We are NEVER going back until covid is 100% gone - MCPS has no leadership

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:I can't believe people are making excuses for why MCPS is not upgrading HVAC/filter systems. What's so wasteful or controversial about doing so?

Because in many schools it’s not as simple as putting in a new unit

Then what is it? Are they having evaluations done? Can they change filters where it does make sense?

You clearly have no clue the conditions at some schools or know about hvac. No it’s not just changing filters.

You are right...I do not. That's not the point, though. What steps, if any, are THEY taking in this area?

Teachers have been demanding better ventilation for years. I teach in a DCC school with a physical plant in horrific shape and we have been asking for better ventilation for at least 5 years. MCPS said no money then. I seriously doubt there’s money now.

So their plan for return to the classroom is to wait for a miracle? This is why they don’t publish any detailed plans? So when people say MCPS is too big, they really mean they’re just too broke...

What else can they do?

The article above said Elrich has paid $50M to unions for hazard pay, which will balloon up to $72M by the end of the year. And little if any of this may get reimbursed. So he couldn't find millions to begin outfitting schools to facilitate a return? When it's time to start phasing in, the teachers are going to ask what's been done to improve safety. And MCPS will say nothing, that they're still looking for funding to buy tape to mark one-way hallways. And then nothing will happen, and county leadership and posters here will blame nail salons. The leadership failure is just off the charts.

100% this. completely in bed with the unions. other counties provided hazard pay at lower amounts and suspended program back in july when we moved into phase 2. and the hazard pay is only for county employees who are already in hazardous jobs.
A real leader would have outlined a basic plan back in april. get an idea of what it will take to bring kids back. ppe, HVAC repairs, more busses..... then you ask for funding and get started on fixing the damn HVAC and ordering supplies. Smith is just as bad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can't believe people are making excuses for why MCPS is not upgrading HVAC/filter systems. What's so wasteful or controversial about doing so?

Because in many schools it’s not as simple as putting in a new unit

Then what is it? Are they having evaluations done? Can they change filters where it does make sense?

You clearly have no clue the conditions at some schools or know about hvac. No it’s not just changing filters.

You are right...I do not. That's not the point, though. What steps, if any, are THEY taking in this area?

Teachers have been demanding better ventilation for years. I teach in a DCC school with a physical plant in horrific shape and we have been asking for better ventilation for at least 5 years. MCPS said no money then. I seriously doubt there’s money now.

So their plan for return to the classroom is to wait for a miracle? This is why they don’t publish any detailed plans? So when people say MCPS is too big, they really mean they’re just too broke...

What else can they do?

learn to prioritize
set goals
make a plan
stop wasting money, esp. on consultants to tell you what everyone e already knows
cut Smith's salary
stop spending money you dont have
fix the damn HVAC
stop fixing problems that dont exist

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cloth masks aren't PPE. PPE protects me when I wear it. Whereas with cloth masks, my cloth mask protects you.

So I can ditch my stupid cloth mask then? Cool.

What? No. Wear your cloth mask to protect me, and I'll wear my cloth mask to protect you.

So if everyone wears their cloth masks, why do all the teachers need N95s?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I agree. But lets also be real. Put up the most moderate republican, somebody would be crucified as a RINO, outside of MD. And most folks down here would see the 'R' next to the name and not vote for them. No matter what. Nobody should do that.

Nobody should vote straight party lines without understanding the candidate. People in this county have blind faith in their party and their leader.

and in the words of the greatest musician of our time, Bruce Springsteen, "Blind faith in your leaders, or in anything, will get you killed."

Realistic solution: open primaries. For local offices like Council, everyone gets to vote for all candidates across the ballot, doesn't matter your party or their party. It'll end up being 2 D's on the general ballot, but at least one of them is likely to be moderate.

How to justify it: 1/3 of registered voters in MoCo are independent. Also, we have taxpayer-funded campaign financing, but currently an independent can't even vote (in the primaries) for or against someone whose campaign is being funded by their tax dollars.

Of course they can. All they have to do is register as a Democrat, a Republican, or anyone else who's having a party primary. I have very little patience for people who register as an independent and then complain that they can't vote in a party primary.

+1. This is DH and it drives me bonkers!! He mainly votes for Dems anyway, but refuses to register as one. I tried to get him to register in 2018 because of the close primary race for county executive and he still wouldn’t do it. Now he complains about Elrich all the time, naturally. The reality is that the real contest in local elections occurs in the primary. Granted that field was too crowded and the moderate voters failed to coalesce around an alternative, but more people need to get involved and vote in the primary rather than sit out until the general election.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can't believe people are making excuses for why MCPS is not upgrading HVAC/filter systems. What's so wasteful or controversial about doing so?

Because in many schools it’s not as simple as putting in a new unit

Then what is it? Are they having evaluations done? Can they change filters where it does make sense?

You clearly have no clue the conditions at some schools or know about hvac. No it’s not just changing filters.

You are right...I do not. That's not the point, though. What steps, if any, are THEY taking in this area?

Teachers have been demanding better ventilation for years. I teach in a DCC school with a physical plant in horrific shape and we have been asking for better ventilation for at least 5 years. MCPS said no money then. I seriously doubt there’s money now.

So their plan for return to the classroom is to wait for a miracle? This is why they don’t publish any detailed plans? So when people say MCPS is too big, they really mean they’re just too broke...

What else can they do?

learn to prioritize
set goals
make a plan
stop wasting money, esp. on consultants to tell you what everyone e already knows
cut Smith's salary
stop spending money you dont have
fix the damn HVAC
stop fixing problems that dont exist

Lol. Amazing timing;I finally got a response from the County Executive's office! In August, I sent a letter to his office advocating for a return to school. It took 2 months for them to send me a reply! And the reply was a form letter! It said "you may be writing about A, or you may be writing about B, if you're writing about C..."

Two months!?!?!?! For a form letter.

He sets the tone, and the pace, and environment. And that is clearly one of entitlement, laziness, and general incompetence.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The bold is extraordinarily poor leadership. He spent money he didn’t have but expected to have. FEMA reimbursement has ALWAYS been difficult. Why didn’t he know that or plan contingencies around? MCPS has no chance of going back because of complete abdication of leadership responsibility (which gets cheered on here incredibly).

I mean, its a COMPLETE failure of leadership.

One on hand, he gets 183 million in CARES ACT money, but can't get his act together fast enough to figure out to disburse it, and now we run the risk of having to return it to the federal government. Meanwhile, while he figures out the right application process, business closes, families go hungry, and tenants get further behind on rent. But he's "shocked that people would be upset"

And on the other hand, he approves 50 million in hazard pay assuming we would be reimbursed; he was wrong.

He's burning the candle of incompetence from both ends. If it wasn't causing so much damage, it would be an amazing sight to see.[/quote

100% this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I agree. But lets also be real. Put up the most moderate republican, somebody would be crucified as a RINO, outside of MD. And most folks down here would see the 'R' next to the name and not vote for them. No matter what. Nobody should do that.

Nobody should vote straight party lines without understanding the candidate. People in this county have blind faith in their party and their leader.

and in the words of the greatest musician of our time, Bruce Springsteen, "Blind faith in your leaders, or in anything, will get you killed."

Realistic solution: open primaries. For local offices like Council, everyone gets to vote for all candidates across the ballot, doesn't matter your party or their party. It'll end up being 2 D's on the general ballot, but at least one of them is likely to be moderate.

How to justify it: 1/3 of registered voters in MoCo are independent. Also, we have taxpayer-funded campaign financing, but currently an independent can't even vote (in the primaries) for or against someone whose campaign is being funded by their tax dollars.

Of course they can. All they have to do is register as a Democrat, a Republican, or anyone else who's having a party primary. I have very little patience for people who register as an independent and then complain that they can't vote in a party primary.

+1. This is DH and it drives me bonkers!! He mainly votes for Dems anyway, but refuses to register as one. I tried to get him to register in 2018 because of the close primary race for county executive and he still wouldn’t do it. Now he complains about Elrich all the time, naturally. The reality is that the real contest in local elections occurs in the primary. Granted that field was too crowded and the moderate voters failed to coalesce around an alternative, but more people need to get involved and vote in the primary rather than sit out until the general election.

It's 1/3 of voters in MoCo, including me. I don't identify with either party. I voted for Hogan for governor and will vote for Biden.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I agree. But lets also be real. Put up the most moderate republican, somebody would be crucified as a RINO, outside of MD. And most folks down here would see the 'R' next to the name and not vote for them. No matter what. Nobody should do that.

Nobody should vote straight party lines without understanding the candidate. People in this county have blind faith in their party and their leader.

and in the words of the greatest musician of our time, Bruce Springsteen, "Blind faith in your leaders, or in anything, will get you killed."

Realistic solution: open primaries. For local offices like Council, everyone gets to vote for all candidates across the ballot, doesn't matter your party or their party. It'll end up being 2 D's on the general ballot, but at least one of them is likely to be moderate.

How to justify it: 1/3 of registered voters in MoCo are independent. Also, we have taxpayer-funded campaign financing, but currently an independent can't even vote (in the primaries) for or against someone whose campaign is being funded by their tax dollars.

Of course they can. All they have to do is register as a Democrat, a Republican, or anyone else who's having a party primary. I have very little patience for people who register as an independent and then complain that they can't vote in a party primary.

+1. This is DH and it drives me bonkers!! He mainly votes for Dems anyway, but refuses to register as one. I tried to get him to register in 2018 because of the close primary race for county executive and he still wouldn’t do it. Now he complains about Elrich all the time, naturally. The reality is that the real contest in local elections occurs in the primary. Granted that field was too crowded and the moderate voters failed to coalesce around an alternative, but more people need to get involved and vote in the primary rather than sit out until the general election.

It's 1/3 of voters in MoCo, including me. I don't identify with either party. I voted for Hogan for governor and will vote for Biden.

I'm a registered R here in the county. But thats only cause I wanted to vote for Kasich against Trump 4 years ago.

But I'm same. Biden sign in my lawn. But voted for Larry

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

And they called him out for it. MCPS has no hope as long as he's in the picture.

Now tell us what the current status of the other area school districts is. You know, the school districts in localities where Elrich is not county executive. Is it also Elrich's fault that the students in those school districts are doing distance learning?

They're all creating viable pathways forward. They're all continuing to test the waters at each board meeting on next steps. Did you see the mountain of PPE that FCPS (Fairfax) has accumulated, including plexiglass, millions of masks, tens of thousands of face shields, 14K classrooms with gallon-sized sanitizer installed, custodian overtime hours, HVAC fixes, one-way hallways marked, etc? They're all in the same spot now, but that won't continue. What hope does MCPS have to do any of this? Or do you think none of this is necessary and just a waste?

And meanwhile they're doing distance learning, just like MCPS.

Lack of face shields, masks, and gallon-sized containers of hand sanitizer isn't what's keeping MCPS closed, and having face shields, masks, and gallon-sized containers of hand sanitizer isn't getting FCPS to open.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

And they called him out for it. MCPS has no hope as long as he's in the picture.

Now tell us what the current status of the other area school districts is. You know, the school districts in localities where Elrich is not county executive. Is it also Elrich's fault that the students in those school districts are doing distance learning?

They're all creating viable pathways forward. They're all continuing to test the waters at each board meeting on next steps. Did you see the mountain of PPE that FCPS (Fairfax) has accumulated, including plexiglass, millions of masks, tens of thousands of face shields, 14K classrooms with gallon-sized sanitizer installed, custodian overtime hours, HVAC fixes, one-way hallways marked, etc? They're all in the same spot now, but that won't continue. What hope does MCPS have to do any of this? Or do you think none of this is necessary and just a waste?

And meanwhile they're doing distance learning, just like MCPS.

Lack of face shields, masks, and gallon-sized containers of hand sanitizer isn't what's keeping MCPS closed, and having face shields, masks, and gallon-sized containers of hand sanitizer isn't getting FCPS to open.

I can't tell if you're serious, just in denial, or both. FCPS is closed right now...yes. Their superintendent is pitching a new concurrent model today that fixes staffing issues. Will the school board push back and punt it down the road...almost certainly. But step by step, they're revising plans, discussing returning each month, accumulating PPE, updating HVACs, etc. So when teachers do ask "do you have PPE?" or "what about the HVAC"...they have answers. When MCPS teachers ask those same questions, leadership will say "sorry, no money for it". FCPS will start going back in some fashion this school year. MCPS is apparently banking on Trump's scientific assessment ("it will all just disappear") to do the same.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I can't tell if you're serious, just in denial, or both. FCPS is closed right now...yes. Their superintendent is pitching a new concurrent model today that fixes staffing issues. Will the school board push back and punt it down the road...almost certainly. But step by step, they're revising plans, discussing returning each month, accumulating PPE, updating HVACs, etc. So when teachers do ask "do you have PPE?" or "what about the HVAC"...they have answers. When MCPS teachers ask those same questions, leadership will say "sorry, no money for it". FCPS will start going back in some fashion this school year. MCPS is apparently banking on Trump's scientific assessment ("it will all just disappear") to do the same.

And how did that go over?

https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/northern-virginia/hundreds-of-fairfax-county-teachers-could-resign-or-take-leave-if-forced-to-return-to-class/2437803/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I can't tell if you're serious, just in denial, or both. FCPS is closed right now...yes. Their superintendent is pitching a new concurrent model today that fixes staffing issues. Will the school board push back and punt it down the road...almost certainly. But step by step, they're revising plans, discussing returning each month, accumulating PPE, updating HVACs, etc. So when teachers do ask "do you have PPE?" or "what about the HVAC"...they have answers. When MCPS teachers ask those same questions, leadership will say "sorry, no money for it". FCPS will start going back in some fashion this school year. MCPS is apparently banking on Trump's scientific assessment ("it will all just disappear") to do the same.

And how did that go over?

https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/northern-virginia/hundreds-of-fairfax-county-teachers-could-resign-or-take-leave-if-forced-to-return-to-class/2437803/

Really? That's all you got? Of 1,300 association respondents, only 25% claimed they'd take a LOA or resign. BFD.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I can't tell if you're serious, just in denial, or both. FCPS is closed right now...yes. Their superintendent is pitching a new concurrent model today that fixes staffing issues. Will the school board push back and punt it down the road...almost certainly. But step by step, they're revising plans, discussing returning each month, accumulating PPE, updating HVACs, etc. So when teachers do ask "do you have PPE?" or "what about the HVAC"...they have answers. When MCPS teachers ask those same questions, leadership will say "sorry, no money for it". FCPS will start going back in some fashion this school year. MCPS is apparently banking on Trump's scientific assessment ("it will all just disappear") to do the same.

And how did that go over?

https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/northern-virginia/hundreds-of-fairfax-county-teachers-could-resign-or-take-leave-if-forced-to-return-to-class/2437803/

Really? That's all you got? Of 1,300 association respondents, only 25% claimed they'd take a LOA or resign. BFD.

"Only" 1/4 of the teachers?

Well, maybe you don't think it's a lot, but FCPS did think it's a lot, and they're the ones who make the decisions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I agree. But lets also be real. Put up the most moderate republican, somebody would be crucified as a RINO, outside of MD. And most folks down here would see the 'R' next to the name and not vote for them. No matter what. Nobody should do that.

Nobody should vote straight party lines without understanding the candidate. People in this county have blind faith in their party and their leader.

and in the words of the greatest musician of our time, Bruce Springsteen, "Blind faith in your leaders, or in anything, will get you killed."

Realistic solution: open primaries. For local offices like Council, everyone gets to vote for all candidates across the ballot, doesn't matter your party or their party. It'll end up being 2 D's on the general ballot, but at least one of them is likely to be moderate.

How to justify it: 1/3 of registered voters in MoCo are independent. Also, we have taxpayer-funded campaign financing, but currently an independent can't even vote (in the primaries) for or against someone whose campaign is being funded by their tax dollars.

Of course they can. All they have to do is register as a Democrat, a Republican, or anyone else who's having a party primary. I have very little patience for people who register as an independent and then complain that they can't vote in a party primary.

+1. This is DH and it drives me bonkers!! He mainly votes for Dems anyway, but refuses to register as one. I tried to get him to register in 2018 because of the close primary race for county executive and he still wouldn’t do it. Now he complains about Elrich all the time, naturally. The reality is that the real contest in local elections occurs in the primary. Granted that field was too crowded and the moderate voters failed to coalesce around an alternative, but more people need to get involved and vote in the primary rather than sit out until the general election.

It's 1/3 of voters in MoCo, including me. I don't identify with either party. I voted for Hogan for governor and will vote for Biden.

I voted similarly, but truthfully Hogan is one of the few Republicans I’m willing to vote for at the moment. Also registering for one party or another does not preclude you from voting however you like in the general election, but it gives you the ability to vote in the primary. I was not registered for a party until I moved to MD, now I am registered as a Democrat. If I were in a state that did not require you to be registered to vote in the primaries, I probably wouldn’t have bothered. But I want a say.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I can't tell if you're serious, just in denial, or both. FCPS is closed right now...yes. Their superintendent is pitching a new concurrent model today that fixes staffing issues. Will the school board push back and punt it down the road...almost certainly. But step by step, they're revising plans, discussing returning each month, accumulating PPE, updating HVACs, etc. So when teachers do ask "do you have PPE?" or "what about the HVAC"...they have answers. When MCPS teachers ask those same questions, leadership will say "sorry, no money for it". FCPS will start going back in some fashion this school year. MCPS is apparently banking on Trump's scientific assessment ("it will all just disappear") to do the same.

And how did that go over?

https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/northern-virginia/hundreds-of-fairfax-county-teachers-could-resign-or-take-leave-if-forced-to-return-to-class/2437803/

Really? That's all you got? Of 1,300 association respondents, only 25% claimed they'd take a LOA or resign. BFD.

Yes, “only”. Because it’s an inherently biased sample. People that respond to surveys already have a strong opinion on a topic. Teachers that belong to the associations already have group mentality. Given that, this is a really encouraging result for those that want to see a local district break the ice for the others.

"Only" 1/4 of the teachers?

Well, maybe you don't think it's a lot, but FCPS did think it's a lot, and they're the ones who make the decisions.