MCEA and Jennifer Martin act like a bunch of lunatics at Council yesterday

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just checked Dawn Ludke’s Twitter, and she supports an 8% tax hike, higher than Kristin Mink. That’s surprising.

“I'm proud to support an additional $215 million in tax-supported funding for Montgomery County Public Schools - an almost 8% increase that gives the school system the resources it needs to honor its negotiated contracts with teachers, school support staff, and administrators.“

It doesn't sound like she's recommending an 8% tax increase. It sounds like she's supporting an 8% increase in funding for the schools. Could come from other sources (e.g. giving lower increases to other departments).

Got it. That makes more sense to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Natali Fani-Gonzalez is also not backing down. She's demanding specific answers, actions and accountability from Monifa and the BoE:

She brought up some very good points but I disagree about yet another new curriculum (NYC schools).

[Anonymous]

Looks like we're headed toward 5.7% increase, which is not close to the 10% Elrich and MCPS were insisting were the bare minimum: https://moco360.media/2023/05/16/funding-countys-high-priority-budget-items-would-require-5-7-cent-property-tax-hike/

Also, there will definitely have to be some hard choices made, as the Council is not writing a blank check for even all of the high-priority items:

“Now we have to look at that long list, try to pare it down and try to meet somewhere in the middle—which is probably where we’re going to land,” Albornoz said. “Not all of [the high priority items] are going to make it through.”

This all-or-nothing strategy that MCPS, the BoE and the MCEA took seems to be a big miss.

[Anonymous]

I actually put most of the blame on Elrich here, for a few reasons.

1) despite towering assessment hikes which raised the property tax by themselves, he calls for a 10% property tax hike to drastically grow basically every branch of county government.

2) He gave very generous deals to all the public service unions, across the board.

3) He has never demonstrated any concern for transparency or results of any kind in MCPS, so of course the MCEA thinks they can run over the council.

Best of all- even if he somehow got the 10% increase through- there is still a structural deficit for NEXT YEAR. So we'll just be right back here doing it again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I actually put most of the blame on Elrich here, for a few reasons.

1) despite towering assessment hikes which raised the property tax by themselves, he calls for a 10% property tax hike to drastically grow basically every branch of county government.

2) He gave very generous deals to all the public service unions, across the board.

3) He has never demonstrated any concern for transparency or results of any kind in MCPS, so of course the MCEA thinks they can run over the council.

Best of all- even if he somehow got the 10% increase through- there is still a structural deficit for NEXT YEAR. So we'll just be right back here doing it again.

Of course you do.

[Anonymous]

?

Is anything I posted the slightest bit factually incorrect?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I actually put most of the blame on Elrich here, for a few reasons.

1) despite towering assessment hikes which raised the property tax by themselves, he calls for a 10% property tax hike to drastically grow basically every branch of county government.

2) He gave very generous deals to all the public service unions, across the board.

3) He has never demonstrated any concern for transparency or results of any kind in MCPS, so of course the MCEA thinks they can run over the council.

Best of all- even if he somehow got the 10% increase through- there is still a structural deficit for NEXT YEAR. So we'll just be right back here doing it again.

Yup. I think your assessment is spot on.

But further to your point, I have to blame MoCo voters because we voted Elrich back in, knowing this is who he was and how he operates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I actually put most of the blame on Elrich here, for a few reasons.

1) despite towering assessment hikes which raised the property tax by themselves, he calls for a 10% property tax hike to drastically grow basically every branch of county government.

2) He gave very generous deals to all the public service unions, across the board.

3) He has never demonstrated any concern for transparency or results of any kind in MCPS, so of course the MCEA thinks they can run over the council.

Best of all- even if he somehow got the 10% increase through- there is still a structural deficit for NEXT YEAR. So we'll just be right back here doing it again.

Yup. I think your assessment is spot on.

But further to your point, I have to blame MoCo voters because we voted Elrich back in, knowing this is who he was and how he operates.

Yup. And insiders say he plans to run for 3rd term. Just to make sure we never recover.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Council's proclamation was hypocritical lip-service. "Y'all are great. Here's less money than you need."

MCEA can't strike. This was a reasonable balance.

(I'm not part of MCEA.)

I agree. The USA is very anti-union, and this is why workers are treated so poorly. Being legally barred from striking goes against every working person's rights. Since they suffer under this ridiculous and unjust restriction that severely limits their power, MCEA and others are reduced to displays that make them look silly, when it reality it's the law that needs to change, not them. This is like the Jim Crow era, when Blacks were "free" in theory, but second-rate citizens in reality. This is the same situation for workers.

I am not a teacher or union member, but it's very sad to see how many Americans are just clueless about what unions gave them across the decades. Thanks to unions, you have weekends. Support your fellow worker and push for stronger unions. If you do, you might end up with longer parental leave, longer vacations, more affordable healthcare, more retirement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I actually put most of the blame on Elrich here, for a few reasons.

1) despite towering assessment hikes which raised the property tax by themselves, he calls for a 10% property tax hike to drastically grow basically every branch of county government.

2) He gave very generous deals to all the public service unions, across the board.

3) He has never demonstrated any concern for transparency or results of any kind in MCPS, so of course the MCEA thinks they can run over the council.

Best of all- even if he somehow got the 10% increase through- there is still a structural deficit for NEXT YEAR. So we'll just be right back here doing it again.

Yup. I think your assessment is spot on.

But further to your point, I have to blame MoCo voters because we voted Elrich back in, knowing this is who he was and how he operates.

I'm not happy about this either, but I don't think that's true. He didn't increase taxes in his first term.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Council's proclamation was hypocritical lip-service. "Y'all are great. Here's less money than you need."

MCEA can't strike. This was a reasonable balance.

(I'm not part of MCEA.)

I agree. The USA is very anti-union, and this is why workers are treated so poorly. Being legally barred from striking goes against every working person's rights. Since they suffer under this ridiculous and unjust restriction that severely limits their power, MCEA and others are reduced to displays that make them look silly, when it reality it's the law that needs to change, not them. This is like the Jim Crow era, when Blacks were "free" in theory, but second-rate citizens in reality. This is the same situation for workers.

I am not a teacher or union member, but it's very sad to see how many Americans are just clueless about what unions gave them across the decades. Thanks to unions, you have weekends. Support your fellow worker and push for stronger unions. If you do, you might end up with longer parental leave, longer vacations, more affordable healthcare, more retirement.

agree

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Council's proclamation was hypocritical lip-service. "Y'all are great. Here's less money than you need."

MCEA can't strike. This was a reasonable balance.

(I'm not part of MCEA.)

I agree. The USA is very anti-union, and this is why workers are treated so poorly. Being legally barred from striking goes against every working person's rights. Since they suffer under this ridiculous and unjust restriction that severely limits their power, MCEA and others are reduced to displays that make them look silly, when it reality it's the law that needs to change, not them. This is like the Jim Crow era, when Blacks were "free" in theory, but second-rate citizens in reality. This is the same situation for workers.

I am not a teacher or union member, but it's very sad to see how many Americans are just clueless about what unions gave them across the decades. Thanks to unions, you have weekends. Support your fellow worker and push for stronger unions. If you do, you might end up with longer parental leave, longer vacations, more affordable healthcare, more retirement.

Individuals can “strike” — it’s also known as quitting.

Or are you really saying it’s a bad thing that a group of adults can’t collude to hurt kids?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Looks like we're headed toward 5.7% increase, which is not close to the 10% Elrich and MCPS were insisting were the bare minimum: https://moco360.media/2023/05/16/funding-countys-high-priority-budget-items-would-require-5-7-cent-property-tax-hike/

Also, there will definitely have to be some hard choices made, as the Council is not writing a blank check for even all of the high-priority items:

“Now we have to look at that long list, try to pare it down and try to meet somewhere in the middle—which is probably where we’re going to land,” Albornoz said. “Not all of [the high priority items] are going to make it through.”

This all-or-nothing strategy that MCPS, the BoE and the MCEA took seems to be a big miss.

There goes the virtual academy and anything else remaining that was only stood up because of ESSER funds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I actually put most of the blame on Elrich here, for a few reasons.

1) despite towering assessment hikes which raised the property tax by themselves, he calls for a 10% property tax hike to drastically grow basically every branch of county government.

2) He gave very generous deals to all the public service unions, across the board.

3) He has never demonstrated any concern for transparency or results of any kind in MCPS, so of course the MCEA thinks they can run over the council.

Best of all- even if he somehow got the 10% increase through- there is still a structural deficit for NEXT YEAR. So we'll just be right back here doing it again.

Yup. I think your assessment is spot on.

But further to your point, I have to blame MoCo voters because we voted Elrich back in, knowing this is who he was and how he operates.

I'm not happy about this either, but I don't think that's true. He didn't increase taxes in his first term.

Oh, he tried! His first recommended budget was in March of 2020, right when COVID hit, and Council did not approve any additional spending or revenue increases. But Elrich's very first budget had a proposed 3.1 % property tax increase.


In order to meet the challenge of our rapidly growing school system over the next year, this budget proposal also
calls for the creation of a 3.1 cent supplemental property tax rate. State law provides each county with the authority to
establish a supplemental property tax rate exclusively for its public schools

Page 12 of the recommended FY21 budget. https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/OMB/Resources/Files/omb/pdfs/FY21/psprec/FY21_Recommended_Operating_Budget.pdf

The only way he has balanced a budget since then is using one-time federal funds meant to keep us afloat during COVID. Those have mostly dried up this year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Council's proclamation was hypocritical lip-service. "Y'all are great. Here's less money than you need."

MCEA can't strike. This was a reasonable balance.

(I'm not part of MCEA.)

I agree. The USA is very anti-union, and this is why workers are treated so poorly. Being legally barred from striking goes against every working person's rights. Since they suffer under this ridiculous and unjust restriction that severely limits their power, MCEA and others are reduced to displays that make them look silly, when it reality it's the law that needs to change, not them. This is like the Jim Crow era, when Blacks were "free" in theory, but second-rate citizens in reality. This is the same situation for workers.

I am not a teacher or union member, but it's very sad to see how many Americans are just clueless about what unions gave them across the decades. Thanks to unions, you have weekends. Support your fellow worker and push for stronger unions. If you do, you might end up with longer parental leave, longer vacations, more affordable healthcare, more retirement.

Individuals can “strike” — it’s also known as quitting.

Or are you really saying it’s a bad thing that a group of adults can’t collude to hurt kids?

You're making the PP's point for them.