BOE - who are people voting for?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:I'll take satisfaction in Harris being gone. She makes me want to slap someone.

Just wait till you see the new ones.

It was a bad choice vs. bad choice.

The losers are the students.

If you want better candidates, make the positions a reasonably attractive occupation by affording compensation similar to that which would be garnered from alternate job opportunities for those with the level of education and experience that would meet your expectations for a well qualified candidate.

+1

The BOE sucks and it's a structural issue stemming from the expectation people (predominantly women) should work for peanuts.

Boards are generally volunteer jobs with stipends.

That makes sense for a small or medium nonprofit, not a multi billion dollar school system

You get what you pay for

The state sets the stipend and why should they get more than teachers and work full time jobs.

So we get better board members. These new ones are awful.

? they haven't even started yet. Clearly the existing ones weren't great, either. No one knows if the new ones will be worse. No, we really don't know, but I think people are willing to give the new ones a try because the existing ones were awful for many years.

We don't know for certain that they'll be worse, but based on their remarks and experiences to date, we can be pretty certain that they won't be better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'll take satisfaction in Harris being gone. She makes me want to slap someone.

Just wait till you see the new ones.

It was a bad choice vs. bad choice.

The losers are the students.

If you want better candidates, make the positions a reasonably attractive occupation by affording compensation similar to that which would be garnered from alternate job opportunities for those with the level of education and experience that would meet your expectations for a well qualified candidate.

+1

The BOE sucks and it's a structural issue stemming from the expectation people (predominantly women) should work for peanuts.

Boards are generally volunteer jobs with stipends.

That makes sense for a small or medium nonprofit, not a multi billion dollar school system

You get what you pay for

The state sets the stipend and why should they get more than teachers and work full time jobs.

Why should the Superintendent get more than the teachers? Because nobody would take that job for a teacher salary. Board members should not get paid as much as the Superintendent, but these should be full time positions and paid according to the skills and experience required for the job. These aren't entry level roles ffs.

Its tonedeath that he gets a huge raise and benefits over the previous Superintendent when bus drivers, office staff and para's barely make minimum wage.

Do you think a Superintendent position is comparable to the responsibilities and skills of a bus driver or paraeducator?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lynne Harris teared up at the end and choked on her words. Guess she's taking the loss hard.

That's sad. I feel bad for her but it's time for some fresh perspectives.

Funny she was/is a fresh perspective, as she is the one that has been pushing for CTE investment and review of graduation requirements(or at least the courses that would fulfill them). She is the one being up Sustainability initiatives of the system and getting these in front of kids because guess what it’s a growing field.

Right, but she was generally supportive of reopening schools, so MCEA said she had to go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'll take satisfaction in Harris being gone. She makes me want to slap someone.

Just wait till you see the new ones.

It was a bad choice vs. bad choice.

The losers are the students.

If you want better candidates, make the positions a reasonably attractive occupation by affording compensation similar to that which would be garnered from alternate job opportunities for those with the level of education and experience that would meet your expectations for a well qualified candidate.

+1

The BOE sucks and it's a structural issue stemming from the expectation people (predominantly women) should work for peanuts.

Boards are generally volunteer jobs with stipends.

That makes sense for a small or medium nonprofit, not a multi billion dollar school system

You get what you pay for

Now explain the county council.

I don't think it's up to them https://moco360.media/2024/07/19/study-finds-county-school-board-works-full-time/

I think the pp was suggesting the county council is high paid. Which they're not, unless you're just comparing them to school board stipends.

They are paid enough to not need another full time job to put food on the table.

They may not be perfect but they certainly do more than the BOE. They balance the budget every year and have maintained the county's AAA bond rating. In recent memory, they haven't promoted any serial sexual harassers.

They are not meeting children's needs and they have wasted a huge amount of money that could have been spent on schools and students.

The pp you replied to was talking about the council, not the school board.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'll take satisfaction in Harris being gone. She makes me want to slap someone.

Just wait till you see the new ones.

It was a bad choice vs. bad choice.

The losers are the students.

If you want better candidates, make the positions a reasonably attractive occupation by affording compensation similar to that which would be garnered from alternate job opportunities for those with the level of education and experience that would meet your expectations for a well qualified candidate.

+1

The BOE sucks and it's a structural issue stemming from the expectation people (predominantly women) should work for peanuts.

Boards are generally volunteer jobs with stipends.

That makes sense for a small or medium nonprofit, not a multi billion dollar school system

You get what you pay for

Now explain the county council.

I don't think it's up to them https://moco360.media/2024/07/19/study-finds-county-school-board-works-full-time/

I think the pp was suggesting the county council is high paid. Which they're not, unless you're just comparing them to school board stipends.

They are paid enough to not need another full time job to put food on the table.

They may not be perfect but they certainly do more than the BOE. They balance the budget every year and have maintained the county's AAA bond rating. In recent memory, they haven't promoted any serial sexual harassers.

They are not meeting children's needs and they have wasted a huge amount of money that could have been spent on schools and students.

??? Their combined total salaries is $150k.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How is the stipend bad? It what $25K or so a year, I forget the exact amount. Teachers make $65 starting so that's equal to a teacher's salary given its only part-time. And, most of the BOE members have full-time jobs (not sure how they manage it with all the days off but they do).

now do the salaries of the bloated central office.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lynne Harris teared up at the end and choked on her words. Guess she's taking the loss hard.

That's sad. I feel bad for her but it's time for some fresh perspectives.

Funny she was/is a fresh perspective, as she is the one that has been pushing for CTE investment and review of graduation requirements(or at least the courses that would fulfill them). She is the one being up Sustainability initiatives of the system and getting these in front of kids because guess what it’s a growing field.

she lost. get over it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lynne Harris teared up at the end and choked on her words. Guess she's taking the loss hard.

That's sad. I feel bad for her but it's time for some fresh perspectives.

Funny she was/is a fresh perspective, as she is the one that has been pushing for CTE investment and review of graduation requirements(or at least the courses that would fulfill them). She is the one being up Sustainability initiatives of the system and getting these in front of kids because guess what it’s a growing field.

she lost. get over it.

Students lost, MCEA won.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lynne Harris teared up at the end and choked on her words. Guess she's taking the loss hard.

That's sad. I feel bad for her but it's time for some fresh perspectives.

Funny she was/is a fresh perspective, as she is the one that has been pushing for CTE investment and review of graduation requirements(or at least the courses that would fulfill them). She is the one being up Sustainability initiatives of the system and getting these in front of kids because guess what it’s a growing field.

The white, female, LGBTQ, environmentalist, liberal perspective she represented is not unique or compelling. It's very compelling in MoCo, especially in Silver Spring/Takoma Park.

Besides, that perspective won't be lost on the BOE since Laura Stewart is very much that. So have no fears, sustainability as a focus for the BOE isn't going anywhere. Laura will see to that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lynne Harris teared up at the end and choked on her words. Guess she's taking the loss hard.

That's sad. I feel bad for her but it's time for some fresh perspectives.

Funny she was/is a fresh perspective, as she is the one that has been pushing for CTE investment and review of graduation requirements(or at least the courses that would fulfill them). She is the one being up Sustainability initiatives of the system and getting these in front of kids because guess what it’s a growing field.

The white, female, LGBTQ, environmentalist, liberal perspective she represented is not unique or compelling. It's very compelling in MoCo, especially in Silver Spring/Takoma Park.

Besides, that perspective won't be lost on the BOE since Laura Stewart is very much that. So have no fears, sustainability as a focus for the BOE isn't going anywhere. Laura will see to that.

Sorry. Meant to say "it's very COMMON in MoCo"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lynne Harris teared up at the end and choked on her words. Guess she's taking the loss hard.

That's sad. I feel bad for her but it's time for some fresh perspectives.

Funny she was/is a fresh perspective, as she is the one that has been pushing for CTE investment and review of graduation requirements(or at least the courses that would fulfill them). She is the one being up Sustainability initiatives of the system and getting these in front of kids because guess what it’s a growing field.

The white, female, LGBTQ, environmentalist, liberal perspective she represented is not unique or compelling. It's very compelling in MoCo, especially in Silver Spring/Takoma Park.

Besides, that perspective won't be lost on the BOE since Laura Stewart is very much that. So have no fears, sustainability as a focus for the BOE isn't going anywhere. Laura will see to that.

Sorry. Meant to say "it's very COMMON in MoCo"

Perspectives which are common in MoCo should be well represented on the BOE.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'll take satisfaction in Harris being gone. She makes me want to slap someone.

Just wait till you see the new ones.

It was a bad choice vs. bad choice.

The losers are the students.

If you want better candidates, make the positions a reasonably attractive occupation by affording compensation similar to that which would be garnered from alternate job opportunities for those with the level of education and experience that would meet your expectations for a well qualified candidate.

+1

The BOE sucks and it's a structural issue stemming from the expectation people (predominantly women) should work for peanuts.

Boards are generally volunteer jobs with stipends.

That makes sense for a small or medium nonprofit, not a multi billion dollar school system

You get what you pay for

The state sets the stipend and why should they get more than teachers and work full time jobs.

So we get better board members. These new ones are awful.

? they haven't even started yet. Clearly the existing ones weren't great, either. No one knows if the new ones will be worse. No, we really don't know, but I think people are willing to give the new ones a try because the existing ones were awful for many years.

We don't know for certain that they'll be worse, but based on their remarks and experiences to date, we can be pretty certain that they won't be better.

I'm sure that the out going BOE members didn't have much experience in running a large, expensive school district prior to starting, and they have also probably made some questionable comments. Certainly, they've made questionable decisions as BOE members.

As stated, people want change. I guess people felt that the outgoing BOE members were so bad that no one else could be worse.

Too many scandals in the past few years under their and previous supe's leadership.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'll take satisfaction in Harris being gone. She makes me want to slap someone.

Just wait till you see the new ones.

It was a bad choice vs. bad choice.

The losers are the students.

If you want better candidates, make the positions a reasonably attractive occupation by affording compensation similar to that which would be garnered from alternate job opportunities for those with the level of education and experience that would meet your expectations for a well qualified candidate.

+1

The BOE sucks and it's a structural issue stemming from the expectation people (predominantly women) should work for peanuts.

Boards are generally volunteer jobs with stipends.

That makes sense for a small or medium nonprofit, not a multi billion dollar school system

You get what you pay for

The state sets the stipend and why should they get more than teachers and work full time jobs.

Why should the Superintendent get more than the teachers? Because nobody would take that job for a teacher salary. Board members should not get paid as much as the Superintendent, but these should be full time positions and paid according to the skills and experience required for the job. These aren't entry level roles ffs.

Its tonedeath that he gets a huge raise and benefits over the previous Superintendent when bus drivers, office staff and para's barely make minimum wage.

Do you think a Superintendent position is comparable to the responsibilities and skills of a bus driver or paraeducator?

I think a bus driver or para is far more important.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lynne Harris teared up at the end and choked on her words. Guess she's taking the loss hard.

That's sad. I feel bad for her but it's time for some fresh perspectives.

Funny she was/is a fresh perspective, as she is the one that has been pushing for CTE investment and review of graduation requirements(or at least the courses that would fulfill them). She is the one being up Sustainability initiatives of the system and getting these in front of kids because guess what it’s a growing field.

The white, female, LGBTQ, environmentalist, liberal perspective she represented is not unique or compelling. It's very compelling in MoCo, especially in Silver Spring/Takoma Park.

Besides, that perspective won't be lost on the BOE since Laura Stewart is very much that. So have no fears, sustainability as a focus for the BOE isn't going anywhere. Laura will see to that.

I’ve talked to Laura Stewart in person. Seen her in a forum. Not impressed is an understatement. She may have very good intentions and put in work with PTAs but we’ll have to see if she has what it takes to sit on the BOE which is much more responsibility and has lots of competing interest that are not afraid to be vocal. Budget, Boundaries, Blueprint are going to be a real first test.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'll take satisfaction in Harris being gone. She makes me want to slap someone.

Just wait till you see the new ones.

It was a bad choice vs. bad choice.

The losers are the students.

If you want better candidates, make the positions a reasonably attractive occupation by affording compensation similar to that which would be garnered from alternate job opportunities for those with the level of education and experience that would meet your expectations for a well qualified candidate.

+1

The BOE sucks and it's a structural issue stemming from the expectation people (predominantly women) should work for peanuts.

Boards are generally volunteer jobs with stipends.

That makes sense for a small or medium nonprofit, not a multi billion dollar school system

You get what you pay for

The state sets the stipend and why should they get more than teachers and work full time jobs.

Why should the Superintendent get more than the teachers? Because nobody would take that job for a teacher salary. Board members should not get paid as much as the Superintendent, but these should be full time positions and paid according to the skills and experience required for the job. These aren't entry level roles ffs.

Its tonedeath that he gets a huge raise and benefits over the previous Superintendent when bus drivers, office staff and para's barely make minimum wage.

Do you think a Superintendent position is comparable to the responsibilities and skills of a bus driver or paraeducator?

I think a bus driver or para is far more important.

That wasn't the question.

But, it's also a ridiculous claim. The potential for harm (or good) on the system from a Superintendent is obviously much higher.

I suspect you're suggesting that we don't need the position, but that's ridiculous, too. There's always someone (or a set of people) serving those functions. And poor pay would increase the chance of those people being bad at their jobs.