x months salary and fired her since they had evidence of her covering up or asking people to alter dates in the scandal. But she walked away with three years salary in the million range.

we're going to have to wait for the public information request that I am pretty sure Parents Coalition has made (if so, thank you) to obtain the verified pay-out for McKnight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What was McKnight’s payout? So much silence after the firing - has to be over a million.

That's is what I have been asking. Why did she walk away free with $ when the reports clearly said she was involved in some way or another in the recent scandal? She was not questioned publicly besides the 1x (?) by County Council. They could have paid her x months salary and fired her since they had evidence of her covering up or asking people to alter dates in the scandal. But she walked away with three years salary in the million range.

Citation, please?

That figure makes no sense. She only had two years left in her contract, and that's at least three times her annual salary. - DP

You realize she's taking the rap for the board.