MCPS is executing significant changes to special education that directly affect autistic students and their families.

[Anonymous]

And to make up for the funding gaps they're pulling from programs that have been running well, even if not fully resourced themselves. It's just an enshittification of everything in the system at this point. Pull everyone down in the name of equality!

[Anonymous]

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Most concerning, the Autism Unit has been reduced by roughly half. Two positions were eliminated, and five psychologists with autism-specific assessment expertise were reassigned to general caseloads, dispersing specialized knowledge that has long supported schools and IEP teams. At its peak, the Autism Unit included 21 full-time specialists serving 73 schools. The unit’s longtime supervisor, Kristin Ericson, is also departing after 43 years at MCPS, representing a major loss of expertise and institutional knowledge.

[url]https://parentscoalitionmc.blogspot.com/2026/01/breaking-taylor-proposes-major-cuts-to.html?m=1[/url][/quote]

Is it good news or bad news?

My sis lived in a town that won award for best public school system in USA for this. It attracted parents from all over who moved to town for the services in school. My sister had to move as her 2,000 sf house on a 70x100 plot shot up to $24,000 a year property taxes mainly school taxes. Eventually they had to cut services as a house lites say on a 100x120 plot that was 5,000 sf got up to $48,000 in a year in property tax. Someone has to pay. [/quote]

Mcps has the money, it’s being mismanaged. [/quote]

That's a cop-out when Montgomery County has failed to increase funding in accordance with historical norms. Whether you're talking about a family budget, a corporation, or a school system, you're always going to be able to find examples of money not going to the most productive uses. Doing better at managing spending and priorities should always be a priority, but it is unreasonable to expect that to make up for years of underfunding.[/quote]

Wasting $168M is not a cop out. [/quote]

Call it what you will, but not doing that contract wouldn't have meaningfully changed the programmatic or budget problems we face today. So it is ridiculous to point to electric buses as justification for hurting kids now.[/quote]


LOL LOL LOL. ARE YOU INSANE? When the MCPS Operating Budget is short funds, it is short because they don’t have enough money to fund things. If money has been wasted on something, that is less money for classrooms. Wasting $168M on a failed contract has a huge impact on classrooms.

Please explain how the Board of Education can waste $168M and not have that loss of funding impact schools. Is this MCPS math?

[Anonymous]

This is terrible news for everyone, whether or not your child qualifies for special education services, is in an autism program, or is a general education student. When programs are cut, and more impacted students are placed in general education classes, 3 things generally happen than impact ALL students:

1. More time is spent on classroom management, and less on instruction

2. Acceleration and enrichment opportunities decrease, because the teacher is only 1 person, and can only stretch in so many ways. The priority is always to reach stuggling students, and that's where the teachers time in planning and differentiating instruction will go.

3. Teacher burn out increases. Even in co-taught classrooms, general education teachers must fill out IEP paperwork quarterly as well as prior to annual IEP meetings, and then they attend those IEP meetings. They are also responsible for data collection, and IEP implementation (accommodations and supplementary aids), even if it's a co-taught classroom.

All of this is bad news, and impacts the education for ALL kids. Everyone should be concerned about this.

[Anonymous]

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Most concerning, the Autism Unit has been reduced by roughly half. Two positions were eliminated, and five psychologists with autism-specific assessment expertise were reassigned to general caseloads, dispersing specialized knowledge that has long supported schools and IEP teams. At its peak, the Autism Unit included 21 full-time specialists serving 73 schools. The unit’s longtime supervisor, Kristin Ericson, is also departing after 43 years at MCPS, representing a major loss of expertise and institutional knowledge.

[url]https://parentscoalitionmc.blogspot.com/2026/01/breaking-taylor-proposes-major-cuts-to.html?m=1[/url][/quote]

Is it good news or bad news?

My sis lived in a town that won award for best public school system in USA for this. It attracted parents from all over who moved to town for the services in school. My sister had to move as her 2,000 sf house on a 70x100 plot shot up to $24,000 a year property taxes mainly school taxes. Eventually they had to cut services as a house lites say on a 100x120 plot that was 5,000 sf got up to $48,000 in a year in property tax. Someone has to pay. [/quote]

Mcps has the money, it’s being mismanaged. [/quote]

That's a cop-out when Montgomery County has failed to increase funding in accordance with historical norms. Whether you're talking about a family budget, a corporation, or a school system, you're always going to be able to find examples of money not going to the most productive uses. Doing better at managing spending and priorities should always be a priority, but it is unreasonable to expect that to make up for years of underfunding.[/quote]

Wasting $168M is not a cop out. [/quote]

Call it what you will, but not doing that contract wouldn't have meaningfully changed the programmatic or budget problems we face today. So it is ridiculous to point to electric buses as justification for hurting kids now.[/quote]


LOL LOL LOL. ARE YOU INSANE? When the MCPS Operating Budget is short funds, it is short because they don’t have enough money to fund things. If money has been wasted on something, that is less money for classrooms. Wasting $168M on a failed contract has a huge impact on classrooms.

Please explain how the Board of Education can waste $168M and not have that loss of funding impact schools. Is this MCPS math? [/quote]

This comparison makes no sense. MCPS has been mismanaged for years by the BOE, Central Office, Superintendent and County Council. No one holds them accountable. Taylor promised transparency and accountability and we have yet to see it. They have a spending issue and are mismanaging funds. There is plenty of money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And to make up for the funding gaps they're pulling from programs that have been running well, even if not fully resourced themselves. It's just an enshittification of everything in the system at this point. Pull everyone down in the name of equality!

In the name of equity, they should be investing more, not less, in SPED. Many of our children are denied services despite having true, documented concerns. If you notice they changed their logo and took out equity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And to make up for the funding gaps they're pulling from programs that have been running well, even if not fully resourced themselves. It's just an enshittification of everything in the system at this point. Pull everyone down in the name of equality!

In the name of equity, they should be investing more, not less, in SPED. Many of our children are denied services despite having true, documented concerns. If you notice they changed their logo and took out equity.

These high ranking central office special education positions are being replaced with more special education teachers IN schools. These positions are designed to reduce the workload of HSM teachers (home school model) by assisting them with paperwork and meetings, which should taker current HSM teachers away from actual face time with kids . I applaud Dr. Taylor for doing this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And to make up for the funding gaps they're pulling from programs that have been running well, even if not fully resourced themselves. It's just an enshittification of everything in the system at this point. Pull everyone down in the name of equality!

In the name of equity, they should be investing more, not less, in SPED. Many of our children are denied services despite having true, documented concerns. If you notice they changed their logo and took out equity.

These high ranking central office special education positions are being replaced with more special education teachers IN schools. These positions are designed to reduce the workload of HSM teachers (home school model) by assisting them with paperwork and meetings, which should taker current HSM teachers away from actual face time with kids . I applaud Dr. Taylor for doing this.

You have no idea what you are talking about or you are just a Taylor troll.

Over 50 SLP MCPS staff showed up at yesterday’s Board of Education hearing to protest Superintendent Taylor’s surprise move. The actual in class, SLP teachers know Taylor is cutting their support.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And to make up for the funding gaps they're pulling from programs that have been running well, even if not fully resourced themselves. It's just an enshittification of everything in the system at this point. Pull everyone down in the name of equality!

In the name of equity, they should be investing more, not less, in SPED. Many of our children are denied services despite having true, documented concerns. If you notice they changed their logo and took out equity.

These high ranking central office special education positions are being replaced with more special education teachers IN schools. These positions are designed to reduce the workload of HSM teachers (home school model) by assisting them with paperwork and meetings, which should taker current HSM teachers away from actual face time with kids . I applaud Dr. Taylor for doing this.

You have no idea what you are talking about or you are just a Taylor troll.

Over 50 SLP MCPS staff showed up at yesterday’s Board of Education hearing to protest Superintendent Taylor’s surprise move. The actual in class, SLP teachers know Taylor is cutting their support.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And to make up for the funding gaps they're pulling from programs that have been running well, even if not fully resourced themselves. It's just an enshittification of everything in the system at this point. Pull everyone down in the name of equality!

In the name of equity, they should be investing more, not less, in SPED. Many of our children are denied services despite having true, documented concerns. If you notice they changed their logo and took out equity.

These high ranking central office special education positions are being replaced with more special education teachers IN schools. These positions are designed to reduce the workload of HSM teachers (home school model) by assisting them with paperwork and meetings, which should taker current HSM teachers away from actual face time with kids . I applaud Dr. Taylor for doing this.

He is adding a position to every elementary school. Unfortunately, the staff/students losing out on the cuts in autism services and the students/staff benefiting from the new positions will not be the same group. Cutting support from the most vulnerable students and the jobs which are some of the most challenging cannot be the answer…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And to make up for the funding gaps they're pulling from programs that have been running well, even if not fully resourced themselves. It's just an enshittification of everything in the system at this point. Pull everyone down in the name of equality!

In the name of equity, they should be investing more, not less, in SPED. Many of our children are denied services despite having true, documented concerns. If you notice they changed their logo and took out equity.

These high ranking central office special education positions are being replaced with more special education teachers IN schools. These positions are designed to reduce the workload of HSM teachers (home school model) by assisting them with paperwork and meetings, which should taker current HSM teachers away from actual face time with kids . I applaud Dr. Taylor for doing this.

He is adding a position to every elementary school. Unfortunately, the staff/students losing out on the cuts in autism services and the students/staff benefiting from the new positions will not be the same group. Cutting support from the most vulnerable students and the jobs which are some of the most challenging cannot be the answer…

Is he cutting support for the most vulnerable or is he spreading out the support in a different way?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And to make up for the funding gaps they're pulling from programs that have been running well, even if not fully resourced themselves. It's just an enshittification of everything in the system at this point. Pull everyone down in the name of equality!

In the name of equity, they should be investing more, not less, in SPED. Many of our children are denied services despite having true, documented concerns. If you notice they changed their logo and took out equity.

These high ranking central office special education positions are being replaced with more special education teachers IN schools. These positions are designed to reduce the workload of HSM teachers (home school model) by assisting them with paperwork and meetings, which should taker current HSM teachers away from actual face time with kids . I applaud Dr. Taylor for doing this.

He is adding a position to every elementary school. Unfortunately, the staff/students losing out on the cuts in autism services and the students/staff benefiting from the new positions will not be the same group. Cutting support from the most vulnerable students and the jobs which are some of the most challenging cannot be the answer…

Is he cutting support for the most vulnerable or is he spreading out the support in a different way?

He is cutting support for non verbal children with Autism. Non verbal is not another language, it is no words.

50 SLP staff showed up at the Board of Education meeting yesterday to protest this change.

Why do you hate those 50 teachers so much?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And to make up for the funding gaps they're pulling from programs that have been running well, even if not fully resourced themselves. It's just an enshittification of everything in the system at this point. Pull everyone down in the name of equality!

In the name of equity, they should be investing more, not less, in SPED. Many of our children are denied services despite having true, documented concerns. If you notice they changed their logo and took out equity.

These high ranking central office special education positions are being replaced with more special education teachers IN schools. These positions are designed to reduce the workload of HSM teachers (home school model) by assisting them with paperwork and meetings, which should taker current HSM teachers away from actual face time with kids . I applaud Dr. Taylor for doing this.

He is adding a position to every elementary school. Unfortunately, the staff/students losing out on the cuts in autism services and the students/staff benefiting from the new positions will not be the same group. Cutting support from the most vulnerable students and the jobs which are some of the most challenging cannot be the answer…

Is he cutting support for the most vulnerable or is he spreading out the support in a different way?

He is cutting support for non verbal children with Autism. Non verbal is not another language, it is no words.

50 SLP staff showed up at the Board of Education meeting yesterday to protest this change.

Why do you hate those 50 teachers so much?

He is only cutting central office staff who haven’t been in an actual school building in years. They do not support students at all. I know exactly what I’m talking about and I know who the supervisors who were cut are. Dr Taylor is smart to re allocate those positions to school based teacher jobs where they will actually help kids. And yes, students of varying needs , verbal and non verbal because they are in general education also.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And to make up for the funding gaps they're pulling from programs that have been running well, even if not fully resourced themselves. It's just an enshittification of everything in the system at this point. Pull everyone down in the name of equality!

In the name of equity, they should be investing more, not less, in SPED. Many of our children are denied services despite having true, documented concerns. If you notice they changed their logo and took out equity.

These high ranking central office special education positions are being replaced with more special education teachers IN schools. These positions are designed to reduce the workload of HSM teachers (home school model) by assisting them with paperwork and meetings, which should taker current HSM teachers away from actual face time with kids . I applaud Dr. Taylor for doing this.

He is adding a position to every elementary school. Unfortunately, the staff/students losing out on the cuts in autism services and the students/staff benefiting from the new positions will not be the same group. Cutting support from the most vulnerable students and the jobs which are some of the most challenging cannot be the answer…

Is he cutting support for the most vulnerable or is he spreading out the support in a different way?

He is cutting support for non verbal children with Autism. Non verbal is not another language, it is no words.

50 SLP staff showed up at the Board of Education meeting yesterday to protest this change.

Why do you hate those 50 teachers so much?

He is only cutting central office staff who haven’t been in an actual school building in years. They do not support students at all. I know exactly what I’m talking about and I know who the supervisors who were cut are. Dr Taylor is smart to re allocate those positions to school based teacher jobs where they will actually help kids. And yes, students of varying needs , verbal and non verbal because they are in general education also.

So 50 SLPs are liars.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And to make up for the funding gaps they're pulling from programs that have been running well, even if not fully resourced themselves. It's just an enshittification of everything in the system at this point. Pull everyone down in the name of equality!

In the name of equity, they should be investing more, not less, in SPED. Many of our children are denied services despite having true, documented concerns. If you notice they changed their logo and took out equity.

These high ranking central office special education positions are being replaced with more special education teachers IN schools. These positions are designed to reduce the workload of HSM teachers (home school model) by assisting them with paperwork and meetings, which should taker current HSM teachers away from actual face time with kids . I applaud Dr. Taylor for doing this.

He is adding a position to every elementary school. Unfortunately, the staff/students losing out on the cuts in autism services and the students/staff benefiting from the new positions will not be the same group. Cutting support from the most vulnerable students and the jobs which are some of the most challenging cannot be the answer…

Is he cutting support for the most vulnerable or is he spreading out the support in a different way?

He is cutting support for non verbal children with Autism. Non verbal is not another language, it is no words.

50 SLP staff showed up at the Board of Education meeting yesterday to protest this change.

Why do you hate those 50 teachers so much?

He is only cutting central office staff who haven’t been in an actual school building in years. They do not support students at all. I know exactly what I’m talking about and I know who the supervisors who were cut are. Dr Taylor is smart to re allocate those positions to school based teacher jobs where they will actually help kids. And yes, students of varying needs , verbal and non verbal because they are in general education also.

I don't think many believe you when you say you know exactly what you're talking about. The only explanation for this is gross money mismanagement, aka fraud.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is terrible news for everyone, whether or not your child qualifies for special education services, is in an autism program, or is a general education student. When programs are cut, and more impacted students are placed in general education classes, 3 things generally happen than impact ALL students:

1. More time is spent on classroom management, and less on instruction

2. Acceleration and enrichment opportunities decrease, because the teacher is only 1 person, and can only stretch in so many ways. The priority is always to reach stuggling students, and that's where the teachers time in planning and differentiating instruction will go.

3. Teacher burn out increases. Even in co-taught classrooms, general education teachers must fill out IEP paperwork quarterly as well as prior to annual IEP meetings, and then they attend those IEP meetings. They are also responsible for data collection, and IEP implementation (accommodations and supplementary aids), even if it's a co-taught classroom.

All of this is bad news, and impacts the education for ALL kids. Everyone should be concerned about this.

Taylor did a similar personnel move in Stafford County, VA, in his last school district. I'm sure they were relieved to see him go. I will be glad to see him leave MCPS.