Why isn't Taylor pursuing this budget windfall?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do you guys hate this guy so much he just got here. And not for nothing, MCPS was mediocre long before he arrived.

He’s had a school year and no real changes.

I would much rather that MCPS fix the hot mess that is Synergy/ParentVue/Canvas so I can monitor my kid’s performance rather than getting distracted by solar energy.

This would be great.

Imagine if he sat down and walked through 10 use case scenarios of students trying to access their school or home work with the technology instead of making a cake video

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do you guys hate this guy so much he just got here. And not for nothing, MCPS was mediocre long before he arrived.

He’s had a school year and no real changes.

I would much rather that MCPS fix the hot mess that is Synergy/ParentVue/Canvas so I can monitor my kid’s performance rather than getting distracted by solar energy.

This would be great.

Imagine if he sat down and walked through 10 use case scenarios of students trying to access their school or home work with the technology instead of making a cake video

He could do it with his own kids if they are in mcps.

[Anonymous]

MCPS does have solar panels on some buildings, which was pretty easy to find with a Google search: https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/facilities/sustainability/renewable-energy/

Now, could it be expanded? Probably, but it's not going to be a windfall, in part because not every building can handle the installation, and because our area only gets 96 clear days per year compared to 219 in Little Rock (the nearest city I could find data on near Batesville).

Some folks suggested covered parking lots, but there's a reason you don't see them everywhere. Start-up costs are high due to the infrastructure that must be built (not just the overhang and panels, but all of the buried cables).

Also, the technology on parking lot solar panels is not really there. Parking lots get really hot, which means that those panels break more often than rooftop ones.

Basically, investing in green energy solutions is good. But OP seems to think there's one weird trick for the budget, and a lot of things make that not really true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where would they put them?

It's not as easy as just slapping a solar panel on a school roof OP.

+1
Stuff in roofs can be pretty complex. However, I think there’s a real opportunity to add solar over parking lots. There are a couple of demos at some county facilities (Animal Shelter, police stations) and I think it would be a great use of existing land without increasing impermeable surfaces. I suspect it’s mainly a cash flow issue. When we installed solar 12 years ago, it was 7 years payback time to recoup the investment. But it’s been 5 years free electricity since, with many more in the future.

He should just enclose the entire county in a Dyson sphere! Then think of the windfall!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do you guys hate this guy so much he just got here. And not for nothing, MCPS was mediocre long before he arrived.

He’s had a school year and no real changes.

I would much rather that MCPS fix the hot mess that is Synergy/ParentVue/Canvas so I can monitor my kid’s performance rather than getting distracted by solar energy.

We should be able to do both.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As I was reading about this solar initiative at an Arkansas school that lead to a budget surplus which allowed a 15k teacher pay raise, I couldn't help but wonder why we don't do the same.
https://www.gse.harvard.edu/ideas/edcast/23/11/brightening-schools-futures-solar-innovation
This is a county that prides itself of alternative energy and innovation and a school system that already allowed a (poorly executed) solar bus plan.

Gosh, why can't Taylor pay our teachers [checks the article] $41,000 per year?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do you guys hate this guy so much he just got here. And not for nothing, MCPS was mediocre long before he arrived.

He’s had a school year and no real changes.

I would much rather that MCPS fix the hot mess that is Synergy/ParentVue/Canvas so I can monitor my kid’s performance rather than getting distracted by solar energy.

We should be able to do both.

Show me the evidence that MCPS is tackling the computer systems issue. It took 6 months for my spouse and I to figure out how to look at MCPS classroom because there were so many system related error messages. We ended up just logging in as our kid, as most people on this forum suggested.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do you guys hate this guy so much he just got here. And not for nothing, MCPS was mediocre long before he arrived.

He’s had a school year and no real changes.

I would much rather that MCPS fix the hot mess that is Synergy/ParentVue/Canvas so I can monitor my kid’s performance rather than getting distracted by solar energy.

We should be able to do both.

Show me the evidence that MCPS is tackling the computer systems issue. It took 6 months for my spouse and I to figure out how to look at MCPS classroom because there were so many system related error messages. We ended up just logging in as our kid, as most people on this forum suggested.

Maybe they can use the money they raise from solar to hire a usability specialist

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do you guys hate this guy so much he just got here. And not for nothing, MCPS was mediocre long before he arrived.

He’s had a school year and no real changes.

I would much rather that MCPS fix the hot mess that is Synergy/ParentVue/Canvas so I can monitor my kid’s performance rather than getting distracted by solar energy.

We should be able to do both.

Show me the evidence that MCPS is tackling the computer systems issue. It took 6 months for my spouse and I to figure out how to look at MCPS classroom because there were so many system related error messages. We ended up just logging in as our kid, as most people on this forum suggested.

Maybe they can use the money they raise from solar to hire a usability specialist

Maybe the unicorn that lives under my elementary school child’s bed can reprogram the MCPS issues.

OP-if you want to volunteer your time to move this solar issue forward, good for you-I would not encourage MCPS to do this vanity project. MCPS can’t even the manage the basics like choosing a MS curriculum on time so teachers can have it for the next school year.

[Anonymous]

I think folks should look at the data up thread on "days of sun" comparing Maryland to Alabama.

Basically, in Maryland, it makes sense to go solar if you want to lower your carbon impact. This is as good a reason as any for MCPS to install solar panels wherever cost effective and feasible.

However, it does not make sense as a revenue source. OP's question is nonsensical because it ignores the differences between the two locations and therefore the amount of surplus power that would be generated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do you guys hate this guy so much he just got here. And not for nothing, MCPS was mediocre long before he arrived.

He’s had a school year and no real changes.

I would much rather that MCPS fix the hot mess that is Synergy/ParentVue/Canvas so I can monitor my kid’s performance rather than getting distracted by solar energy.

We should be able to do both.

Show me the evidence that MCPS is tackling the computer systems issue. It took 6 months for my spouse and I to figure out how to look at MCPS classroom because there were so many system related error messages. We ended up just logging in as our kid, as most people on this forum suggested.

Maybe they can use the money they raise from solar to hire a usability specialist

Maybe the unicorn that lives under my elementary school child’s bed can reprogram the MCPS issues.

OP-if you want to volunteer your time to move this solar issue forward, good for you-I would not encourage MCPS to do this vanity project. MCPS can’t even the manage the basics like choosing a MS curriculum on time so teachers can have it for the next school year.

They.... they don't have a usability specialist!?!?
So no one is monitoring how students are able to utilize tech? Is this 1993?

[Anonymous]

He's busy putting out all the fires from his predecessor. Next year, he can look forward!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do you guys hate this guy so much he just got here. And not for nothing, MCPS was mediocre long before he arrived.

He’s had a school year and no real changes.

I would much rather that MCPS fix the hot mess that is Synergy/ParentVue/Canvas so I can monitor my kid’s performance rather than getting distracted by solar energy.

We should be able to do both.

Show me the evidence that MCPS is tackling the computer systems issue. It took 6 months for my spouse and I to figure out how to look at MCPS classroom because there were so many system related error messages. We ended up just logging in as our kid, as most people on this forum suggested.

Maybe they can use the money they raise from solar to hire a usability specialist

Maybe the unicorn that lives under my elementary school child’s bed can reprogram the MCPS issues.

OP-if you want to volunteer your time to move this solar issue forward, good for you-I would not encourage MCPS to do this vanity project. MCPS can’t even the manage the basics like choosing a MS curriculum on time so teachers can have it for the next school year.

They.... they don't have a usability specialist!?!?
So no one is monitoring how students are able to utilize tech? Is this 1993?

Since it took 4 weeks for MCPS IT support to merge the duplicate ParentVue accounts created for me (an issue so common there was a form already available to report the issue), I assume that the MCPS IT consists of 2 guys sitting in a We Work building somewhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do you guys hate this guy so much he just got here. And not for nothing, MCPS was mediocre long before he arrived.

He’s had a school year and no real changes.

I would much rather that MCPS fix the hot mess that is Synergy/ParentVue/Canvas so I can monitor my kid’s performance rather than getting distracted by solar energy.

We should be able to do both.

Show me the evidence that MCPS is tackling the computer systems issue. It took 6 months for my spouse and I to figure out how to look at MCPS classroom because there were so many system related error messages. We ended up just logging in as our kid, as most people on this forum suggested.

Maybe they can use the money they raise from solar to hire a usability specialist

Maybe the unicorn that lives under my elementary school child’s bed can reprogram the MCPS issues.

OP-if you want to volunteer your time to move this solar issue forward, good for you-I would not encourage MCPS to do this vanity project. MCPS can’t even the manage the basics like choosing a MS curriculum on time so teachers can have it for the next school year.

They.... they don't have a usability specialist!?!?
So no one is monitoring how students are able to utilize tech? Is this 1993?

Since it took 4 weeks for MCPS IT support to merge the duplicate ParentVue accounts created for me (an issue so common there was a form already available to report the issue), I assume that the MCPS IT consists of 2 guys sitting in a We Work building somewhere.

MCPS IT is definitely more than 2 guys, and as an enterprise as big as it is some of it is likely on the vendor which requires tickets and followup with a third party entity. That said this is not Microsoft and there are a bunch of things in the tech stack.

If anyone wants MCPS to move to solar or anything else, I suggest they start with understanding their current Sustainability initiatives, goals, and progress. Then spend some time volunteering so they can really understand the difference between ideas and action.

[Anonymous]

They already do this. There have been solar panels on Sligo middle schools roof for years. I believe the green schools have them. https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/siteassets/district/departments/facilities/greenschoolsfocus/solar1.pdf