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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]The board sent a letter to the general parent community but then sent a separate nastygram to the community association leadership.

Watching this unfold is horrifying. We need an entirely new board and a new executive director. [/quote]

[b]You need to find a new school.[/b] The above isn't going to happen.

Sounds like you made a good faith attempt, but when you come at the king, you best not miss. The Board has chosen sides, and it is sticking with the ED.[/quote]

You can't just find a new school. You can lottery, but that could take 3 or 4 years. You could go to your neighborhood school but won't till instruction quality or safety issues fall below levels at the neighborhood school.  Voting with yoru feet isn't an option unless you have enough money to move to a good school district.

But abosuetly, the CA should raise tons of money and lavish it where they see fit.  Or stop raising money and parents stop donating. voting with your wallet is more doable.[/quote]

What do the CA bylaws say? The school may have a point that the CA has exceeded its legal mandate, and the school can essentially de-certify them.[/quote]

De-certify the only arm that has raised money and resources? That would be in line with their thought process. This is about the Board trying to protect their friend. They don't care about the kids and all the issues raised. They have indicated they will even grace us with their presence at the stepping up ceremony this year. [/quote]

How much money have you actually raised?

SSMA's approved budget for 17-18 was $4.7M. All but $40,000 (&lt;1%)was expected to come from donations; the rest is from the per pupil allowance, the facility fund and other city and federal payments. They don't really need your donations to keep the doors open. http://www.dcpcsb.org/sites/default/files/report/2016-2017%20Annual%20Report%28GKYO%29%28ShininStarsMontesAcademPCS%29.pdf[/quote]

Keeping the doors open is one thing. Repairing an aging facility with an unusable auditorium and an inadequate HVAC that results in school closures is another. Offering competitive salaries to recruit and retain qualified staff is even another. According to the 2016-17 annual report, the highest teacher salary is just over $60K. That's about two-thirds what a DCPS teacher makes. It's less than the median income in DC and significantly less than the income required to live "comfortably" in this city. https://wtop.com/business-finance/2017/04/13337011/ If Montessori is all about grace and courtesy, where is the grace and courtesy in paying teachers and, presumably, lower-wage positions like assistants, so poorly?

But since you asked, the parent group raised around $50K this year. What has the Board or ED raised? If fundraising isn't in their purview, they should consider hiring a staff member to do development. Parent groups typically don't have the capacity or expertise to pursue major gifts or grants. That's typically the Board's/ED/Development Officer's job.

This report also indicates that the majority of the Board doesn't reside in DC, including its two parent representatives. That may be an editing error but it's a big error to make. Residency fraud. The report also states that "Dr." R's degree is a Master's degree, not a doctoral degree. An M. Ed. in itself isn't disqualifying from leadership, but the references to her as "Dr." without evidence of that credential is either another big editing error or a misrepresentation.[/quote]

I can not find anything online to indicate that "Dr" R has a doctorate. This report also shows that the individual currently in the Director of Operations position only has a HS degree yet the previous individual had a Bachelor's Degree. Were the qualifications for this position lessened or did the Director position never require a degree? Could her lack of education and experience explain why Operations have been such a shit show this year?? This is why transparency and accountability of "Dr" R are so important and the boards lack of action is so concerning. The issues just keep piling up with this school. [/quote]

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