What could be up? Elementary School Changes for next year?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wonder if the CEP program is impacting this. Given that there is no need for families to complete the forms to receive meals, how do they actually know the FARMS rate? Both NHE and Oak View are CEP schools with all students receiving free meals. No one had to complete the forms.
https://www..org/news/quick-notes/2023-08/2023-08-issue/important-information-about-student-meals/

It definitely has. MCPS said not as many families filled out paperwork this year because of free breakfast and lunch from CEP.

So fewer families were eligible which means there's less poverty so that's a good thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They absolutely said during the worksession they couldn't predict this happening, which is BS. They also said there is nothing they can do to get those schools back on the list. And they said the current approach is what the principals agreed on.

What are the new schools in the list? Do any of the decision makers at MCPS have ties to schools that benefited from the shift? Just curious.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They absolutely said during the worksession they couldn't predict this happening, which is BS. They also said there is nothing they can do to get those schools back on the list. And they said the current approach is what the principals agreed on.

What are the new schools in the list? Do any of the decision makers at MCPS have ties to schools that benefited from the shift? Just curious.

Stirring up trouble? So DCUM!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They absolutely said during the worksession they couldn't predict this happening, which is BS. They also said there is nothing they can do to get those schools back on the list. And they said the current approach is what the principals agreed on.

What are the new schools in the list? Do any of the decision makers at MCPS have ties to schools that benefited from the shift? Just curious.

I don't know but I have roughly transcribed Pugh's initial comments about the Title I issue during the 2/22 BOE session:

"Title I is not guaranteed, it moves from year to year. We do it based on the poverty indicators. The federal requirements are that we rank schools based on the poverty indicators which for us are CEP and FARMS and that’s new. So this year when we were (and normally there’s changes every single year and it’s always a painful thing…), but this year we couldn’t predict what happened, actually. More schools where schools were directly certified, they didn’t have to fill out the form, but because we had knowledge of more students that were eligible to receive this, it changed the rankings of the schools quite drastically.”

Honestly, this is not coherent. It is not "new" that Title I is based on poverty indicators. CEP is not a poverty indicator. The fact that MCPS had knowledge of more students eligible to receive FARMS is not what changed the rankings of the schools. It is MCPS Central Office's choice to directly communicate to CEP families that they didn't need to fill out income eligibility forms for FARMS.

[Anonymous]

So much for the narrative that MoCo is a sanctuary county. Changing from using FARMS to SNAP is putting schools with an high immigrant population at a distinct disadvantage for funding. Only a small percentage of SNAP recipients in MD are Hispanic to begin with.

https://www.ssw.umaryland.edu/media/ssw/fwrtg/welfare-research/supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program-snap/Maryland-SNAP-Households,-2022.pdf?&#:~:text=The%20age%20of%20SNAP%20recipients,or%20older%20(Figure%202).

Is central office just dumb? Or did someone e do this on purpose?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So much for the narrative that MoCo is a sanctuary county. Changing from using FARMS to SNAP is putting schools with an high immigrant population at a distinct disadvantage for funding. Only a small percentage of SNAP recipients in MD are Hispanic to begin with.

https://www.ssw.umaryland.edu/media/ssw/fwrtg/welfare-research/supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program-snap/Maryland-SNAP-Households,-2022.pdf?&#:~:text=The%20age%20of%20SNAP%20recipients,or%20older%20(Figure%202).

Is central office just dumb? Or did someone e do this on purpose?

It feels like pure incompetence to me combined with a culture of dishonesty.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So much for the narrative that MoCo is a sanctuary county. Changing from using FARMS to SNAP is putting schools with an high immigrant population at a distinct disadvantage for funding. Only a small percentage of SNAP recipients in MD are Hispanic to begin with.

https://www.ssw.umaryland.edu/media/ssw/fwrtg/welfare-research/supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program-snap/Maryland-SNAP-Households,-2022.pdf?&#:~:text=The%20age%20of%20SNAP%20recipients,or%20older%20(Figure%202).

Is central office just dumb? Or did someone e do this on purpose?

It feels like pure incompetence to me combined with a culture of dishonesty.

I agree, the answers to the PP questions are, yes, and yes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wonder if the CEP program is impacting this. Given that there is no need for families to complete the forms to receive meals, how do they actually know the FARMS rate? Both NHE and Oak View are CEP schools with all students receiving free meals. No one had to complete the forms.
https://www..org/news/quick-notes/2023-08/2023-08-issue/important-information-about-student-meals/

It definitely has. MCPS said not as many families filled out paperwork this year because of free breakfast and lunch from CEP.

So fewer families were eligible which means there's less poverty so that's a good thing.

No--families did not fill out FARMs forms to get free or reduced meals for their kids because everyone received free lunch and breakfast. FARMs forms weren't even collected. So instead MCPS took families that receive SNAP. Many families that are eligible for SNAP do not attempt to collect it. Many families who meet poverty thresholds are ineligible for SNAP for other reasons. It would be good if it meant fewer families were actually that poor, but it doesn't. The demographics haven't changed.