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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Goldberg came in fifth and I hope he gets in this time. He’s really smart and pro-business while also being a normal Democrat.[/quote]

Goldberg is political hack that doesn't have what it takes to be a good council member.[/quote]

What does it take to be a good council member?[/quote]

I wish they'd have more of a backbone and not give huge increases to MCPS all the time.  It's such a racket. [/quote]

Ah...so, lower taxes with the benefits accruing to the wealthy, there, against diminished education and the societal ills, there.  How is that also not the position of a political hack?[/quote]

No, that's the union propaganda.  All organizations have to think strategically about their budgets. They have to prioritize things. And understand they don't get everything they want.

Because of the dysfunctional way the state law is structured - forcing counties to pay for schools - but not allowing counties any say in how the money is spent, school districts don't have to engage in the same budget management that every other responsible organization has to. They are like teenagers who don't understand the concept of money and just think Mom and Dad can pay for everything.

This means MCPS never works hard to be smart with its money. It doesn't have to. Council should use the state maintenance of effort mandate as a ceiling not a floor. And make MCPS bring some detailed budget information to light during council discussions. [/quote]

So...aside from spending more time driving to ground truth in committee/council sessions, the bulk of that sounds like a [i]state[/i] law issue.

Large-enterprise budgets are no stranger to mismanagement & malfeasance.  That said, any artificial limit, be it a floor, like the maintenance of effort, or a ceiling (also like maintenancs of effort as suggested to be used, here) diminishes the [i]actual[/i] capacity to manage.  Meanwhile, the mismanagement & malfeasance continues, if not addressed more directly, and that suggested artificial cap means lowering effectiveness (in this case, education standards) because you want to pay less (in this case, taxes).[/quote]

Yes, the state has **** over local jurisdictions.  The intent was good. The impact was horrible. But a local Council can't do anything other than work within the legal framework it's given.  The last few Councils have treated that like a shameless campaign giveaway to the schools as they slavishly go after the Apple ballot.  The last few councils haven't done any real analytical work.  They just use their committees to develop campaign soundbites. [/quote]

Me again.  And the saddest part is we the voters keep falling for it.  As long as what the candidate says makes us feel good, makes us feel like we are doing the morally superior thing, we vote for them.  We vote our feelings, which is understandable. But in the mean time, the quality of the education continues to decline because we aren't willing to put in the real work.

Yes, we are FAR better than other jurisdictions like schools in Oklahoma. But we trail the rest of the developed world.  These Gen Zs and Gen Alphas are going to have an entirely different type of professional and civic landscape to navigate.  And that's not even on our radar. [/quote]

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