What is the Board of Ed Doing?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

The power of incumbency is that most voters could not name a single BOE member and the most consistent voters are older people who don’t have kids in school and don’t know what a mess things are. So they get to continue to get re-elected despite doing real damage because people have a lot of other things to do with their time.

If you want to be arrogant, please be arrogant but your arrogance will be your Achilles heel as your continued overstepping of bounds and extremists views will eventually push everyone too far. MC BOE more extreme than San Francisco is not something I thought I’d ever believe to be true. Incredible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

The power of incumbency is that most voters could not name a single BOE member and the most consistent voters are older people who don’t have kids in school and don’t know what a mess things are. So they get to continue to get re-elected despite doing real damage because people have a lot of other things to do with their time.

If you want to be arrogant, please be arrogant but your arrogance will be your Achilles heel as your continued overstepping of bounds and extremists views will eventually push everyone too far. MC BOE more extreme than San Francisco is not something I thought I’d ever believe to be true. Incredible.

We all understand that you believe voters are uniformed and stupid. It's strange to take that stance and then accuse other people of arrogance, though.

I'm not on the BOE's side. I voted for some of them, didn't vote for others, I like some of what they do and disagree with other things. My problem is with the narrative that contorts reality until the fact that these people are actually elected is irrelevant because you think they voters are too badly informed to make the "right" decision. If most people who show up and vote think Brenda Wolff is the right person for that job, I respect that, even if I might disagree. If the voters thought she was "doing real damage" they'd vote for someone else and it's the height of arrogance to decide that I must know better than they do.

My "extremist view" is that I believe in democracy.

[Anonymous]

Also it is so easy once you flag to the powers that be - Apple Ballot - that you are fine with status quo. But the fault dear Brutus lies in the fact people in Takoma Park VOTE and up county people don’t - because most of them send kids to private. This TP gets to make private school on public dime (Blair Magnet) and never gets the reform they want others to adhere to - lottery for diversity. When Blair magnet reforms then you will know things have changed in the county. Holding my breath….

[Anonymous]

Are there any special laws or regulations about MC BOE voting? Is it like any other election? Can they put out voting signs? Solicit campaign donations, etc? Are there any social media restrictions? Can ordinary parents help campaign for them?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are there any special laws or regulations about MC BOE voting? Is it like any other election? Can they put out voting signs? Solicit campaign donations, etc? Are there any social media restrictions? Can ordinary parents help campaign for them?

No idea but the vast majority of residents keep re-elecitng the same people so it's safe to say they're happy with them despite what a few posters here seem to think.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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!

LOL. So true. So true. Absolutely hopeless

[Anonymous]

How can the BOE have a special meeting to address snow days but remain silent about a shooting in a school? It’s appalling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How can the BOE have a special meeting to address snow days but remain silent about a shooting in a school? It’s appalling.

Why would they call a special meeting about shooting in a school? Is there some policy that needs to be reviewed, amended, or voted on by the board roght now that would impact this? They got an update on all tje various things in the Department of safety and with MCPD on 1/13. I’m sure they been in contact with the Superintendent and MCPD since the shooting. Information has come out from the Super. What exactly are you expecting the BOE to do?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also it is so easy once you flag to the powers that be - Apple Ballot - that you are fine with status quo. But the fault dear Brutus lies in the fact people in Takoma Park VOTE and up county people don’t - because most of them send kids to private. This TP gets to make private school on public dime (Blair Magnet) and never gets the reform they want others to adhere to - lottery for diversity. When Blair magnet reforms then you will know things have changed in the county. Holding my breath….

Is that true? That upcounty goes private more frequently, or that upcounty has lower voter turnout?

I ask as an upcounty voter with kids in MCPS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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!

LOL. So true. So true. Absolutely hopeless

Lol. Docca is probably still trying to figure out how they calculate the positive rate

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How can the BOE have a special meeting to address snow days but remain silent about a shooting in a school? It’s appalling.

Why would they call a special meeting about shooting in a school? Is there some policy that needs to be reviewed, amended, or voted on by the board roght now that would impact this? They got an update on all tje various things in the Department of safety and with MCPD on 1/13. I’m sure they been in contact with the Superintendent and MCPD since the shooting. Information has come out from the Super. What exactly are you expecting the BOE to do?

There is currently a very significant policy about SROs that they could weigh in on. They could also have a special session to reallocate budgeted funds towards increasing school security. There’s a lot that they can do and they refuse to do anything. It’s shameful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How can the BOE have a special meeting to address snow days but remain silent about a shooting in a school? It’s appalling.

Why would they call a special meeting about shooting in a school? Is there some policy that needs to be reviewed, amended, or voted on by the board roght now that would impact this? They got an update on all tje various things in the Department of safety and with MCPD on 1/13. I’m sure they been in contact with the Superintendent and MCPD since the shooting. Information has come out from the Super. What exactly are you expecting the BOE to do?

There is currently a very significant policy about SROs that they could weigh in on. They could also have a special session to reallocate budgeted funds towards increasing school security. There’s a lot that they can do and they refuse to do anything. It’s shameful.

The SROs were eliminated by the county council not the BOE And what would they be reallocating budget finds towards exactly? There’s no need to have a meeting just to weigh in on something, they can just go talk to the council, department of safety, or send a letter. There’s no need to have a special meeting about budget changes unless there is a specific spend in mind.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are there any special laws or regulations about MC BOE voting? Is it like any other election? Can they put out voting signs? Solicit campaign donations, etc? Are there any social media restrictions? Can ordinary parents help campaign for them?

No idea but the vast majority of residents keep re-elecitng the same people so it's safe to say they're happy with them despite what a few posters here seem to think.

I was asking so that I could help campaign for new candidates. Thank you anyway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How can the BOE have a special meeting to address snow days but remain silent about a shooting in a school? It’s appalling.

Why would they call a special meeting about shooting in a school? Is there some policy that needs to be reviewed, amended, or voted on by the board roght now that would impact this? They got an update on all tje various things in the Department of safety and with MCPD on 1/13. I’m sure they been in contact with the Superintendent and MCPD since the shooting. Information has come out from the Super. What exactly are you expecting the BOE to do?

There is currently a very significant policy about SROs that they could weigh in on. They could also have a special session to reallocate budgeted funds towards increasing school security. There’s a lot that they can do and they refuse to do anything. It’s shameful.

+1 SROs were needed at Churchill last night if you see the basketball thread. Violence is on the rise in all schools. Video and everything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How can the BOE have a special meeting to address snow days but remain silent about a shooting in a school? It’s appalling.

Why would they call a special meeting about shooting in a school? Is there some policy that needs to be reviewed, amended, or voted on by the board roght now that would impact this? They got an update on all tje various things in the Department of safety and with MCPD on 1/13. I’m sure they been in contact with the Superintendent and MCPD since the shooting. Information has come out from the Super. What exactly are you expecting the BOE to do?

There is currently a very significant policy about SROs that they could weigh in on. They could also have a special session to reallocate budgeted funds towards increasing school security. There’s a lot that they can do and they refuse to do anything. It’s shameful.

The SROs were eliminated by the county council not the BOE And what would they be reallocating budget finds towards exactly? There’s no need to have a meeting just to weigh in on something, they can just go talk to the council, department of safety, or send a letter. There’s no need to have a special meeting about budget changes unless there is a specific spend in mind.

This is a lot of excuses for the BOE trying to sweep a shooting INSIDE a school under the rug. Kids have said that they don’t feel safe in schools. We can understand from the BOEs silence on the matter that they don’t care about school safety.