Karla Silvestre joins Julie Yang in jumping ship from the BOE in favor of County Council

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most boards are volunteer positions that get stipends. The county council is not a board.

Soooo...you are in the "we shouldn't complain, because, after all, they are only a board, not full time or anything" camp?

They have full time jobs and the county is paying one good money. They knew it was basically a volunteer job and choose to do it. Don’t like the pay, don’t go for it.

Soooo...you are in the "I don't want to pay for what I expect, but I'll keep complaining, anyway" camp?

Or, maybe, the "what I really want is for my idle, independently wealthy associates to be elected in numbers great enough to control the board, so I don't want to attract the competent opposition that might be drawn to run for BOE if reasonable compensation were to be in play for the time needed to do the job well" camp?

Who is competent who would run if paid more? Money is not the issue.

You don't think that among the million MoCo residents, we could find 7 smart, strong people who care about education and are willing to hold Central Office accountable to improving the school system for our kids? Really?

It’s an impossible position. If we could, don’t you think we would have already?

No, because paying less than minimum wage for Board positions excludes the majority of the candidate pool right off the bat (and results in many of the people who do run having multiple jobs, meaning they don't have the time free to actually do the Board of Ed job right.) The candidates we have gotten under the current system tell us almost nothing about what kinds of candidates we would get if the BOE positions were treated as important jobs in our county and paid accordingly, so that talented people in the county were able and willing to quit their regular jobs to take on a Board position.

It’s not @ full time job and boards get a stipend, not pay.

We are aware it's not a full-time job currently. We are arguing it should be. Can you read?

No, it shouldn't be. They are not working 40 hours a weeks and its a volunteer job with a stipend. We need to get rid of the current members up for election, as enough is enough with them ruining our kids education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most boards are volunteer positions that get stipends. The county council is not a board.

Soooo...you are in the "we shouldn't complain, because, after all, they are only a board, not full time or anything" camp?

They have full time jobs and the county is paying one good money. They knew it was basically a volunteer job and choose to do it. Don’t like the pay, don’t go for it.

Soooo...you are in the "I don't want to pay for what I expect, but I'll keep complaining, anyway" camp?

Or, maybe, the "what I really want is for my idle, independently wealthy associates to be elected in numbers great enough to control the board, so I don't want to attract the competent opposition that might be drawn to run for BOE if reasonable compensation were to be in play for the time needed to do the job well" camp?

Who is competent who would run if paid more? Money is not the issue.

You have no evidence for your opinion. There is ample research that higher compensation for board members improves corporate governance by attracting talent and increasing effort towards the role .

In theory, the folks on the board have talent. Anyone with true talent is going to make far more than what they would pay and aren't going to do the job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most boards are volunteer positions that get stipends. The county council is not a board.

Soooo...you are in the "we shouldn't complain, because, after all, they are only a board, not full time or anything" camp?

They have full time jobs and the county is paying one good money. They knew it was basically a volunteer job and choose to do it. Don’t like the pay, don’t go for it.

Soooo...you are in the "I don't want to pay for what I expect, but I'll keep complaining, anyway" camp?

Or, maybe, the "what I really want is for my idle, independently wealthy associates to be elected in numbers great enough to control the board, so I don't want to attract the competent opposition that might be drawn to run for BOE if reasonable compensation were to be in play for the time needed to do the job well" camp?

Who is competent who would run if paid more? Money is not the issue.

You have no evidence for your opinion. There is ample research that higher compensation for board members improves corporate governance by attracting talent and increasing effort towards the role .

In theory, the folks on the board have talent. Anyone with true talent is going to make far more than what they would pay and aren't going to do the job.

Your opinions are not evidence based. Increasing the salary from $25K for a high profile nearly full-time BOE job to $100K+ which is what MoCo council members make would attract people who would be able to dedicate a full-time level of effort to a challenging public servant role as a substitute for full time employment. If not you end up with BOE members like Karla Silvestre who report spending 8 hours of week to provide oversight to a school district with a billion dollar budget, which is pretty sad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most boards are volunteer positions that get stipends. The county council is not a board.

Soooo...you are in the "we shouldn't complain, because, after all, they are only a board, not full time or anything" camp?

They have full time jobs and the county is paying one good money. They knew it was basically a volunteer job and choose to do it. Don’t like the pay, don’t go for it.

Soooo...you are in the "I don't want to pay for what I expect, but I'll keep complaining, anyway" camp?

Or, maybe, the "what I really want is for my idle, independently wealthy associates to be elected in numbers great enough to control the board, so I don't want to attract the competent opposition that might be drawn to run for BOE if reasonable compensation were to be in play for the time needed to do the job well" camp?

Who is competent who would run if paid more? Money is not the issue.

You don't think that among the million MoCo residents, we could find 7 smart, strong people who care about education and are willing to hold Central Office accountable to improving the school system for our kids? Really?

It’s an impossible position. If we could, don’t you think we would have already?

No, because paying less than minimum wage for Board positions excludes the majority of the candidate pool right off the bat (and results in many of the people who do run having multiple jobs, meaning they don't have the time free to actually do the Board of Ed job right.) The candidates we have gotten under the current system tell us almost nothing about what kinds of candidates we would get if the BOE positions were treated as important jobs in our county and paid accordingly, so that talented people in the county were able and willing to quit their regular jobs to take on a Board position.

It’s not @ full time job and boards get a stipend, not pay.

We are aware it's not a full-time job currently. We are arguing it should be. Can you read?

No, it shouldn't be. They are not working 40 hours a weeks and its a volunteer job with a stipend. We need to get rid of the current members up for election, as enough is enough with them ruining our kids education.

The Board literally commissioned a study that proved that they were working 40 hours a week on average. Why are you allergic to evidence and facts?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most boards are volunteer positions that get stipends. The county council is not a board.

Soooo...you are in the "we shouldn't complain, because, after all, they are only a board, not full time or anything" camp?

They have full time jobs and the county is paying one good money. They knew it was basically a volunteer job and choose to do it. Don’t like the pay, don’t go for it.

Soooo...you are in the "I don't want to pay for what I expect, but I'll keep complaining, anyway" camp?

Or, maybe, the "what I really want is for my idle, independently wealthy associates to be elected in numbers great enough to control the board, so I don't want to attract the competent opposition that might be drawn to run for BOE if reasonable compensation were to be in play for the time needed to do the job well" camp?

Who is competent who would run if paid more? Money is not the issue.

You don't think that among the million MoCo residents, we could find 7 smart, strong people who care about education and are willing to hold Central Office accountable to improving the school system for our kids? Really?

It’s an impossible position. If we could, don’t you think we would have already?

No, because paying less than minimum wage for Board positions excludes the majority of the candidate pool right off the bat (and results in many of the people who do run having multiple jobs, meaning they don't have the time free to actually do the Board of Ed job right.) The candidates we have gotten under the current system tell us almost nothing about what kinds of candidates we would get if the BOE positions were treated as important jobs in our county and paid accordingly, so that talented people in the county were able and willing to quit their regular jobs to take on a Board position.

It’s not @ full time job and boards get a stipend, not pay.

We are aware it's not a full-time job currently. We are arguing it should be. Can you read?

No, it shouldn't be. They are not working 40 hours a weeks and its a volunteer job with a stipend. We need to get rid of the current members up for election, as enough is enough with them ruining our kids education.

So you say you are an interstellar traveler, clueless about life on earth…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most boards are volunteer positions that get stipends. The county council is not a board.

Soooo...you are in the "we shouldn't complain, because, after all, they are only a board, not full time or anything" camp?

They have full time jobs and the county is paying one good money. They knew it was basically a volunteer job and choose to do it. Don’t like the pay, don’t go for it.

Soooo...you are in the "I don't want to pay for what I expect, but I'll keep complaining, anyway" camp?

Or, maybe, the "what I really want is for my idle, independently wealthy associates to be elected in numbers great enough to control the board, so I don't want to attract the competent opposition that might be drawn to run for BOE if reasonable compensation were to be in play for the time needed to do the job well" camp?

Who is competent who would run if paid more? Money is not the issue.

You have no evidence for your opinion. There is ample research that higher compensation for board members improves corporate governance by attracting talent and increasing effort towards the role .

In theory, the folks on the board have talent. Anyone with true talent is going to make far more than what they would pay and aren't going to do the job.

Your opinions are not evidence based. Increasing the salary from $25K for a high profile nearly full-time BOE job to $100K+ which is what MoCo council members make would attract people who would be able to dedicate a full-time level of effort to a challenging public servant role as a substitute for full-time employment. If not you end up with BOE members like Karla Silvestre who report spending 8 hours of week to provide oversight to a school district with a billion dollar budget, which is pretty sad.

They are not a true oversight committee. That's not how the board functions. No one is going to want that job even for $100K who has any talent, as they can make more on the outside. Even Silvestre makes more at MC, so there would be no point in her leaving a better-paying job for that.

We do need an oversight board, but independent of MCPS, the County and the BOE to do a real audit and get the spending under control and shift the money to necessary things vs. pet projects.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most boards are volunteer positions that get stipends. The county council is not a board.

Soooo...you are in the "we shouldn't complain, because, after all, they are only a board, not full time or anything" camp?

They have full time jobs and the county is paying one good money. They knew it was basically a volunteer job and choose to do it. Don’t like the pay, don’t go for it.

Soooo...you are in the "I don't want to pay for what I expect, but I'll keep complaining, anyway" camp?

Or, maybe, the "what I really want is for my idle, independently wealthy associates to be elected in numbers great enough to control the board, so I don't want to attract the competent opposition that might be drawn to run for BOE if reasonable compensation were to be in play for the time needed to do the job well" camp?

Who is competent who would run if paid more? Money is not the issue.

You don't think that among the million MoCo residents, we could find 7 smart, strong people who care about education and are willing to hold Central Office accountable to improving the school system for our kids? Really?

It’s an impossible position. If we could, don’t you think we would have already?

No, because paying less than minimum wage for Board positions excludes the majority of the candidate pool right off the bat (and results in many of the people who do run having multiple jobs, meaning they don't have the time free to actually do the Board of Ed job right.) The candidates we have gotten under the current system tell us almost nothing about what kinds of candidates we would get if the BOE positions were treated as important jobs in our county and paid accordingly, so that talented people in the county were able and willing to quit their regular jobs to take on a Board position.

It’s not @ full time job and boards get a stipend, not pay.

We are aware it's not a full-time job currently. We are arguing it should be. Can you read?

No, it shouldn't be. They are not working 40 hours a weeks and its a volunteer job with a stipend. We need to get rid of the current members up for election, as enough is enough with them ruining our kids education.

The Board literally commissioned a study that proved that they were working 40 hours a week on average. Why are you allergic to evidence and facts?

So, how does that really work if they are also working 40 hour a week jobs. Lets be real. They aren't if they are working other jobs.

The board commissioned a study that benefitted them that was all from their imput so its a bit bias and not a true independent study. Another waste of MCPS money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most boards are volunteer positions that get stipends. The county council is not a board.

Soooo...you are in the "we shouldn't complain, because, after all, they are only a board, not full time or anything" camp?

They have full time jobs and the county is paying one good money. They knew it was basically a volunteer job and choose to do it. Don’t like the pay, don’t go for it.

Soooo...you are in the "I don't want to pay for what I expect, but I'll keep complaining, anyway" camp?

Or, maybe, the "what I really want is for my idle, independently wealthy associates to be elected in numbers great enough to control the board, so I don't want to attract the competent opposition that might be drawn to run for BOE if reasonable compensation were to be in play for the time needed to do the job well" camp?

Who is competent who would run if paid more? Money is not the issue.

You don't think that among the million MoCo residents, we could find 7 smart, strong people who care about education and are willing to hold Central Office accountable to improving the school system for our kids? Really?

It’s an impossible position. If we could, don’t you think we would have already?

No, because paying less than minimum wage for Board positions excludes the majority of the candidate pool right off the bat (and results in many of the people who do run having multiple jobs, meaning they don't have the time free to actually do the Board of Ed job right.) The candidates we have gotten under the current system tell us almost nothing about what kinds of candidates we would get if the BOE positions were treated as important jobs in our county and paid accordingly, so that talented people in the county were able and willing to quit their regular jobs to take on a Board position.

It’s not @ full time job and boards get a stipend, not pay.

We are aware it's not a full-time job currently. We are arguing it should be. Can you read?

No, it shouldn't be. They are not working 40 hours a weeks and its a volunteer job with a stipend. We need to get rid of the current members up for election, as enough is enough with them ruining our kids education.

The Board literally commissioned a study that proved that they were working 40 hours a week on average. Why are you allergic to evidence and facts?

So, how does that really work if they are also working 40 hour a week jobs. Lets be real. They aren't if they are working other jobs.

The board commissioned a study that benefitted them that was all from their imput so its a bit bias and not a true independent study. Another waste of MCPS money.

You've never heard of people working two full-time jobs before? Is that news to you?

Anyway, my understanding is that most people who join the BOE doing so because they have part-time jobs, or flexible freelance work. Karla's is an exception as I don't know if MC designates her job as part-time or full-time. I imagine that easy to look up since it's public, but I haven't bothered to confirm that.

Brenda Wolff is a retired fed, so she definitely can work the BOE job 40 hours. And Laura is a self-proclaimed full-time volunteer. So she too can work the BOE job 40 hours a week.

Anyway, I appreciate your skepticism and maybe you're right. Maybe the board members are inflating their hours but I don't think they're inflating them that much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most boards are volunteer positions that get stipends. The county council is not a board.

Soooo...you are in the "we shouldn't complain, because, after all, they are only a board, not full time or anything" camp?

They have full time jobs and the county is paying one good money. They knew it was basically a volunteer job and choose to do it. Don’t like the pay, don’t go for it.

Soooo...you are in the "I don't want to pay for what I expect, but I'll keep complaining, anyway" camp?

Or, maybe, the "what I really want is for my idle, independently wealthy associates to be elected in numbers great enough to control the board, so I don't want to attract the competent opposition that might be drawn to run for BOE if reasonable compensation were to be in play for the time needed to do the job well" camp?

Who is competent who would run if paid more? Money is not the issue.

You don't think that among the million MoCo residents, we could find 7 smart, strong people who care about education and are willing to hold Central Office accountable to improving the school system for our kids? Really?

It’s an impossible position. If we could, don’t you think we would have already?

No, because paying less than minimum wage for Board positions excludes the majority of the candidate pool right off the bat (and results in many of the people who do run having multiple jobs, meaning they don't have the time free to actually do the Board of Ed job right.) The candidates we have gotten under the current system tell us almost nothing about what kinds of candidates we would get if the BOE positions were treated as important jobs in our county and paid accordingly, so that talented people in the county were able and willing to quit their regular jobs to take on a Board position.

It’s not @ full time job and boards get a stipend, not pay.

We are aware it's not a full-time job currently. We are arguing it should be. Can you read?

No, it shouldn't be. They are not working 40 hours a weeks and its a volunteer job with a stipend. We need to get rid of the current members up for election, as enough is enough with them ruining our kids education.

The Board literally commissioned a study that proved that they were working 40 hours a week on average. Why are you allergic to evidence and facts?

So, how does that really work if they are also working 40 hour a week jobs. Lets be real. They aren't if they are working other jobs.

The board commissioned a study that benefitted them that was all from their imput so its a bit bias and not a true independent study. Another waste of MCPS money.

You've never heard of people working two full-time jobs before? Is that news to you?

Anyway, my understanding is that most people who join the BOE doing so because they have part-time jobs, or flexible freelance work. Karla's is an exception as I don't know if MC designates her job as part-time or full-time. I imagine that easy to look up since it's public, but I haven't bothered to confirm that.

Brenda Wolff is a retired fed, so she definitely can work the BOE job 40 hours. And Laura is a self-proclaimed full-time volunteer. So she too can work the BOE job 40 hours a week.

Anyway, I appreciate your skepticism and maybe you're right. Maybe the board members are inflating their hours but I don't think they're inflating them that much.

Actually no, I don't know anyone working two full time jobs, working over 80 hours, plus everythign else and doing it well.

Laura is new, we need to give her a chance. At least she's trying. And, at least she has relevant experience to MCPS.

If they are doing 40 hours, then those with full time jobs aren't putting in the hours.

Working at MC as a liasion for MCPS is a huge conflict of interest.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most boards are volunteer positions that get stipends. The county council is not a board.

Soooo...you are in the "we shouldn't complain, because, after all, they are only a board, not full time or anything" camp?

They have full time jobs and the county is paying one good money. They knew it was basically a volunteer job and choose to do it. Don’t like the pay, don’t go for it.

Soooo...you are in the "I don't want to pay for what I expect, but I'll keep complaining, anyway" camp?

Or, maybe, the "what I really want is for my idle, independently wealthy associates to be elected in numbers great enough to control the board, so I don't want to attract the competent opposition that might be drawn to run for BOE if reasonable compensation were to be in play for the time needed to do the job well" camp?

Who is competent who would run if paid more? Money is not the issue.

You have no evidence for your opinion. There is ample research that higher compensation for board members improves corporate governance by attracting talent and increasing effort towards the role .

In theory, the folks on the board have talent. Anyone with true talent is going to make far more than what they would pay and aren't going to do the job.

Your opinions are not evidence based. Increasing the salary from $25K for a high profile nearly full-time BOE job to $100K+ which is what MoCo council members make would attract people who would be able to dedicate a full-time level of effort to a challenging public servant role as a substitute for full-time employment. If not you end up with BOE members like Karla Silvestre who report spending 8 hours of week to provide oversight to a school district with a billion dollar budget, which is pretty sad.

They are not a true oversight committee. That's not how the board functions. No one is going to want that job even for $100K who has any talent, as they can make more on the outside. Even Silvestre makes more at MC, so there would be no point in her leaving a better-paying job for that.

We do need an oversight board, but independent of MCPS, the County and the BOE to do a real audit and get the spending under control and shift the money to necessary things vs. pet projects.

That is what the Board of Ed is for!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most boards are volunteer positions that get stipends. The county council is not a board.

Soooo...you are in the "we shouldn't complain, because, after all, they are only a board, not full time or anything" camp?

They have full time jobs and the county is paying one good money. They knew it was basically a volunteer job and choose to do it. Don’t like the pay, don’t go for it.

Soooo...you are in the "I don't want to pay for what I expect, but I'll keep complaining, anyway" camp?

Or, maybe, the "what I really want is for my idle, independently wealthy associates to be elected in numbers great enough to control the board, so I don't want to attract the competent opposition that might be drawn to run for BOE if reasonable compensation were to be in play for the time needed to do the job well" camp?

Who is competent who would run if paid more? Money is not the issue.

You have no evidence for your opinion. There is ample research that higher compensation for board members improves corporate governance by attracting talent and increasing effort towards the role .

In theory, the folks on the board have talent. Anyone with true talent is going to make far more than what they would pay and aren't going to do the job.

Your opinions are not evidence based. Increasing the salary from $25K for a high profile nearly full-time BOE job to $100K+ which is what MoCo council members make would attract people who would be able to dedicate a full-time level of effort to a challenging public servant role as a substitute for full-time employment. If not you end up with BOE members like Karla Silvestre who report spending 8 hours of week to provide oversight to a school district with a billion dollar budget, which is pretty sad.

They are not a true oversight committee. That's not how the board functions. No one is going to want that job even for $100K who has any talent, as they can make more on the outside. Even Silvestre makes more at MC, so there would be no point in her leaving a better-paying job for that.

We do need an oversight board, but independent of MCPS, the County and the BOE to do a real audit and get the spending under control and shift the money to necessary things vs. pet projects.

That is what the Board of Ed is for!

Partly but no, they aren’t looking at the details. They only look at the bigger picture.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most boards are volunteer positions that get stipends. The county council is not a board.

Soooo...you are in the "we shouldn't complain, because, after all, they are only a board, not full time or anything" camp?

They have full time jobs and the county is paying one good money. They knew it was basically a volunteer job and choose to do it. Don’t like the pay, don’t go for it.

Soooo...you are in the "I don't want to pay for what I expect, but I'll keep complaining, anyway" camp?

Or, maybe, the "what I really want is for my idle, independently wealthy associates to be elected in numbers great enough to control the board, so I don't want to attract the competent opposition that might be drawn to run for BOE if reasonable compensation were to be in play for the time needed to do the job well" camp?

Who is competent who would run if paid more? Money is not the issue.

You have no evidence for your opinion. There is ample research that higher compensation for board members improves corporate governance by attracting talent and increasing effort towards the role .

In theory, the folks on the board have talent. Anyone with true talent is going to make far more than what they would pay and aren't going to do the job.

Your opinions are not evidence based. Increasing the salary from $25K for a high profile nearly full-time BOE job to $100K+ which is what MoCo council members make would attract people who would be able to dedicate a full-time level of effort to a challenging public servant role as a substitute for full-time employment. If not you end up with BOE members like Karla Silvestre who report spending 8 hours of week to provide oversight to a school district with a billion dollar budget, which is pretty sad.

They are not a true oversight committee. That's not how the board functions. No one is going to want that job even for $100K who has any talent, as they can make more on the outside. Even Silvestre makes more at MC, so there would be no point in her leaving a better-paying job for that.

We do need an oversight board, but independent of MCPS, the County and the BOE to do a real audit and get the spending under control and shift the money to necessary things vs. pet projects.

That is what the Board of Ed is for!

Partly but no, they aren’t looking at the details. They only look at the bigger picture.

Your curcularity is quite astonishing.

You don't want to use adequate compensation to attract more qualified individuals to run for the BOE and then, upon election, to spend the time needed to do the oversight work that is their chief duty to best effect (such time might allow them to look at the details), yet you want an entirely new "oversight board" to do that same work? And, presumably, pay them?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most boards are volunteer positions that get stipends. The county council is not a board.

Soooo...you are in the "we shouldn't complain, because, after all, they are only a board, not full time or anything" camp?

They have full time jobs and the county is paying one good money. They knew it was basically a volunteer job and choose to do it. Don’t like the pay, don’t go for it.

Soooo...you are in the "I don't want to pay for what I expect, but I'll keep complaining, anyway" camp?

Or, maybe, the "what I really want is for my idle, independently wealthy associates to be elected in numbers great enough to control the board, so I don't want to attract the competent opposition that might be drawn to run for BOE if reasonable compensation were to be in play for the time needed to do the job well" camp?

Who is competent who would run if paid more? Money is not the issue.

You have no evidence for your opinion. There is ample research that higher compensation for board members improves corporate governance by attracting talent and increasing effort towards the role .

In theory, the folks on the board have talent. Anyone with true talent is going to make far more than what they would pay and aren't going to do the job.

Your opinions are not evidence based. Increasing the salary from $25K for a high profile nearly full-time BOE job to $100K+ which is what MoCo council members make would attract people who would be able to dedicate a full-time level of effort to a challenging public servant role as a substitute for full-time employment. If not you end up with BOE members like Karla Silvestre who report spending 8 hours of week to provide oversight to a school district with a billion dollar budget, which is pretty sad.

They are not a true oversight committee. That's not how the board functions. No one is going to want that job even for $100K who has any talent, as they can make more on the outside. Even Silvestre makes more at MC, so there would be no point in her leaving a better-paying job for that.

We do need an oversight board, but independent of MCPS, the County and the BOE to do a real audit and get the spending under control and shift the money to necessary things vs. pet projects.

That is what the Board of Ed is for!

Partly but no, they aren’t looking at the details. They only look at the bigger picture.

That's not what courts believe. They hold the BOE responsible for oversight and hold the system accountable for failures in the school system.

For example: https://bethesdamagazine.com/2025/07/23/school-board-pay-bcc-high-racism/

A Montgomery County Circuit Court jury on Wednesday ordered the county school board to pay former Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School teacher Dan Engler $518,000 in damages after finding the board was ultimately responsible for defaming Engler in a 2023 email accusing him of racism that was sent to the B-CC community.

The jury awarded the damages after a seven-day trial that revolved around the email sent by B-CC Principal Sheldon Mooney in response to a complaint by two Black students that Engler had made racist comments to them in his classroom on Feb. 8, 2023. The email was vetted by numerous Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) administrators, according to court testimony. The school board oversees MCPS.

In August 2023, Engler and his attorney David Wachen filed a defamation lawsuit against Mooney and the school board seeking more than $75,000 in damages, according to the complaint. Engler, who taught at B-CC for 18 years before going on medical leave in February 2023, now teaches at Walt Whitman High in Bethesda.

After several hours of deliberation Wednesday, the jury returned a verdict finding the school board defamed Engler, but Mooney did not. The jury awarded Engler a total of $518,000 in damages and interest.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most boards are volunteer positions that get stipends. The county council is not a board.

Soooo...you are in the "we shouldn't complain, because, after all, they are only a board, not full time or anything" camp?

They have full time jobs and the county is paying one good money. They knew it was basically a volunteer job and choose to do it. Don’t like the pay, don’t go for it.

Soooo...you are in the "I don't want to pay for what I expect, but I'll keep complaining, anyway" camp?

Or, maybe, the "what I really want is for my idle, independently wealthy associates to be elected in numbers great enough to control the board, so I don't want to attract the competent opposition that might be drawn to run for BOE if reasonable compensation were to be in play for the time needed to do the job well" camp?

Who is competent who would run if paid more? Money is not the issue.

You have no evidence for your opinion. There is ample research that higher compensation for board members improves corporate governance by attracting talent and increasing effort towards the role .

In theory, the folks on the board have talent. Anyone with true talent is going to make far more than what they would pay and aren't going to do the job.

Your opinions are not evidence based. Increasing the salary from $25K for a high profile nearly full-time BOE job to $100K+ which is what MoCo council members make would attract people who would be able to dedicate a full-time level of effort to a challenging public servant role as a substitute for full-time employment. If not you end up with BOE members like Karla Silvestre who report spending 8 hours of week to provide oversight to a school district with a billion dollar budget, which is pretty sad.

They are not a true oversight committee. That's not how the board functions. No one is going to want that job even for $100K who has any talent, as they can make more on the outside. Even Silvestre makes more at MC, so there would be no point in her leaving a better-paying job for that.

We do need an oversight board, but independent of MCPS, the County and the BOE to do a real audit and get the spending under control and shift the money to necessary things vs. pet projects.

That is what the Board of Ed is for!

Partly but no, they aren’t looking at the details. They only look at the bigger picture.

That's not what courts believe. They hold the BOE responsible for oversight and hold the system accountable for failures in the school system.

For example: https://bethesdamagazine.com/2025/07/23/school-board-pay-bcc-high-racism/

A Montgomery County Circuit Court jury on Wednesday ordered the county school board to pay former Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School teacher Dan Engler $518,000 in damages after finding the board was ultimately responsible for defaming Engler in a 2023 email accusing him of racism that was sent to the B-CC community.

The jury awarded the damages after a seven-day trial that revolved around the email sent by B-CC Principal Sheldon Mooney in response to a complaint by two Black students that Engler had made racist comments to them in his classroom on Feb. 8, 2023. The email was vetted by numerous Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) administrators, according to court testimony. The school board oversees MCPS.

In August 2023, Engler and his attorney David Wachen filed a defamation lawsuit against Mooney and the school board seeking more than $75,000 in damages, according to the complaint. Engler, who taught at B-CC for 18 years before going on medical leave in February 2023, now teaches at Walt Whitman High in Bethesda.

After several hours of deliberation Wednesday, the jury returned a verdict finding the school board defamed Engler, but Mooney did not. The jury awarded Engler a total of $518,000 in damages and interest.

Sounds like we need those who were on the board at that time removed. They did not pay, MCPS did.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most boards are volunteer positions that get stipends. The county council is not a board.

Soooo...you are in the "we shouldn't complain, because, after all, they are only a board, not full time or anything" camp?

They have full time jobs and the county is paying one good money. They knew it was basically a volunteer job and choose to do it. Don’t like the pay, don’t go for it.

Soooo...you are in the "I don't want to pay for what I expect, but I'll keep complaining, anyway" camp?

Or, maybe, the "what I really want is for my idle, independently wealthy associates to be elected in numbers great enough to control the board, so I don't want to attract the competent opposition that might be drawn to run for BOE if reasonable compensation were to be in play for the time needed to do the job well" camp?

Who is competent who would run if paid more? Money is not the issue.

You have no evidence for your opinion. There is ample research that higher compensation for board members improves corporate governance by attracting talent and increasing effort towards the role .

In theory, the folks on the board have talent. Anyone with true talent is going to make far more than what they would pay and aren't going to do the job.

Your opinions are not evidence based. Increasing the salary from $25K for a high profile nearly full-time BOE job to $100K+ which is what MoCo council members make would attract people who would be able to dedicate a full-time level of effort to a challenging public servant role as a substitute for full-time employment. If not you end up with BOE members like Karla Silvestre who report spending 8 hours of week to provide oversight to a school district with a billion dollar budget, which is pretty sad.

They are not a true oversight committee. That's not how the board functions. No one is going to want that job even for $100K who has any talent, as they can make more on the outside. Even Silvestre makes more at MC, so there would be no point in her leaving a better-paying job for that.

We do need an oversight board, but independent of MCPS, the County and the BOE to do a real audit and get the spending under control and shift the money to necessary things vs. pet projects.

That is what the Board of Ed is for!

Partly but no, they aren’t looking at the details. They only look at the bigger picture.

That's not what courts believe. They hold the BOE responsible for oversight and hold the system accountable for failures in the school system.

For example: https://bethesdamagazine.com/2025/07/23/school-board-pay-bcc-high-racism/

A Montgomery County Circuit Court jury on Wednesday ordered the county school board to pay former Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School teacher Dan Engler $518,000 in damages after finding the board was ultimately responsible for defaming Engler in a 2023 email accusing him of racism that was sent to the B-CC community.

The jury awarded the damages after a seven-day trial that revolved around the email sent by B-CC Principal Sheldon Mooney in response to a complaint by two Black students that Engler had made racist comments to them in his classroom on Feb. 8, 2023. The email was vetted by numerous Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) administrators, according to court testimony. The school board oversees MCPS.

In August 2023, Engler and his attorney David Wachen filed a defamation lawsuit against Mooney and the school board seeking more than $75,000 in damages, according to the complaint. Engler, who taught at B-CC for 18 years before going on medical leave in February 2023, now teaches at Walt Whitman High in Bethesda.

After several hours of deliberation Wednesday, the jury returned a verdict finding the school board defamed Engler, but Mooney did not. The jury awarded Engler a total of $518,000 in damages and interest.

Sounds like we need those who were on the board at that time removed. They did not pay, MCPS did.

Karla and Julie were both on the board at that time.