The top 20 highest-paid employees in MCPS in 2020

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is just another indication as to why MCPS is TOO large. In any large (corporate-style) entity, there is often mismanagement and waste.

I grew up in an area with smaller, town-based school district and there was much more accountability. Much easier to identify the waste and call it out.

My SIL teaches in a charter school in Philly and it is WAY better. She loves how she can easily make requests for change and implement practices that support the students easier and quicker.

There is still waste in a town-based school district model. You just have many smaller bureaucracies instead of one large bureaucracy. New Jersey has nearly 700 people who are district superintendents; Maryland has 24.

Exactly. So much more room for redundancies.

A lot of tiny districts are sharing non-classroom teachers across several schools because they're just isn't the money to hire someone full-time.

Why would that be a negative? How is that any different from what MCPs does? MCPs hires teachers to work in multiple schools. Also hires teachers who work in private schools.

Should a music teacher without any background knowledge in reading be jumping into a breakout room in multiple grades to be instructing reading?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is just another indication as to why MCPS is TOO large. In any large (corporate-style) entity, there is often mismanagement and waste.

I grew up in an area with smaller, town-based school district and there was much more accountability. Much easier to identify the waste and call it out.

My SIL teaches in a charter school in Philly and it is WAY better. She loves how she can easily make requests for change and implement practices that support the students easier and quicker.

There is still waste in a town-based school district model. You just have many smaller bureaucracies instead of one large bureaucracy. New Jersey has nearly 700 people who are district superintendents; Maryland has 24.

True that you have more superintendents.

However, it is easier to identify and manage waste in a smaller budget.

The MCPS budget is incredibly complex. Easier to get away with mismanaging money.

In a smaller district, it is easier to see the positions and ensure that they are solely there to fulfill the mission of educating children.

I have no problem with paying taxes towards schools and having my money go towards teachers and supplies. I do have issue with seeing our tax money go to fluff projects and useless Central Office salaries that support employees who have little impact on our students education.

Maryland has countywide school districts. That is how it is. This has been discussed a million times on this board. Good luck trying to split MoCo into smaller counties.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am particularly curious about this one: Kim Statham, administrator on special assignment: $230,500.

Does anyone know her role? Special assignment sounds like it could be a rubber room situation where they can't or won't get rid of her, but don't want her playing a real function.

She is now the "higher education workforce liaison."

https://news.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/staff-bulletin/new-administrative-appointments-and-vision-for-the-future-of-mcps/

Dr. Statham will use her experience leading large school systems on both coasts to visit colleges, develop strong relationships, and recruit the best and brightest students for our teacher workforce. Reporting directly to the deputy superintendent, Dr. Statham will focus on establishing relationships with colleges and universities so that, over time, MCPS will have a pipeline of high-quality teaching candidates that will serve us now and into the future.

Why are isn’t she part of HR?

Anyone seen her do anything since this promotion?

[Anonymous]

I work in education and these titles make sense.

Special Projects are actually really important when you are trying to innovate (and I am not talking earth shattering stuff here, just things that come up that need managing).

Teaching and Learning is a super common term in education that refers to things like learning management systems, methods and methodologies, training and tutoring. These departments are instruments in trying to "keep up" with techniques and support teachers as they support learners.

In a system as massive as MCPS (or FCPS, or even DCPS) no one will be happy all of the time, and they do the best they can. I would argue that all of these massive systems would be more effective and more personal if they were chunked up into smaller geographic areas, but they're not, so yes, they will feel more impersonal and have starker divides of parents who are happy and unhappy. But they still have to fulfill these roles.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I work in education and these titles make sense.

Special Projects are actually really important when you are trying to innovate (and I am not talking earth shattering stuff here, just things that come up that need managing).

Teaching and Learning is a super common term in education that refers to things like learning management systems, methods and methodologies, training and tutoring. These departments are instruments in trying to "keep up" with techniques and support teachers as they support learners.

In a system as massive as MCPS (or FCPS, or even DCPS) no one will be happy all of the time, and they do the best they can. I would argue that all of these massive systems would be more effective and more personal if they were chunked up into smaller geographic areas, but they're not, so yes, they will feel more impersonal and have starker divides of parents who are happy and unhappy. But they still have to fulfill these roles.

Except that this feels completely untrue. Especially this year, it is apparent that many of the people in administration and leadership at MCPS are clearly not ‘doing the best they can’.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is just another indication as to why MCPS is TOO large. In any large (corporate-style) entity, there is often mismanagement and waste.

I grew up in an area with smaller, town-based school district and there was much more accountability. Much easier to identify the waste and call it out.

My SIL teaches in a charter school in Philly and it is WAY better. She loves how she can easily make requests for change and implement practices that support the students easier and quicker.

There is still waste in a town-based school district model. You just have many smaller bureaucracies instead of one large bureaucracy. New Jersey has nearly 700 people who are district superintendents; Maryland has 24.

True that you have more superintendents.

However, it is easier to identify and manage waste in a smaller budget.

The MCPS budget is incredibly complex. Easier to get away with mismanaging money.

In a smaller district, it is easier to see the positions and ensure that they are solely there to fulfill the mission of educating children.

I have no problem with paying taxes towards schools and having my money go towards teachers and supplies. I do have issue with seeing our tax money go to fluff projects and useless Central Office salaries that support employees who have little impact on our students education.

Maryland has countywide school districts. That is how it is. This has been discussed a million times on this board. Good luck trying to split MoCo into smaller counties.

Yeah, you’re right. I don’t see this changing soon. But it’s apparent that this idea of countywide school districts is not in the best interest of students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I work in education and these titles make sense.

Special Projects are actually really important when you are trying to innovate (and I am not talking earth shattering stuff here, just things that come up that need managing).

Teaching and Learning is a super common term in education that refers to things like learning management systems, methods and methodologies, training and tutoring. These departments are instruments in trying to "keep up" with techniques and support teachers as they support learners.

In a system as massive as MCPS (or FCPS, or even DCPS) no one will be happy all of the time, and they do the best they can. I would argue that all of these massive systems would be more effective and more personal if they were chunked up into smaller geographic areas, but they're not, so yes, they will feel more impersonal and have starker divides of parents who are happy and unhappy. But they still have to fulfill these roles.

Except that this feels completely untrue. Especially this year, it is apparent that many of the people in administration and leadership at MCPS are clearly not ‘doing the best they can’.

Where is Statham? If you work in education, what is she doing? #3 salary

[Anonymous]

Three people with the title "chiefs of staff". Why do we need so many?

[Anonymous]

I visited central office once for a panel interview. Everything was plush, good food, very clean. No one was actively working. I would say that the average MCPS teacher works twice as much as one of these administrators or "chiefs".

[Anonymous]

It is a big system and I get management pay but why do we always end up with some failed teachers who only did an education degree because they couldn’t stand anything more rigorous at what ever underwhelming university they went to. They seem to be the take no chances and fail up in an unfireable bureaucracy while checking other peoples pre-requisite boxes for the staff photo types. But that is what bureaucracies need to keep growing.

In full disclosure, I am super jealous of both executive pay and government benefits. The stock options so often don’t truly work out in the public sector like they do on TV

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I visited central office once for a panel interview. Everything was plush, good food, very clean. No one was actively working. I would say that the average MCPS teacher works twice as much as one of these administrators or "chiefs".

Someone needed to get all the teachers and stuff in palace to work twice as hard. And peasants always work harder than the Lords, this is nothing new

[Anonymous]

Fire the entire IT department. What a joke

[Anonymous]

I find it strange that chiefs of staff make as much as they do in relation to senior leaders and administrators.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I find it strange that chiefs of staff make as much as they do in relation to senior leaders and administrators.

I'd be pissed if I were the chief counsel.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I visited central office once for a panel interview. Everything was plush, good food, very clean. No one was actively working. I would say that the average MCPS teacher works twice as much as one of these administrators or "chiefs".

Someone needed to get all the teachers and stuff in palace to work twice as hard. And peasants always work harder than the Lords, this is nothing new

This is why I’m always wary about throwing more money toward schools. If I thought it would go to the students or something that directly impacts students, I’d be all for it. If it’s simply going to create more administrative roles, it’s an absolute waste. I worked in public education for 15 years. I’ve seen plenty of waste.