MCPS make up about half of county budget

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Surprise!

They're running out of money again. How long until another tax increase after they just raised property taxes?

Maybe we have too many undocumented migrants placing tremendous strain on our schools?

It's already $20k+ per pupil yet standards and outcomes are declining. MCPS is just one expensive baby sitting program. I am sick and tired of justifying tax increases with the same of stupid arguments of 'It's for the schools!' and 'It's for education!'. Those stupid taking points try to shutdown all debate in order to give MCPS carte Blanche to spend whatever they want with zero accountability and forced budgeting.

Broke already after tax increases, what a joke:

https://moco360.media/2024/11/07/mcps-projecting-5-million-deficit/


They are going to tax our residents out of existence.

The last tax increase didn’t go to education, even though it was required to go to education by state law. The county ended up with a big surplus, some of which went to subsidize businesses under a law that Andrew Friedson sponsored.

Wait- what? It didn’t go to education? Where exactly did it go? What businesses did it subsidize? You’ll need to back that claim up….

[Anonymous]

DP.
https://marylandmatters.org/2024/11/06/fears-of-trump-driven-federal-agency-cuts-spur-talk-of-tax-increases-in-montgomery-county/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Surprise!

They're running out of money again. How long until another tax increase after they just raised property taxes?

Maybe we have too many undocumented migrants placing tremendous strain on our schools?

It's already $20k+ per pupil yet standards and outcomes are declining. MCPS is just one expensive baby sitting program. I am sick and tired of justifying tax increases with the same of stupid arguments of 'It's for the schools!' and 'It's for education!'. Those stupid taking points try to shutdown all debate in order to give MCPS carte Blanche to spend whatever they want with zero accountability and forced budgeting.

Broke already after tax increases, what a joke:

https://moco360.media/2024/11/07/mcps-projecting-5-million-deficit/

I call BS on this move - teachers are buying paper and pencils for students - which adds up.


They are going to tax our residents out of existence.

The last tax increase didn’t go to education, even though it was required to go to education by state law. The county ended up with a big surplus, some of which went to subsidize businesses under a law that Andrew Friedson sponsored.

Wait- what? It didn’t go to education? Where exactly did it go? What businesses did it subsidize? You’ll need to back that claim up….

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCPS used to be a full 50% of the budget so I think they should get more money. Now, there are more kids participating in FARMs and need more support. Way more special ed students, who also need more support. And, the infrastructure is an effing mess - some schools are old and falling apart (Damascus, Eastern, Wootton, Magruder), others are crazy overcrowded with no relief in sight.

We need the Planning Board to stop focusing on only Housing development (and listening to Dan Reed), and look at the entire infrastructure (schools, police, community centers, fire, libraries, etc., etc.)

MCPS used to be a shining star, now it's a black eye. Needs a huge infusion of funds to fix infrastructure and try and keep teachers and hire more special ed teachers.

Saying they waste money is like saying you waste money by occasionally buying a Starbucks or Avacado Toast - it's a massive system, and there's always parts here and there that any one individual disagree with

No, it’s more like them eating fancy pastries every day and complaining that since they’re malnourished they need to start topping their pastries with gold leaf.

MCPS has a lot of problems and when they don’t have an easy fix they think that throwing more money in the pot will somehow magically solve everything. They don’t use the money they have wisely, and if you gave them more, I have every confidence they would find even more extraneous ways to spend it, which might be very nice, but wouldn’t solve the underlying problems. I think giving them 100% of the county budget would produce negligible educational benefit and they’d still insist that if the county just invested even more money in education, it would make things better.

For example, we funded their vanity project of a curriculum for years. Only after it had failed students for years did an outside curriculum audit force them to change course and now we are finally using phonics to teach reading. I don’t know if buying an off-the-shelf curriculum is cheaper or more expensive than hiring an entire department of curriculum “experts”, but even if it is I think it’s far more cost effective to pay for a proven curriculum than to keep pouring money down a black hole for a curriculum that is just unworkable. This is just one of countless cases.

Basically, if something is a bad idea, throwing more money at it isn’t going to make it better. Moreover, there are things we could do (reform the grading system, restore finals, have flexible ability grouping (not tracking), impose a more effective discipline policy, etc.) that could provide substantial benefits without requiring massive financial investments.

MCPS needs to start making better choices with the funding it has before the county gives it more to waste.

Great post...

[Anonymous]

what MoCo residents' hard earned money will be used for: Superintendent Thomas Taylor will present his Fiscal Year 2026 Recommended Operating Budget on Wednesday, Dec. 18 at 6 p.m. Watch the presentation live on the MCPS website or on the MCPS-TV YouTube channel.

[Anonymous]

There are a lot of great points throughout this discussion, but one thing I’d like to see a breakdown of MCPS insurance costs over time: health insurance, property, D&O, cyber, and so on.

I work for a large-ish organization and we are pummeled with huge increases in staff health insurance costs every single year. This goes full circle to the 250+ page thread on healthcare costs in the US. In the long run, taxpayers are forced to pay into insurance co. coffers at every stage of the economic cycle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are a lot of great points throughout this discussion, but one thing I’d like to see a breakdown of MCPS insurance costs over time: health insurance, property, D&O, cyber, and so on.

I work for a large-ish organization and we are pummeled with huge increases in staff health insurance costs every single year. This goes full circle to the 250+ page thread on healthcare costs in the US. In the long run, taxpayers are forced to pay into insurance co. coffers at every stage of the economic cycle.

Don't forget the new FAMLI leave surcharge that all employers must start collecting on July 1!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would love to see MCPS broken up into 5 or 10 smaller, leaner school districts that can focus on their specific populations better.

You mean you want your rich area seperated from the poor areas because you think you'll get more that way. That's not how it works.

Not pp.

Seems to work better in NNJ, PA, and CT for starters. Smaller equals more focused on local populations' needs. Your tax dollars more directly support your students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would love to see MCPS broken up into 5 or 10 smaller, leaner school districts that can focus on their specific populations better.

You mean you want your rich area seperated from the poor areas because you think you'll get more that way. That's not how it works.

Not pp.

Seems to work better in NNJ, PA, and CT for starters. Smaller equals more focused on local populations' needs. Your tax dollars more directly support your students.

Exactly. NJ and CT are consistently ranked the top states in the country for K-12 education. And such a reorganization doesn’t need to reduce funding, because MD state taxes can (and already do) redistribute a portion of property taxes collected for education funding.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:what MoCo residents' hard earned money will be used for: Superintendent Thomas Taylor will present his Fiscal Year 2026 Recommended Operating Budget on Wednesday, Dec. 18 at 6 p.m. Watch the presentation live on the MCPS website or on the MCPS-TV YouTube channel.

Did any of you listen or watch? What word salad initiatives are we going to pay for now?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would love to see MCPS broken up into 5 or 10 smaller, leaner school districts that can focus on their specific populations better.

You mean you want your rich area seperated from the poor areas because you think you'll get more that way. That's not how it works.

Not more money, more education. It will work because the local "rich" ISD won't look for ways to artificially deflate student performance to meet equity goals.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would love to see MCPS broken up into 5 or 10 smaller, leaner school districts that can focus on their specific populations better.

You mean you want your rich area seperated from the poor areas because you think you'll get more that way. That's not how it works.

Not pp.

Seems to work better in NNJ, PA, and CT for starters. Smaller equals more focused on local populations' needs. Your tax dollars more directly support your students.

Exactly. NJ and CT are consistently ranked the top states in the country for K-12 education. And such a reorganization doesn’t need to reduce funding, because MD state taxes can (and already do) redistribute a portion of property taxes collected for education funding.

Look at map. NJ and CT are where the NY elites live.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would love to see MCPS broken up into 5 or 10 smaller, leaner school districts that can focus on their specific populations better.

You mean you want your rich area seperated from the poor areas because you think you'll get more that way. That's not how it works.

Not pp.

Seems to work better in NNJ, PA, and CT for starters. Smaller equals more focused on local populations' needs. Your tax dollars more directly support your students.

Exactly. NJ and CT are consistently ranked the top states in the country for K-12 education. And such a reorganization doesn’t need to reduce funding, because MD state taxes can (and already do) redistribute a portion of property taxes collected for education funding.

Look at map. NJ and CT are where the NY elites live.

Montgomery County used to be where DC elites lived until the left wing Takoma Park crew took over.

[Anonymous]

As productive people leave the county it will become a higher percentage of the budget

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would love to see MCPS broken up into 5 or 10 smaller, leaner school districts that can focus on their specific populations better.

You mean you want your rich area seperated from the poor areas because you think you'll get more that way. That's not how it works.

Not pp.

Seems to work better in NNJ, PA, and CT for starters. Smaller equals more focused on local populations' needs. Your tax dollars more directly support your students.

Exactly. NJ and CT are consistently ranked the top states in the country for K-12 education. And such a reorganization doesn’t need to reduce funding, because MD state taxes can (and already do) redistribute a portion of property taxes collected for education funding.

top in the country isn’t saying much. Our best schools are horrible compared to German to Japanese schools