What is the Board of Ed Doing?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve been reading about the SF Board of Education recall election that’s coming up. A lot of reasons are related to similar controversial actions by the MC BOE, such as using lotteries to prioritize equity over achievement. It looks like it’s going to be successful.

Could the outcome affect Board behavior here or is it possible for a similar recall to happen in MoCo?

No. There's no legal mechanism for a recall of county Board of Education members in Maryland.

That’s unfortunate. At the very least it influences the zeitgeist. If they cannot get voted out and don’t change, it would put them out of step and more extreme than even San Francisco. That would be a talking point I would hope they would want to avoid.

There's an election in November. If they're out of step we'll know then.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve been reading about the SF Board of Education recall election that’s coming up. A lot of reasons are related to similar controversial actions by the MC BOE, such as using lotteries to prioritize equity over achievement. It looks like it’s going to be successful.

Could the outcome affect Board behavior here or is it possible for a similar recall to happen in MoCo?

No. There's no legal mechanism for a recall of county Board of Education members in Maryland.

That’s unfortunate. At the very least it influences the zeitgeist. If they cannot get voted out and don’t change, it would put them out of step and more extreme than even San Francisco. That would be a talking point I would hope they would want to avoid.

There's an election in November. If they're out of step we'll know then.

+1. We may even know in June, when we see who the candidates are that advance after the primary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve been reading about the SF Board of Education recall election that’s coming up. A lot of reasons are related to similar controversial actions by the MC BOE, such as using lotteries to prioritize equity over achievement. It looks like it’s going to be successful.

Could the outcome affect Board behavior here or is it possible for a similar recall to happen in MoCo?

No. There's no legal mechanism for a recall of county Board of Education members in Maryland.

That’s unfortunate. At the very least it influences the zeitgeist. If they cannot get voted out and don’t change, it would put them out of step and more extreme than even San Francisco. That would be a talking point I would hope they would want to avoid.

There's an election in November. If they're out of step we'll know then.

You don’t seem to understand why SF thought it was necessary for a recall. The power of incumbency can be strong enough to re-elect people who are doing real damage. Until they give BOE members a living wage, it will continue to be filled with low quality people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:January was a horrendous month for MCPS. Lack of Covid planning that led to staffing shortages that affected learning and transportation for learning. Lack of testing that fueled a surge in cases after winter break. Votes of no confidence against the interim superintendent by two major unions in MCPS. Now a gun in one high school and a shooting that critically injured a student at another high school all in the same day.

Shouldn’t the Board be having an emergency session? Shouldn’t they be concerned about the lack of leadership in MCPS?

I am stunned by their silence and lack of response.

I wish they wouldn't cave to that small group of loud parents who insisted on keeping schools open when the pandemic was surging out of control but otherwise I think they're doing a great job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve been reading about the SF Board of Education recall election that’s coming up. A lot of reasons are related to similar controversial actions by the MC BOE, such as using lotteries to prioritize equity over achievement. It looks like it’s going to be successful.

Could the outcome affect Board behavior here or is it possible for a similar recall to happen in MoCo?

No. There's no legal mechanism for a recall of county Board of Education members in Maryland.

That’s unfortunate. At the very least it influences the zeitgeist. If they cannot get voted out and don’t change, it would put them out of step and more extreme than even San Francisco. That would be a talking point I would hope they would want to avoid.

There's an election in November. If they're out of step we'll know then.

You don’t seem to understand why SF thought it was necessary for a recall. The power of incumbency can be strong enough to re-elect people who are doing real damage. Until they give BOE members a living wage, it will continue to be filled with low quality people.

The vast majority of the public supports them fully. Maybe a small percentage of <5% of hyper-privileged elites are unhappy since it's not all about their needs, but they won't be happy with anything anyway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:January was a horrendous month for MCPS. Lack of Covid planning that led to staffing shortages that affected learning and transportation for learning. Lack of testing that fueled a surge in cases after winter break. Votes of no confidence against the interim superintendent by two major unions in MCPS. Now a gun in one high school and a shooting that critically injured a student at another high school all in the same day.

Shouldn’t the Board be having an emergency session? Shouldn’t they be concerned about the lack of leadership in MCPS?

I am stunned by their silence and lack of response.

Really? You need to pull your head out of the sand then. They've been meeting almost non-stop trying to deal with this mess, but sadly all those open at all cost parents have made their job very difficult.

Okay. When is the last open meeting they have had? When is the last meeting they have had that has addressed school violence? When is the last meeting they have had that has addressed COVID?

Every quote from students say that they don’t feel safe at school and their response has been to put their heads in the sand about student safety while they spend all their time talking up their racial equity agenda. Seems like their have their priorities off.

Should I assume your questions are rhetorical? It’s clear you know how to use the interwebs so you must know how to check the MCPS BOE schedule and access to their webcasts, right?

They address Covid in every meeting. Trust me. If you were paying attention you would know this.

As for students safety, maybe you should take that up with the Montgomery County Council that decided that our children didn’t need to feel safe or protected and defunded the police (SROs) this academic year. Wasn’t the BOE that did that it. Hell, principals wanted them in schools, but Jawando decided he knew better.

Jawando is the biggest hypocrite of them all. He has no credibility until he sends his own kids to MCPS, a non-W especially.

For those who have misconceptions that W schools are better than any other MCPS school -

My child has a student in his class right now that has an court ordered ankle monitor

We have violent fights in the hallways and classrooms

We have drug overdoses that require ambulances to come to school

We have drug dealers who are students in the school - now even more so without SROs

We had a serious incident this year where students went on lockdown because of an incident on campus involving an assault and the perpetrator brandished a knife

We are all MCPS. Every school has safety problems.

[Anonymous]

“MCPS superintendent candidates expected by January”

In a press release on Wednesday, the district wrote that it will hold three meetings to “gather community comment on the educational priorities and desired leadership qualities of the next superintendent.”

Reported by Bethesda Magazine in October, 2021

https://bethesdamagazine.com/bethesda-beat/schools/mcps-superintendent-candidates-expected-by-january/

Have anyone heard any update?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:January was a horrendous month for MCPS. Lack of Covid planning that led to staffing shortages that affected learning and transportation for learning. Lack of testing that fueled a surge in cases after winter break. Votes of no confidence against the interim superintendent by two major unions in MCPS. Now a gun in one high school and a shooting that critically injured a student at another high school all in the same day.

Shouldn’t the Board be having an emergency session? Shouldn’t they be concerned about the lack of leadership in MCPS?

I am stunned by their silence and lack of response.

I wish they wouldn't cave to that small group of loud parents who insisted on keeping schools open when the pandemic was surging out of control but otherwise I think they're doing a great job.

The lack of switching to online wasn’t to cave to parents.

MCPS did not go to online learning because they are required by the state to have 180 days of in person instruction for students. If teachers are teaching online, that is work for the teachers but MCPS would run out of 180 in person school days even though teachers would be teaching. What would the MCPS options then be - require unionized contracted employees to work more days than their contract requires?

MCPS is caught in the middle of a state mandate and the teachers union that is affecting their response to a COVID surge.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve been reading about the SF Board of Education recall election that’s coming up. A lot of reasons are related to similar controversial actions by the MC BOE, such as using lotteries to prioritize equity over achievement. It looks like it’s going to be successful.

Could the outcome affect Board behavior here or is it possible for a similar recall to happen in MoCo?

No. There's no legal mechanism for a recall of county Board of Education members in Maryland.

That’s unfortunate. At the very least it influences the zeitgeist. If they cannot get voted out and don’t change, it would put them out of step and more extreme than even San Francisco. That would be a talking point I would hope they would want to avoid.

There's an election in November. If they're out of step we'll know then.

You don’t seem to understand why SF thought it was necessary for a recall. The power of incumbency can be strong enough to re-elect people who are doing real damage. Until they give BOE members a living wage, it will continue to be filled with low quality people.

The "power" of incumbency is just that people usually vote for them, because people usually aren't that unhappy with the status quo. If the public agrees that the current BOE is "doing real damage" they'll vote for other people, if not you'll need to accept that the people of the county don't agree with you about the BOE.

[Anonymous]

COVID highlighted the inability of the Board of Ed to supervise MCPS. Are people happy that the BOE kept schools closed longer than most school systems in the US? Do parents feel students are safe at school? Do parents feel their children are receiving a good education? Or are there problems with the lowering of standards for MCPS students?

Who parents voted for in the last election might be vastly different from who they vote for in the next election. I personally will be swayed to vote against the Apple Ballot because of the catering to the teachers union that has disregarded what’s best for students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:COVID highlighted the inability of the Board of Ed to supervise MCPS. Are people happy that the BOE kept schools closed longer than most school systems in the US? Do parents feel students are safe at school? Do parents feel their children are receiving a good education? Or are there problems with the lowering of standards for MCPS students?

Who parents voted for in the last election might be vastly different from who they vote for in the next election. I personally will be swayed to vote against the Apple Ballot because of the catering to the teachers union that has disregarded what’s best for students.

They will be re-elected in a landslide because the vast majority of residents disagree with you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:January was a horrendous month for MCPS. Lack of Covid planning that led to staffing shortages that affected learning and transportation for learning. Lack of testing that fueled a surge in cases after winter break. Votes of no confidence against the interim superintendent by two major unions in MCPS. Now a gun in one high school and a shooting that critically injured a student at another high school all in the same day.

Shouldn’t the Board be having an emergency session? Shouldn’t they be concerned about the lack of leadership in MCPS?

I am stunned by their silence and lack of response.

I wish they wouldn't cave to that small group of loud parents who insisted on keeping schools open when the pandemic was surging out of control but otherwise I think they're doing a great job.

The lack of switching to online wasn’t to cave to parents.

MCPS did not go to online learning because they are required by the state to have 180 days of in person instruction for students. If teachers are teaching online, that is work for the teachers but MCPS would run out of 180 in person school days even though teachers would be teaching. What would the MCPS options then be - require unionized contracted employees to work more days than their contract requires?

MCPS is caught in the middle of a state mandate and the teachers union that is affecting their response to a COVID surge.

This! And I’d add that the group who wanted schools to remain open was not small. In fact, it seemed the group wanting schools closed was actual the minority.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:COVID highlighted the inability of the Board of Ed to supervise MCPS. Are people happy that the BOE kept schools closed longer than most school systems in the US? Do parents feel students are safe at school? Do parents feel their children are receiving a good education? Or are there problems with the lowering of standards for MCPS students?

Who parents voted for in the last election might be vastly different from who they vote for in the next election. I personally will be swayed to vote against the Apple Ballot because of the catering to the teachers union that has disregarded what’s best for students.

They will be re-elected in a landslide because the vast majority of residents disagree with you.

Hi Brenda Wolff. How are you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:COVID highlighted the inability of the Board of Ed to supervise MCPS. Are people happy that the BOE kept schools closed longer than most school systems in the US? Do parents feel students are safe at school? Do parents feel their children are receiving a good education? Or are there problems with the lowering of standards for MCPS students?

Who parents voted for in the last election might be vastly different from who they vote for in the next election. I personally will be swayed to vote against the Apple Ballot because of the catering to the teachers union that has disregarded what’s best for students.

They will be re-elected in a landslide because the vast majority of residents disagree with you.

Hi Brenda Wolff. How are you?

C'mon - Brenda Wolff can't navigate a message board any better than she can navigate zoom!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:COVID highlighted the inability of the Board of Ed to supervise MCPS. Are people happy that the BOE kept schools closed longer than most school systems in the US? Do parents feel students are safe at school? Do parents feel their children are receiving a good education? Or are there problems with the lowering of standards for MCPS students?

Who parents voted for in the last election might be vastly different from who they vote for in the next election. I personally will be swayed to vote against the Apple Ballot because of the catering to the teachers union that has disregarded what’s best for students.

They will be re-elected in a landslide because the vast majority of residents disagree with you.

Just like every other year.