MontCo schools budget passed with cuts

[Anonymous]

http://www.gazette.net/article/20110617/NEWS/706189999/1007/montgomery-board-oks-2086b-schools-budget&template=gazette

"The budget for next year is $17.4 million smaller than this year’s spending plan."

"In total, there will be 141 fewer positions in the school system in 2012 than in 2011. Board members decided not to increase class size by eliminating classroom teaching positions for next year, although Superintendent of Schools Jerry D. Weast warned Monday that if enrollment projections proved too low, class sizes could go up anyway."

"board members did repeat their disappointment about the council’s decision last month to reduce their funding to schools from $1.415 billion this year to $1.37 billion next year. In the face of the projected 3,400-student jump in enrollment for the 2011-2012 school year"

"in the past four budget cycles nearly 1,300 positions in the school system had been eliminated"

"Expenditures, Weast said, clearly were related to educational outcomes [Ed: Does this mean standardized testing will affect teacher pay?] ... 'To pretend that won’t hurt the classroom, I have to advise you professionally, you’re wrong,' Weast said of the cuts to funding and positions."

[Anonymous]

"Expenditures, Weast said, clearly were related to educational outcomes [Ed: Does this mean standardized testing will affect teacher pay?] ... 'To pretend that won’t hurt the classroom, I have to advise you professionally, you’re wrong,' Weast said of the cuts to funding and positions."

well yes that's true when the CHOICE the Board of Ed makes is to consistently reduce things that directly do impact the classroom such as teacher aide positions rather than look at restructuring compensation for its employees. Weast is right given the approach that the Board keeps taking in MoCo, but that statement is not universally correct - there are other choices that could be made about where to pull the money from.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

"Expenditures, Weast said, clearly were related to educational outcomes [Ed: Does this mean standardized testing will affect teacher pay?] ... 'To pretend that won’t hurt the classroom, I have to advise you professionally, you’re wrong,' Weast said of the cuts to funding and positions."

well yes that's true when the CHOICE the Board of Ed makes is to consistently reduce things that directly do impact the classroom such as teacher aide positions rather than look at restructuring compensation for its employees. Weast is right given the approach that the Board keeps taking in MoCo, but that statement is not universally correct - there are other choices that could be made about where to pull the money from.

Agreed.

[Anonymous]

Also, I have seen nothing about reducing non-academic expenditures like sports programs. While I think sports are an important part of children's education, in difficult times they should be radically cut before class size or number of teachers is affected.

[Anonymous]

Is the PTA allowed to fundraise for "extras" like extra art, music, foreign language, whatever? Can a parent group within a particular classroom fundraise or contribute to a particular activity--more field trips or musical instruments or something?
I'm moving from DC, where such activities are common for obvious reasons, to Mont. Co., and just want to understand the lay of the land.
My daughter will be entering kindergarden.

[Anonymous]

"In total, there will be 141 fewer positions in the school system in 2012 than in 2011.

You need to know how the county works when it comes to reducing jobs. There are no layoffs-everyone will stil have a job, these jobs were frozen and never filled. They also don't mention the mass number of people retiring....

[Anonymous]

Weast and the BOE have no credibility with me. They always cut classroom first and seem to save secondary programs. Cutting reading initiative teachers before other non-essential cuts is a joke. I don't think they are honest about their agenda.

[Anonymous]

10:07 the budget reduced $750K for athletics; details are at http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/boe/meetings/agenda/2010-11/2011-0616/Final%20Adoption%20of%20the%20Fiscal%20Year%202012%20Operating%20Budget.pdf

11:37 in MoCo PTSAs may not raise funds for operating expenses such as teachers salaries or stipends. They can raise funds for equipment, facilities, teacher mini-grants, enrichment programs supplemental to instruction, etc.