What is it with Montgomery County?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Last year they failed to change bell times properly because they because they don't have enough school busses.

Three days after this blizzard they still had unplowed roads.

They can't seem to get their trash collectors out for possibly the entire week following blizzard.

And now they cancel school yet another day.

And this is one of the richest counties in the country?

They are too big.
They waste tax dollars
They don't have a snow emergency plan
They rely on county snow plows to do their lots when most school districts in the country have smaller counties or private clean-up service in their budget
They build too fast without having any schools to put the kids entering the new homes
They have a monopoly on the booze and liquor licenses and none of that money is going to where it should be (so corrupt)
The school board wastes money time and time again ($11 million on changing the times 20 minutes) and then complains they don't have enough each year for their budget
They are liberal so they give away our taxes on citizens that are not even legal
Most of the county that is rich don't send their kids to public so they don't care what the schools are like
The middle class is shrinking faster than ever

Very well stated.

+1000

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Last year they failed to change bell times properly because they because they don't have enough school busses.

Three days after this blizzard they still had unplowed roads.

They can't seem to get their trash collectors out for possibly the entire week following blizzard.

And now they cancel school yet another day.

And this is one of the richest counties in the country?

They are too big.
They waste tax dollars
They don't have a snow emergency plan
They rely on county snow plows to do their lots when most school districts in the country have smaller counties or private clean-up service in their budget
They build too fast without having any schools to put the kids entering the new homes
They have a monopoly on the booze and liquor licenses and none of that money is going to where it should be (so corrupt)
The school board wastes money time and time again ($11 million on changing the times 20 minutes) and then complains they don't have enough each year for their budget
They are liberal so they give away our taxes on citizens that are not even legal
Most of the county that is rich don't send their kids to public so they don't care what the schools are like
The middle class is shrinking faster than ever

So true!

This county is just too big and has grown so much that it is just not being managed effectively. The school system, the public services, anything.

+1

We are falling apart. We are no longer the richest either. Loudon, Arlington, Fairfax and Howard have all surpassed us in the last five years. We are on our way to becoming the next PG county.

Whatever, Fairfax cancelled school for the rest of the week already...if you want to complain about the whole DC area, fine, but MoCo is no worse off than the other counties in terms of school closings, plowing, etc.

Not true. Fairfax and Loudon plan ahead with more snow days. FC has 11 and LC has 14

So again the issue isn't that you think our children are missing out on valuable school days or that a snow day is unnecessary due to weather conditions, but rather that this is going to affect your plans for 6 months from now. THAT's why Montgomery County is so terrible -- because it isn't sensitive to your need to have everything planned and controlled. And because you are worried about camp and vacations.

You need to gain some perspective and perhaps reflect on your priorities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Last year they failed to change bell times properly because they because they don't have enough school busses.

Three days after this blizzard they still had unplowed roads.

They can't seem to get their trash collectors out for possibly the entire week following blizzard.

And now they cancel school yet another day.

And this is one of the richest counties in the country?

Trash and recycling resumes today 1/28

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There was no reason to cancel school today! and definitely no reason to cancel school; tomorrow-it is absolutely ridiculous. So glad we are moving out of this asinine county!

Schools in the northern part of the county are still digging out. Maybe the school system needs to be broken into north county and south county.

I'm on my third winter here and after every snow, no matter how minor, this comes up. Can someone who has been here a while tell me why this has not happened/why it won't be happening? Thanks.

Because it would be administrative chaos. Kids from all over the county go to school all over the county.

[Anonymous]

Not to mention that, meteorologically, it's not always north county vs. south county. Sometimes it's east county vs. west county. Sometimes it's way way north county vs. the rest of the county. Sometimes it's even way way south county vs. the rest of the county. The weather does what the weather does, not what we think the weather should do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
+1,000,000

BUT, I also think the fault lies with the county public works department. The roads are not properly plowed. Why they cannot get the plows out there to finish the job is beyond my comprehension. I have not seen one plow working today...not one. Every time I saw a plow, they were not plowing. So pathetic!!!

Probably that's because you weren't driving on the unplowed streets.

[Anonymous]

Don't like the way things are in Montgomery County?
Run for the Board of Education.
The deadline to file is February 3.
As it is now, Rebecca Smondrowski is running unopposed.
Think you can do better? File the paperwork and go for it!
Another seat (district 4 I think) only has one person running unopposed. Get active! Have a friend or colleague who you think would be effective? Encourage them to step forward and run for a seat on the BOE.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't like the way things are in Montgomery County?
Run for the Board of Education.
The deadline to file is February 3.
As it is now, Rebecca Smondrowski is running unopposed.
Think you can do better? File the paperwork and go for it!
Another seat (district 4 I think) only has one person running unopposed. Get active! Have a friend or colleague who you think would be effective? Encourage them to step forward and run for a seat on the BOE.

Fabulous advice.

Don't know how to file? Start here: http://www.elections.maryland.gov/candidacy/index.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There was no reason to cancel school today! and definitely no reason to cancel school; tomorrow-it is absolutely ridiculous. So glad we are moving out of this asinine county!

Schools in the northern part of the county are still digging out. Maybe the school system needs to be broken into north county and south county.

I'm on my third winter here and after every snow, no matter how minor, this comes up. Can someone who has been here a while tell me why this has not happened/why it won't be happening? Thanks.

Because it would be administrative chaos. Kids from all over the county go to school all over the county.

Then it's time to break that up. Many more kids go to their neighborhood schools than go far across the county. I'd be curious to see the actual numbers of kids traveling from Bethesda to Damascus or Silver Spring to Barnesville on a daily basis. Rethinking the way specialty schools are set up and how transportation works could solve a lot of other problems.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There was no reason to cancel school today! and definitely no reason to cancel school; tomorrow-it is absolutely ridiculous. So glad we are moving out of this asinine county!

Schools in the northern part of the county are still digging out. Maybe the school system needs to be broken into north county and south county.

I'm on my third winter here and after every snow, no matter how minor, this comes up. Can someone who has been here a while tell me why this has not happened/why it won't be happening? Thanks.

Because it would be administrative chaos. Kids from all over the county go to school all over the county.

Then it's time to break that up. Many more kids go to their neighborhood schools than go far across the county. I'd be curious to see the actual numbers of kids traveling from Bethesda to Damascus or Silver Spring to Barnesville on a daily basis. Rethinking the way specialty schools are set up and how transportation works could solve a lot of other problems.

You want to rethink special programs and special ed because of the few snow days a year where there is more snow in one part of the county than another part?

[Anonymous]

MCPS is already doing a study of special/choice/magnet programs. Heaven help us if the expensive consultants are not considering transportation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There was no reason to cancel school today! and definitely no reason to cancel school; tomorrow-it is absolutely ridiculous. So glad we are moving out of this asinine county!

Schools in the northern part of the county are still digging out. Maybe the school system needs to be broken into north county and south county.

I'm on my third winter here and after every snow, no matter how minor, this comes up. Can someone who has been here a while tell me why this has not happened/why it won't be happening? Thanks.

Because it would be administrative chaos. Kids from all over the county go to school all over the county.

Then it's time to break that up. Many more kids go to their neighborhood schools than go far across the county. I'd be curious to see the actual numbers of kids traveling from Bethesda to Damascus or Silver Spring to Barnesville on a daily basis. Rethinking the way specialty schools are set up and how transportation works could solve a lot of other problems.

Agreed. And I teach for MCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There was no reason to cancel school today! and definitely no reason to cancel school; tomorrow-it is absolutely ridiculous. So glad we are moving out of this asinine county!

Schools in the northern part of the county are still digging out. Maybe the school system needs to be broken into north county and south county.

I'm on my third winter here and after every snow, no matter how minor, this comes up. Can someone who has been here a while tell me why this has not happened/why it won't be happening? Thanks.

Because it would be administrative chaos. Kids from all over the county go to school all over the county.

Then it's time to break that up. Many more kids go to their neighborhood schools than go far across the county. I'd be curious to see the actual numbers of kids traveling from Bethesda to Damascus or Silver Spring to Barnesville on a daily basis. Rethinking the way specialty schools are set up and how transportation works could solve a lot of other problems.

You want to rethink special programs and special ed because of the few snow days a year where there is more snow in one part of the county than another part?

It's not special ed transportation that is the huge problem. It's all the magnets and kids on COSAs who don't really have a hardship.

[Anonymous]

Overhaul the entire system. Divide the county into 5 sections: East, West, Central, North, and South. Require each section to offer similar magnet, Special Ed, and HGC programs. Have a bus depot for each section. Close schools based on their section AND have a pool of dedicated subs for the sections that are open since many teachers might not be able to make it in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Overhaul the entire system. Divide the county into 5 sections: East, West, Central, North, and South. Require each section to offer similar magnet, Special Ed, and HGC programs. Have a bus depot for each section. Close schools based on their section AND have a pool of dedicated subs for the sections that are open since many teachers might not be able to make it in.

How many bus depots does MCPS have right now, and where are they? Do you know?