I am reading the budget sheet while listening. Blair SMCS currently receive about $500K/yr for staffing + material. These FTEs include some staff sharing with Wheaton. They are proposing $250 K/yr for SMCS + CAP. So basically they have to do a RIF.

Taylor is such an idiot. He mentioned a 200 person “full size” orchestra or band. Then he bragged about how “instrument construction” might even be a part of a criteria based instrumental music program.

It’s clear MCPS hasn’t looked at any of the nationally known Perfirming Arts High Schools such as Duje Ellington, LaGuardia, or even the Virginia Governor’s School for the arts. You don’t break these kids up! Theatre kids need good instrumentalists to play in the pit of their musicals and real dancers on stage. You need good visual artists working on set design. Splitting these concentrations will limit the number of authentic experiences kids will have in MCPS.

Also, Taylor was incorrect when the said MCPS didn’t currently have any criteria based instrumental music strike music programs. Almost every MS and HS has at least one audition only instrumental ensemble such as a wind ensemble, jazz band, etc.

Is MCPS ready to start providing audition workshops and all the other outreach necessary for true criteria based music programs that can be successful?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Julie Yang has good questions.

She did. I'll give her that.

But no one on the board is reflecting the concerns, frustrations and misgivings the community has expressed about the regional program model in the way that the County Council did when they interrogated MCPS about this proposal.

This. ☝️

Brenda Wolfe spoke about areas of the county where students don't have access to programs and how most of the demand to slow down is coming from areas that currently have programs.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Julie Yang has good questions.

She did. I'll give her that.

But no one on the board is reflecting the concerns, frustrations and misgivings the community has expressed about the regional program model in the way that the County Council did when they interrogated MCPS about this proposal.

This. ☝️

Anonymous wrote:Julie Yang has good questions.

She did. I'll give her that.

But no one on the board is reflecting the concerns, frustrations and misgivings the community has expressed about the regional program model in the way that the County Council did when they interrogated MCPS about this proposal.

Anonymous wrote:This was just added--sample pathways doc.

https://go.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Board.nsf/files/DNLRYN704ACA/$file/WORKING%20DRAFT%20Sample%20Regional%20Programs%20Pathways%20251120.pdf

A lot of these expect kids to get a lot of foreign language done in middle school, but won't the MSDE math changes mean that most kids can't take foreign language in middle school anymore?

Anonymous wrote:it is HILARIOUS that they assume 100 students from Whitman will be traveling anywhere. They will be staying at their home school where they can access advanced math, science and humanities with transportation from their neighborhoods.

Yep - Thomas Taylor further segregating the county in the name of equity!

Julie Yang has good questions.

Anonymous wrote:And then Porter laughed and said "don't look at that picture too closely"

Seriously?

Anonymous wrote:Niki Porter and Adnan Mamoon have to answer for those horrifying AI pictures. Seriously, zoom in on them. They are bizarre mangled faces. This shows how little judgement and review went into this.

And the commensurate message - full of hubris, as if CO knows more than the rest of the world.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This was just added--sample pathways doc.

https://go.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Board.nsf/files/DNLRYN704ACA/$file/WORKING%20DRAFT%20Sample%20Regional%20Programs%20Pathways%20251120.pdf

Wow, they are really leaning into putting the most rigorous academic programs at White Wealthy schools..what a message to send. Damn.

Wealthy and white like the STEM and Engineering magnets at Wheaton and Biomed and IB at Kennedy? Is the problem you see with this that there is Humanities at WJ and Middle College at Woodward?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FYI - the original link posted in the OP is broken. There is a revised PPT and new document on budget and transportation posted in the BOE agenda for today which can be accessed here: https://go.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Board.nsf/goto?open&id=DJMGHC43C32B

Yet they still have the creepy AI images of the students of color who have warped faces when you zoom in.

Here is the link to the presentation: https://go.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Board.nsf/files/DNLJE34CC316/$file/Boundary%20Studies%20Program%20Analysis%20Update%20251120%20PPT%20REV.pdf

And to the budget: https://go.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Board.nsf/files/DNLJXC4F4A19/$file/Regional%20Program%20Model%20FY2027-2031%20Budget%20251120.pdf

Save them now before they take them down.

The transportation stuff at the end of the budget doc makes no sense. There will only be 3 new program buses per school in year 1, even in 5-school regions? But actually it's only 1 additional net bus per school because exactly 78% of kids at every single school used to be a local bus rider and so every local school can cut two local bus routes? And then the transportation costs only increase a little more above that in future years and then by year 5 it becomes cost savings?

It makes sense as the busses will stop at multiple schools and they are only letting maybe 20 kids from each school go to other schools.

Nope, they're expecting like 500 kids per school go go to other schools, 100+ per grade.

Anonymous wrote:Colleges want two years (usually more) in high school.

*of a foreign language

Anonymous wrote:This was just added--sample pathways doc.

https://go.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Board.nsf/files/DNLRYN704ACA/$file/WORKING%20DRAFT%20Sample%20Regional%20Programs%20Pathways%20251120.pdf

Wow, they are really leaning into putting the most rigorous academic programs at White Wealthy schools..what a message to send. Damn.

Colleges want two years (usually more) in high school.