MCPS wants $180 million more but is cutting teachers and counselors

[Anonymous]

If there is someone that has the time to figure out and summarize where the increases are going, I think many of us would REALLY appreciate it. Thank you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My position at an elementary school is reading support and it's been cut for next year. So many students need that support- we were all rather shocked.

My reading specialist is a wonderful and experienced educator almost never gets to actually do the job she was hired to do because we're just so busy putting out fires and deal with staffing shortages

[Anonymous]

Does anyone know at this stage as to what can be done? Send emails to the County Council?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is MCPS becoming complacent with running operating schools with staffing stretched so thin that student needs are not being met?

The budget is a slap in the face to every staff member in schools and is a disservice to students.

There is no excuse not to be hiring many more teachers and para's and other staff with that money. Someone needs to do a serious audit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is MCPS becoming complacent with running operating schools with staffing stretched so thin that student needs are not being met?

The budget is a slap in the face to every staff member in schools and is a disservice to students.

There is no excuse not to be hiring many more teachers and para's and other staff with that money. Someone needs to do a serious audit.

If I'm not mistaken, the only entity that audits MCPS is MCPS is auditing department. Fox, henhouse, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know at this stage as to what can be done? Send emails to the County Council?

Yes, County Council votes to approve the budget for MoCo, including MCPS, in May.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ya’ll are amazing. The Operating Budget plan has been available for review for 2 months including community comment. MCCPTA can barely get anyone to sit on the committee to review the budget. The BOR has had (3)Operating Budget hearings and (4) Work sessions to review every part of the operating budget, all of which are recorded so can still be reviewed. But, today after one article is published, one that seems barely researched, ya’ll have concern and complaint, and all without having reviewed said budget yourselves???

And folks wonder why America has problems.

Are you staying that the article is incorrect? That they are not adding 7 central staff positions? Nobody is reading an over 400 page budget. Of course we are going to rely on synopsis. But if the article is incorrect, please share your insight. I would truly appreciate it.

They are not arguing that the report is incorrect. Instead they engaging in an ad hominem attack. They are also engaging in an attack on journalism.

I’m suggesting people actually read through the budget themselves and ask questions or at the least watch the Operating budget work session where the entire thing is discussed. The journalism in this article is poor as it provides no detail, answers no questions about why, and relies on one table in a budget that you all note is 431 pages. And yet, this board has taken the news article as Gospel and started complaining. Why? If you won’t even take the time to review the budget why are you complaining? Why are you attacking MCPS about not being transparent or doing what’s right when apparently you have no interest in engaging in the actual process. Some of ya’ll would say Fox news watchers are low information persons who don’t use logic, but how are ya’ll displaying yourselves to be any different than them in this case?

If you care about the budget and want to know what it represents, go watch the Operating Budget Work sessions and hearings. It’s not someone else’s responsibility to give you all the details, especially not on this forum. You have the tools and opportunity, whether you use them is on you. If you won’t that fine, but at least admit you don’t actually care and just like complaining.

LOL Don’t read an actual budget that plainly states a fact! Go listen to hours and hours of MCPS staff lying to Board members and covering up the details!
Staff will NEVER discuss the details in public.

And yet they spent hours doing just that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know at this stage as to what can be done? Send emails to the County Council?

Yes, County Council votes to approve the budget for MoCo, including MCPS, in May.

Does the County Council vote line by line or do they just have the power to vote a dollar amount?

Can they add an item like MCPS has to pay their own legal fees or are those unlimited bills passed through to the County Government budget?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is insane! What could their possible reasoning be for increasing central staff and decreasing the amount of staff with our children?

It takes a lot of people to develop Curriculum 3.0.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know at this stage as to what can be done? Send emails to the County Council?

Yes, County Council votes to approve the budget for MoCo, including MCPS, in May.

Does the County Council vote line by line or do they just have the power to vote a dollar amount?

Can they add an item like MCPS has to pay their own legal fees or are those unlimited bills passed through to the County Government budget?

No. The Country Council can only determine how big the MCPS budget is, not what they spend it on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ya’ll are amazing. The Operating Budget plan has been available for review for 2 months including community comment. MCCPTA can barely get anyone to sit on the committee to review the budget. The BOR has had (3)Operating Budget hearings and (4) Work sessions to review every part of the operating budget, all of which are recorded so can still be reviewed. But, today after one article is published, one that seems barely researched, ya’ll have concern and complaint, and all without having reviewed said budget yourselves???

And folks wonder why America has problems.

Are you staying that the article is incorrect? That they are not adding 7 central staff positions? Nobody is reading an over 400 page budget. Of course we are going to rely on synopsis. But if the article is incorrect, please share your insight. I would truly appreciate it.

They are not arguing that the report is incorrect. Instead they engaging in an ad hominem attack. They are also engaging in an attack on journalism.

I’m suggesting people actually read through the budget themselves and ask questions or at the least watch the Operating budget work session where the entire thing is discussed. The journalism in this article is poor as it provides no detail, answers no questions about why, and relies on one table in a budget that you all note is 431 pages. And yet, this board has taken the news article as Gospel and started complaining. Why? If you won’t even take the time to review the budget why are you complaining? Why are you attacking MCPS about not being transparent or doing what’s right when apparently you have no interest in engaging in the actual process. Some of ya’ll would say Fox news watchers are low information persons who don’t use logic, but how are ya’ll displaying yourselves to be any different than them in this case?

If you care about the budget and want to know what it represents, go watch the Operating Budget Work sessions and hearings. It’s not someone else’s responsibility to give you all the details, especially not on this forum. You have the tools and opportunity, whether you use them is on you. If you won’t that fine, but at least admit you don’t actually care and just like complaining.

Do you think we could get through ANY thread on DCUM without some slam of Trump, Maga, Fox News or Republicans? Just FYI, I have posted many times with survey and study links about the fact that knowledge of science, civics, history, etc. are similar between Republicans and Democrats. So, no, Fox viewers are not low-information citizens... and this is irrelevant to the MCPS budget. Get a grip.

[Anonymous]

The County Council should not approve one penny more than last year’s budget.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ya’ll are amazing. The Operating Budget plan has been available for review for 2 months including community comment. MCCPTA can barely get anyone to sit on the committee to review the budget. The BOR has had (3)Operating Budget hearings and (4) Work sessions to review every part of the operating budget, all of which are recorded so can still be reviewed. But, today after one article is published, one that seems barely researched, ya’ll have concern and complaint, and all without having reviewed said budget yourselves???

And folks wonder why America has problems.

Are you staying that the article is incorrect? That they are not adding 7 central staff positions? Nobody is reading an over 400 page budget. Of course we are going to rely on synopsis. But if the article is incorrect, please share your insight. I would truly appreciate it.

They are not arguing that the report is incorrect. Instead they engaging in an ad hominem attack. They are also engaging in an attack on journalism.

I’m suggesting people actually read through the budget themselves and ask questions or at the least watch the Operating budget work session where the entire thing is discussed. The journalism in this article is poor as it provides no detail, answers no questions about why, and relies on one table in a budget that you all note is 431 pages. And yet, this board has taken the news article as Gospel and started complaining. Why? If you won’t even take the time to review the budget why are you complaining? Why are you attacking MCPS about not being transparent or doing what’s right when apparently you have no interest in engaging in the actual process. Some of ya’ll would say Fox news watchers are low information persons who don’t use logic, but how are ya’ll displaying yourselves to be any different than them in this case?

If you care about the budget and want to know what it represents, go watch the Operating Budget Work sessions and hearings. It’s not someone else’s responsibility to give you all the details, especially not on this forum. You have the tools and opportunity, whether you use them is on you. If you won’t that fine, but at least admit you don’t actually care and just like complaining.

LOL Don’t read an actual budget that plainly states a fact! Go listen to hours and hours of MCPS staff lying to Board members and covering up the details!
Staff will NEVER discuss the details in public.

And yet they spent hours doing just that.

Hours and hours lying? Yes that was done!
MCPS staff never give the board of Ed details. Never.
The Board of Education never reviews one.single.contract.ever.
Staff can spend hours blathering BS and the board as no idea if any of it is true.

[Anonymous]

No new hires or private contracts needed for Central Office. Those funds should be redirected to teachers and counselors. Class sizes should be cut to 25 students. Only by getting class sizes down will scores rebound to prepandemic levels.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The budget shows the priorities of MCPS. Expand Central Office, give government money away to connections via contracts, and cut services to students.

We need MORE teachers and counselors. There’s still learning loss from online learning and we barely made a dent this year.

Where was Central Office during Covid when our schools were short staffed due to teachers out sick, no subs, paras out sick, no subs? So they take away more staff needed in schools and add more to the Winter vacation crew?