Budget Anmendments proposed for the BOE CIP vote

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nope. No Response. Just voted it down as best I could tell. Later, when discussing artificial turfs as opposed to diverting that money to HVAC, I think Grace Rivera-Oven was explaining something like “oh, we don’t want to take any money away from anything. It’s premature. We only do that after county gives us a budget number.” And President Yang? And Wolff? I think were annoyed? Stewart brought the amendment without discussing it with them more before. It was something… not sure how to summarize it

Because the old guard, especially Julie, does not dissent. She wants everyone to rubber stamp what she brings forth or what central office does. That opening speech by Yang was clearly a dig a Montoya and Stewart for making the community aware of things that Yang and central want to get passed without the community. Yang (and Silvestre) tries to run the board like the politburo, rather than realizing that a community is entitled to make their voice. She is going to be a disaster if elected to the county council. Actually if either gets elected.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Montoya has her flaws but it takes guts to challenge MCPS this way and I think everyone who cares about BOE independence (regardless of your opinion on this specific change) should find ways to thank and celebrate her for this (at minimum send her an email with "Thank you for the amendments" or "Thank you for your independence" or something like that in the subject line.)

Um, no. She proposed keeping renovations out of a school with no walls where the kids really can”t learn. She does not have kids’ best interest in mind. She is all about Rita.

Found another central office account. Millions to benefit 300 kids in a school with declining enrollment or millions that can be used to benefit thousands of students through repairs. Elementary schools are subject to a study to assess capacity in the near future. This was clearly just a play by Yang to shore up her county council run and pander to constituencies that can get her elected.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What was the upshot of this? I’m guessing the amendment did not succeed?

Transparency. Didnt matter that it failed; you all now realize MCPS's BS which would not be brought to light absent what she did. This is what bringing transparency and accountability looks like.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think what Rita was saying, is that “if population is declining,” and elementary boundary study upcoming, MCPS is likely closing and consolidating elementaries in the near future. Especially if “excess capacity” in a school nearby. So she was trying to make the “long term fiscally responsible” argument; which would mean the school would likely be a prime candidate to be closed when elementary boundary takes place.

I didn't watch that part of the hearing, but this makes sense to me. I think Cold Spring is part of a cluster of ~5 elementary schools that will collectively be at less than 75% utilization by 2030.

Exactly! And guess where this school is located? In the county council district that Julie Yang is running in. Pretty clear that Julie Yang is willing to waste hundreds of millions in tax-payer money to get herself elected to the county council

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What was the upshot of this? I’m guessing the amendment did not succeed?

Neither Montoya's nor Stewart's amendments succeeded. Silvestre's did.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Montoya has her flaws but it takes guts to challenge MCPS this way and I think everyone who cares about BOE independence (regardless of your opinion on this specific change) should find ways to thank and celebrate her for this (at minimum send her an email with "Thank you for the amendments" or "Thank you for your independence" or something like that in the subject line.)

Um, no. She proposed keeping renovations out of a school with no walls where the kids really can”t learn. She does not have kids’ best interest in mind. She is all about Rita.

Found another central office account. Millions to benefit 300 kids in a school with declining enrollment or millions that can be used to benefit thousands of students through repairs. Elementary schools are subject to a study to assess capacity in the near future. This was clearly just a play by Yang to shore up her county council run and pander to constituencies that can get her elected.

Just because people disagree with you does not make them from central office.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Montoya has her flaws but it takes guts to challenge MCPS this way and I think everyone who cares about BOE independence (regardless of your opinion on this specific change) should find ways to thank and celebrate her for this (at minimum send her an email with "Thank you for the amendments" or "Thank you for your independence" or something like that in the subject line.)

Um, no. She proposed keeping renovations out of a school with no walls where the kids really can”t learn. She does not have kids’ best interest in mind. She is all about Rita.

Found another central office account. Millions to benefit 300 kids in a school with declining enrollment or millions that can be used to benefit thousands of students through repairs. Elementary schools are subject to a study to assess capacity in the near future. This was clearly just a play by Yang to shore up her county council run and pander to constituencies that can get her elected.

Just because people disagree with you does not make them from central office.

Doesn't mean they are not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What was the upshot of this? I’m guessing the amendment did not succeed?

Neither Montoya's nor Stewart's amendments succeeded. Silvestre's did.

Or maybe her amendments were a last minute set up by Taylor and Yang to undercut Montoya and Stewart. Jeez you people are dense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Montoya has her flaws but it takes guts to challenge MCPS this way and I think everyone who cares about BOE independence (regardless of your opinion on this specific change) should find ways to thank and celebrate her for this (at minimum send her an email with "Thank you for the amendments" or "Thank you for your independence" or something like that in the subject line.)

Um, no. She proposed keeping renovations out of a school with no walls where the kids really can”t learn. She does not have kids’ best interest in mind. She is all about Rita.

Found another central office account. Millions to benefit 300 kids in a school with declining enrollment or millions that can be used to benefit thousands of students through repairs. Elementary schools are subject to a study to assess capacity in the near future. This was clearly just a play by Yang to shore up her county council run and pander to constituencies that can get her elected.

Just because people disagree with you does not make them from central office.

Doesn't mean they are not.

Well I am one of the people you accused of being a central office staffer, and I can assure you I am not. Just an MCPS parent with a different perspective from you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What was the upshot of this? I’m guessing the amendment did not succeed?

Neither Montoya's nor Stewart's amendments succeeded. Silvestre's did.

Or maybe her amendments were a last minute set up by Taylor and Yang to undercut Montoya and Stewart. Jeez you people are dense.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think what Rita was saying, is that “if population is declining,” and elementary boundary study upcoming, MCPS is likely closing and consolidating elementaries in the near future. Especially if “excess capacity” in a school nearby. So she was trying to make the “long term fiscally responsible” argument; which would mean the school would likely be a prime candidate to be closed when elementary boundary takes place.

I didn't watch that part of the hearing, but this makes sense to me. I think Cold Spring is part of a cluster of ~5 elementary schools that will collectively be at less than 75% utilization by 2030.

+1 Not even sure we need two brand new HS and expansion of a few others due to enrollment declines.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What was the upshot of this? I’m guessing the amendment did not succeed?

Neither Montoya's nor Stewart's amendments succeeded. Silvestre's did.

Or maybe her amendments were a last minute set up by Taylor and Yang to undercut Montoya and Stewart. Jeez you people are dense.

Montoya maybe, but Stewart's amendment was on a whole different topic than Silvestre's. All Silvestre's amendment did was clarify that the projects connected to the potential closing of SSIMS are tentative, and would require additional actions from the board to move forward. Montoya's amendment overlapped with that, but went further, actually removing those projects from the CIP and putting in unnamed placeholders instead.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Montoya has her flaws but it takes guts to challenge MCPS this way and I think everyone who cares about BOE independence (regardless of your opinion on this specific change) should find ways to thank and celebrate her for this (at minimum send her an email with "Thank you for the amendments" or "Thank you for your independence" or something like that in the subject line.)

Um, no. She proposed keeping renovations out of a school with no walls where the kids really can”t learn. She does not have kids’ best interest in mind. She is all about Rita.

Found another central office account. Millions to benefit 300 kids in a school with declining enrollment or millions that can be used to benefit thousands of students through repairs. Elementary schools are subject to a study to assess capacity in the near future. This was clearly just a play by Yang to shore up her county council run and pander to constituencies that can get her elected.

Millions for minor improvements for thousands of students, while hundreds of students can't even hear their own teacher over the din from the other classes in the same room.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Montoya has her flaws but it takes guts to challenge MCPS this way and I think everyone who cares about BOE independence (regardless of your opinion on this specific change) should find ways to thank and celebrate her for this (at minimum send her an email with "Thank you for the amendments" or "Thank you for your independence" or something like that in the subject line.)

Um, no. She proposed keeping renovations out of a school with no walls where the kids really can”t learn. She does not have kids’ best interest in mind. She is all about Rita.

They can’t learn? Then why are they the top elementary school?

Not because of the school. Watch the video that kids from the school put together linked below. I feel especially bad for any students with ADHD or special needs.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1b4AjDSHUp65nfZ2RzzSev4TL9LtIiFn3/view

This just reinforces the need for this school to be shut down and converted into a holding school.

No, you're confusing two things. This video is about Cold Spring and one of her amendments was to cancel the renovations of Cold Spring and Highland View and move that money to HVAC replacements. The schools being "shut down" and converted to are Sligo Creek Elementary and SSIMS, which occupy the same building/campus (well, Sligo Creek will be rebuilt, allegedly, somewhere else).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Montoya has her flaws but it takes guts to challenge MCPS this way and I think everyone who cares about BOE independence (regardless of your opinion on this specific change) should find ways to thank and celebrate her for this (at minimum send her an email with "Thank you for the amendments" or "Thank you for your independence" or something like that in the subject line.)

Um, no. She proposed keeping renovations out of a school with no walls where the kids really can”t learn. She does not have kids’ best interest in mind. She is all about Rita.

They can’t learn? Then why are they the top elementary school?

Not because of the school. Watch the video that kids from the school put together linked below. I feel especially bad for any students with ADHD or special needs.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1b4AjDSHUp65nfZ2RzzSev4TL9LtIiFn3/view

This just reinforces the need for this school to be shut down and converted into a holding school.

No, you're confusing two things. This video is about Cold Spring and one of her amendments was to cancel the renovations of Cold Spring and Highland View and move that money to HVAC replacements. The schools being "shut down" and converted to are Sligo Creek Elementary and SSIMS, which occupy the same building/campus (well, Sligo Creek will be rebuilt, allegedly, somewhere else).

You’re missing the point. cold spring has declining enrollment and is surrounded by schools with capacity. If things are so bad at Cold Spring, shut it down as it likely will be when the elementary schools are evaluated starting next year.