Starr to place spending restrictions on Montgomery school system

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No one is bussing anyone anywhere...it's waaaaaay too costly, so it will never happen. Period.

And you really can't blame the budget issues on immigrants. Wanna know why the budget is so high? Pensions and healthcare for retired teachers...it is what it is. They did away with pensions, so many of the current teachers won't have them. And they scaled back a teeny tiny bit on the healthcare coverage (no longer Cadillac...more like Accord).

Are you trying to deny our retirees these benefits?

I'm on the new system, where I'll receive about 60% of my three highest years averaged. My colleagues earn about 80%. They worked hard - harder than most people I know outside of the profession. They deserve it. Find a way to cut some of the waste in central office. How about that?

Let's focus on treating our employees well - those on the front lines- who deserve the salaries made by those in the upper ranks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No one is bussing anyone anywhere...it's waaaaaay too costly, so it will never happen. Period.

And you really can't blame the budget issues on immigrants. Wanna know why the budget is so high? Pensions and healthcare for retired teachers...it is what it is. They did away with pensions, so many of the current teachers won't have them. And they scaled back a teeny tiny bit on the healthcare coverage (no longer Cadillac...more like Accord).

Are you trying to deny our retirees these benefits?

I'm on the new system, where I'll receive about 60% of my three highest years averaged. My colleagues earn about 80%. They worked hard - harder than most people I know outside of the profession. They deserve it. Find a way to cut some of the waste in central office. How about that?

Let's focus on treating our employees well - those on the front lines- who deserve the salaries made by those in the upper ranks.

60% is still really good. How many years do you need to work to qualify?

[Anonymous]

To 8:08....no, I am not trying to deny retirees their benefits. Rather, I'm pointing out that a hefty portion of the budget is for retired teachers (who have much better retirement packages than most of the teachers currently teaching today because their benefits have been cut), and not for illegal immigrants as suggested by PPs.

[Anonymous]

This is the same as the fed workers. Older retirees have a much better package and get higher COLAs than current workers. But that is what the older workers were promised when they signed on..it is fair.

[Anonymous]

That's the issue: most folks don't understand basic budgeting. Our org (just under 1000 employees) spends $10 million on the benefits package every year. I have no clue how many mcps employees there are, but I'm guessing it's more than a thousand and I know they have a better benefits package than my org. And with so many retirees receiving pensions and health insurance, I suspect the mcps allocation for benefits is ginormous.

Again, I'm not saying the retirees and employees don't deserve the benefits. Rather, I'm pointing out that a big portion of the budget is going towards these costs (and not towards ESOL or whatever other costs some folks imagine are being diverted to immigrants).

[Anonymous]

Approximately one dollar out of every five MCPS spends goes to benefits.

[Anonymous]

They should spend some money on making sure our kids don't get molested left and right.

Or money training teachers and principals not to send sex assault victims back into the classroom where assaulted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:let's look at it this way, the population of the county is at an all time high, the school enrolment is at an all time high yet the county isn;t bringing in as much tax revenue as expected. I wonder why??????

Look at how much the County Executive has cut from the budget the past 10 years, this should not be happening but it is because of the haven that has been created in the county.

Fairfax County also projects a budget shortfall. What's your explanation for that?

same thing, a lot fo free loaders who live in group housing and do not pay taxes.

Aren't schools funded by property tax? If so, then what about all the citizens that live in apartments? They don't pay any property tax, either. So, apt. dwellers shouldn't be allowed to send their kids to public school. So, this is a class issue.

OK, I will confess... I am an immigrant. My parents didn't speak English when we came here, and my siblings had ESL services. We also lived in a 1 br apartment for a while for the 6 of us. I'm so sorry we took advantage of the public schools here, even though now, my siblings and I pay A LOT in taxes, both in property (8K) and income tax (I think one of my tax bill was about 80K one year). When we lived in those apartments, my parents probably payed very little income tax (because they had menial, low paying jobs). So again, I apologize for coming to this country, using up services, and also eventually contributing to the tax base. My siblings and I probably cost the taxpayers money in ESL services and made the schools crowded (since I have 3 other siblings).

Ok - And your parents came with a good work ethic and probably scared the shit out of you to perform and stay on the right path.

This is NOT the case for many of our students - immigrants AND first generation. (I am first generation.) These kids are left on their own b/c their parents are working 2 jobs and no one is around to watch them. So they end up in what we consider "gangs" (def. not LA/NY crew by any stretch, however). They skip school. They're pulled out of school to translate, to babysit. Many have kids of their own.

I could go on and on.

So before you pour out your bleeding heart again, consider these:
- What are YOU doing to help out immigrants? (And you may be very active on this front - don't know.)
- Take a day out of your schedule to tour a low-performing, high-FARMs/ESOL school to see what it's really like. I think you'd be appalled, especially at the high school level.

different generation, different values, VERY low skills, no work ethic

I went to a HS that was mostly black and hispanic, low-income, that had scary gangs. I know what it looks like, thanks. My parents had VERY low skills when they first came here (janitors, gas pump attendants, etc..). And we were latch key kids, left to our own devices. I know what that life is like.

If these people are dropping out of school, then they are not sucking up school resources, so shouldn't matter in this context, right?

Most poor people that come to this country do not speak English, and their kids go to ESL classes, regardless of their skin color. So, if you are saying that we should not allow poor people into this country because they suck up valuable resources, then that would include my family.

If you are saying that we shouldn't allow poor Hispanic people into this country because they suck up valuable resources and don't work hard, then you'd be wrong on that front because I see "those" people doing yard work, cutting down trees, cleaning houses, busing tables so they can provide a better life for their kids, and that looks like hard work to me.

Yes, at this point the US can not afford to taken in millions of poor people. I can't imagine anyone here thinking we can. And who the F do you think did all those jobs before the "poor immigrants" came here? Oh that is right, legal citizens. I remember when McDonalds and the mall stores were full of high schoolers and college kids. Kids in high school can't even get a job now. Virtually impossible. I remember when landscapers and housecleaners spoke English. I remember a time when corporate America wasn't so cheap that they preferred honest people working for them instead of the cheapest labor they could find. To the point that legal citizens couldn't survive. But who cares? Their pockets are getting fuller.

Ironically, do you know what it takes to become a citizen in MANY countries, including Mexico? Money. You have to show you are gainfully employed and will be a productive tax-paying citizen with a plan before they let you touch their soil. If only US had the balls to do that and get rid of those federal law breakers that don't abide. Sorry, we aren't the world's blanket. We can not afford to take every sob case from South America to Africa to Europe. We have a deficit up to our eyeballs. We don't need more people adding to that. We need the jobs to go to those unemployed. I am so sick of people saying "they do jobs no one else wants to do." NO - they do jobs for under minimum wage because they pay zero in taxes, have no credit, send their money to their home country (instead of spending it here with sales tax) and live about 20 people to a low income rental. If they can pop out a baby here they also get government assistance. You expect those unemployed legal citizens to do that just to get a job when welfare gives them better?

How ass-backwards is our country. We allow illegals here and employers to pay them shit so we cover their healthcare, schooling, FARMS, ESL, translators, special services, etc.. with our taxes and then have a huge group of LEGAL unemployed people collecting welfare also on our taxes because they can't find a job. How about fining/arresting those employers that hire these people, encourage better wages for LEGAL citizens and everyone stop looking for super cheap goods and demand more from where you shop/do business. My uncle lost his landscaping job full of legal vets because he couldn't compete with the immigrants coming in. Not one person cared that an illegal was mowing their lawn if it was $7 cheaper a month. They all say "F you vets. I need that $7 so I will turn a blind eye." NONE of those people needed that $7. If they did, they would be cutting their own damn lawn and not paying someone else to do it. Honestly liberal Americans dug this grave and MC is leading the pack. Go to 7-11 and get your cheap day laborer. Make sure you send the 30yr certified electrician losing his business a "sorry it's not you, it's me" card.

Okay way off topic - sorry. But I am just so sick of the justification of illegal immigrants. There was a time when immigrants were needed. Canada is now that country that needs them. The US does not. We can't even take care of their own legal citizens. Why the F are we taking care of those that aren't instead?

Nice. You forgot to add how they get special preferences to colleges and universities depriving better qualified citizens of a college education.

Come by Blair and learn the low levels to which our education has sunk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No one is bussing anyone anywhere...it's waaaaaay too costly, so it will never happen. Period.

And you really can't blame the budget issues on immigrants. Wanna know why the budget is so high? Pensions and healthcare for retired teachers...it is what it is. They did away with pensions, so many of the current teachers won't have them. And they scaled back a teeny tiny bit on the healthcare coverage (no longer Cadillac...more like Accord).

Really? You really don't think the increase in FARMS, ESL, translators, special education, social services, increased needs for teachers, crowding of schools due to unknown increases that were not projected. You really don't think messes with the budget. Look how many schools have had "unforeseen" increased enrollment and we are now looking at portables everywhere and a desperate need for new schools. We all know LEGAL citizens aren't having more kids these days.

We had to hire a FT ESOL teach mid-semester to absorb our new "border kids."

about 40, I'd say

Funny how there was budget to that in our pyramid too....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That's the issue: most folks don't understand basic budgeting. Our org (just under 1000 employees) spends $10 million on the benefits package every year. I have no clue how many mcps employees there are, but I'm guessing it's more than a thousand and I know they have a better benefits package than my org. And with so many retirees receiving pensions and health insurance, I suspect the mcps allocation for benefits is ginormous.

Again, I'm not saying the retirees and employees don't deserve the benefits. Rather, I'm pointing out that a big portion of the budget is going towards these costs (and not towards ESOL or whatever other costs some folks imagine are being diverted to immigrants).

This is also true of many cities; they have overbloated pension plans. There were several cities that had to redo them because the states could not meet the current pension requirements. As more and more of the Baby Boom generation begins to retire, this will become an even bigger issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No one is bussing anyone anywhere...it's waaaaaay too costly, so it will never happen. Period.

And you really can't blame the budget issues on immigrants. Wanna know why the budget is so high? Pensions and healthcare for retired teachers...it is what it is. They did away with pensions, so many of the current teachers won't have them. And they scaled back a teeny tiny bit on the healthcare coverage (no longer Cadillac...more like Accord).

Are you trying to deny our retirees these benefits?

I'm on the new system, where I'll receive about 60% of my three highest years averaged. My colleagues earn about 80%. They worked hard - harder than most people I know outside of the profession. They deserve it. Find a way to cut some of the waste in central office. How about that?

Let's focus on treating our employees well - those on the front lines- who deserve the salaries made by those in the upper ranks.

60% is still really good. How many years do you need to work to qualify?

60% is still a crazy high percentage but it's 60% of what? 60% of relatively low salaries is not that high. I don't know what the high 3 is for the average MCPS retiree. All I know is, Starr is really well compensated.

[Anonymous]

Re: public pension benefits. "If something is not sustainable, it shall cease."

Unsustainable, overpromised benefits will be whittled down. No more paying in low and juicing final salaries, no more taxpayer on the hook for public unions, no more promising the moon and stars for a vote. They will be whittle, whittle, whittle down to more sensical figures, even the bloated, underfunded MCPS and MoCo defined benefit plans.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No one is bussing anyone anywhere...it's waaaaaay too costly, so it will never happen. Period.

And you really can't blame the budget issues on immigrants. Wanna know why the budget is so high? Pensions and healthcare for retired teachers...it is what it is. They did away with pensions, so many of the current teachers won't have them. And they scaled back a teeny tiny bit on the healthcare coverage (no longer Cadillac...more like Accord).

Are you trying to deny our retirees these benefits?

I'm on the new system, where I'll receive about 60% of my three highest years averaged. My colleagues earn about 80%. They worked hard - harder than most people I know outside of the profession. They deserve it. Find a way to cut some of the waste in central office. How about that?

Let's focus on treating our employees well - those on the front lines- who deserve the salaries made by those in the upper ranks.

60% is still really good. How many years do you need to work to qualify?

60% is still a crazy high percentage but it's 60% of what? 60% of relatively low salaries is not that high. I don't know what the high 3 is for the average MCPS retiree. All I know is, Starr is really well compensated.

30 years in

By that point, many teachers are in their early 50s and have a masters plus 30. So teachers are earning over $100K. If you have any 12-month experience, your salary is more, as they factor in summer months.

So my three highest years averaged, for example, could be 2 years in central office and my current salary in the classroom with the latest step increase. $110 + $112 +$100 (just pretending here) averaged

what? about $70K/year in retirement? Most of us also have investments, which we don't touch. So a two-teacher HH could take in $130-140,000 - and in another area, you can live well.

I've been making over $100K now for a few years - as a teacher, as a staff developer, as a central office specialist.

No, it's not big law $, but we've managed to live comfortably in an area that feeds into a solid school cluster.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No one is bussing anyone anywhere...it's waaaaaay too costly, so it will never happen. Period.

And you really can't blame the budget issues on immigrants. Wanna know why the budget is so high? Pensions and healthcare for retired teachers...it is what it is. They did away with pensions, so many of the current teachers won't have them. And they scaled back a teeny tiny bit on the healthcare coverage (no longer Cadillac...more like Accord).

Are you trying to deny our retirees these benefits?

I'm on the new system, where I'll receive about 60% of my three highest years averaged. My colleagues earn about 80%. They worked hard - harder than most people I know outside of the profession. They deserve it. Find a way to cut some of the waste in central office. How about that?

Let's focus on treating our employees well - those on the front lines- who deserve the salaries made by those in the upper ranks.

60% is still really good. How many years do you need to work to qualify?

60% is still a crazy high percentage but it's 60% of what? 60% of relatively low salaries is not that high. I don't know what the high 3 is for the average MCPS retiree. All I know is, Starr is really well compensated.

A MCPS teacher w/ 25+ years of experience range from 98-105K. 18 years ranges from 93-100K. 60K +/- in pension. Not bad.

http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploadedFiles/departments/ersc/employees/pay/schedules/salary_schedule_november_fy2015.pdf

[Anonymous]

I've got two new neighbors with young kids from VA replacing seniors. No indication they are foreign born.