Anonymous
Post 01/07/2024 15:20     Subject: Who is Mike Durso?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:If he genuinely cares put him in a classroom and maybe geriatric people will be less likely to be abused by their students. I doubt it though. Let the geezer retire. He's been able to make 6 fig salaries for how many decades. For gosh sakes let the old man retire.


This. Let him come in to help mentor some school principals, APs, teachers in years 1-5, heck even some district supervisors if necessary. He does not need to be Chief of Staff.


Isn’t mentoring district supervisors — who then mentor principals, who then mentor APs and teachers, part of the job? Even on a pan interim basis?


No, that sounds more like the Chief of School Support than the Chief of Staff. Here is the latter's position description:

https://ww2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/personnel/classification/descriptions/description.aspx?fn=0458-1425
Anonymous
Post 01/07/2024 14:50     Subject: Who is Mike Durso?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:If he genuinely cares put him in a classroom and maybe geriatric people will be less likely to be abused by their students. I doubt it though. Let the geezer retire. He's been able to make 6 fig salaries for how many decades. For gosh sakes let the old man retire.


This. Let him come in to help mentor some school principals, APs, teachers in years 1-5, heck even some district supervisors if necessary. He does not need to be Chief of Staff.


None of that will make McKnight look good in the near term, which is what she’s prioritizing right now as she goes from crisis to crisis


Actual this is untrue. It would look like providing additional help and support to relieve pressure from veteran teachers and administrators. Including those who have already signed on to the new teacher/new principal programs. Both of which would look good to current and potentially future staff.

If she wanted to look good about dealing with crisis, then she should hire someone with expertise in one of the following: transformation/compliance/education and public policy
Anonymous
Post 01/07/2024 14:50     Subject: Who is Mike Durso?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:If he genuinely cares put him in a classroom and maybe geriatric people will be less likely to be abused by their students. I doubt it though. Let the geezer retire. He's been able to make 6 fig salaries for how many decades. For gosh sakes let the old man retire.


This. Let him come in to help mentor some school principals, APs, teachers in years 1-5, heck even some district supervisors if necessary. He does not need to be Chief of Staff.


None of that will make McKnight look good in the near term, which is what she’s prioritizing right now as she goes from crisis to crisis


She keeps hiring people to do her job.


Chief of staff is a different job from superintendent and is not a new position.


Then why is she giving it a description that is for her job?
Anonymous
Post 01/07/2024 14:43     Subject: Who is Mike Durso?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:If he genuinely cares put him in a classroom and maybe geriatric people will be less likely to be abused by their students. I doubt it though. Let the geezer retire. He's been able to make 6 fig salaries for how many decades. For gosh sakes let the old man retire.


This. Let him come in to help mentor some school principals, APs, teachers in years 1-5, heck even some district supervisors if necessary. He does not need to be Chief of Staff.


Isn’t mentoring district supervisors — who then mentor principals, who then mentor APs and teachers, part of the job? Even on a pan interim basis?
Anonymous
Post 01/07/2024 14:36     Subject: Who is Mike Durso?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:If he genuinely cares put him in a classroom and maybe geriatric people will be less likely to be abused by their students. I doubt it though. Let the geezer retire. He's been able to make 6 fig salaries for how many decades. For gosh sakes let the old man retire.


This. Let him come in to help mentor some school principals, APs, teachers in years 1-5, heck even some district supervisors if necessary. He does not need to be Chief of Staff.


None of that will make McKnight look good in the near term, which is what she’s prioritizing right now as she goes from crisis to crisis


She keeps hiring people to do her job.


Chief of staff is a different job from superintendent and is not a new position.
Anonymous
Post 01/07/2024 14:22     Subject: Who is Mike Durso?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:If he genuinely cares put him in a classroom and maybe geriatric people will be less likely to be abused by their students. I doubt it though. Let the geezer retire. He's been able to make 6 fig salaries for how many decades. For gosh sakes let the old man retire.


This. Let him come in to help mentor some school principals, APs, teachers in years 1-5, heck even some district supervisors if necessary. He does not need to be Chief of Staff.


None of that will make McKnight look good in the near term, which is what she’s prioritizing right now as she goes from crisis to crisis


She keeps hiring people to do her job.
Anonymous
Post 01/07/2024 14:11     Subject: Who is Mike Durso?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:If he genuinely cares put him in a classroom and maybe geriatric people will be less likely to be abused by their students. I doubt it though. Let the geezer retire. He's been able to make 6 fig salaries for how many decades. For gosh sakes let the old man retire.


This. Let him come in to help mentor some school principals, APs, teachers in years 1-5, heck even some district supervisors if necessary. He does not need to be Chief of Staff.


None of that will make McKnight look good in the near term, which is what she’s prioritizing right now as she goes from crisis to crisis

I'm pretty sure McKnight lives rent-free in your head!
Anonymous
Post 01/07/2024 13:31     Subject: Who is Mike Durso?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:If he genuinely cares put him in a classroom and maybe geriatric people will be less likely to be abused by their students. I doubt it though. Let the geezer retire. He's been able to make 6 fig salaries for how many decades. For gosh sakes let the old man retire.


This. Let him come in to help mentor some school principals, APs, teachers in years 1-5, heck even some district supervisors if necessary. He does not need to be Chief of Staff.


None of that will make McKnight look good in the near term, which is what she’s prioritizing right now as she goes from crisis to crisis
Anonymous
Post 01/07/2024 13:25     Subject: Who is Mike Durso?
Anonymous wrote:If he genuinely cares put him in a classroom and maybe geriatric people will be less likely to be abused by their students. I doubt it though. Let the geezer retire. He's been able to make 6 fig salaries for how many decades. For gosh sakes let the old man retire.


This. Let him come in to help mentor some school principals, APs, teachers in years 1-5, heck even some district supervisors if necessary. He does not need to be Chief of Staff.
Anonymous
Post 01/07/2024 13:24     Subject: Re:Who is Mike Durso?
Anonymous wrote:He is a truly wonderful, competent, capable educator who genuinely cares about students, staff, and the community as a whole. Many years ago, he was an assistant principal at FKA Wilson HS. He had the respect and the affection of the students— a rare skill that speaks well of him. The more I’ve worked in education, the more I respect “Durso” as I’ve learned more about his career. So, yeah, my opinions are based on very dated first hand experiences, and less dated secondhand information, but as a Montgomery County resident, I’m happy to have my tax dollars spent to hire people with his expertise and experience.


I’d rather have my tax dollars go to paying a competent superintendent who can fulfill her job description rather than needing to spend more money to fill the gaps in her performance
Anonymous
Post 01/07/2024 13:10     Subject: Who is Mike Durso?
Anonymous wrote:Somewhere along the line mcps thought it made sense to hire 1 extremely old man to sit in an ivory tower instead of 4 first year graduates to teach the kids face to face. This is where priority lies.


Disgusting
Anonymous
Post 01/07/2024 13:04     Subject: Who is Mike Durso?
Anonymous wrote:Mcps wastes so much money on fluff and neglects real working people so much.


THIS
Anonymous
Post 01/07/2024 13:03     Subject: Who is Mike Durso?
Like the previous poster said. People that come out of college don't know how to teach. Just convince the public to ignore that teachers work unlimited unpaid overtime, no support, no discipline, everything in society blamed on them, asked to fidge grades and data. All the things that they didn't have to deal with 50 years ago.
Anonymous
Post 01/07/2024 12:50     Subject: Who is Mike Durso?
Oranges banana and mcps admin who act like walking fruit salads who gaslight teachers telling them they have no management skills when the kids are out of control and teachers are leaving because it's a lose lose scenario. Save your fruity analogies. It's a corrupted system.
Anonymous
Post 01/07/2024 12:45     Subject: Who is Mike Durso?
Anonymous wrote:Nothing says technology expert more that your grandparents who want you to show them how the internet works. It's a quarter million dollar jobs program. This is why in America socialism is for the rich only.


A previous BOE member (Judy Docca), similar in age to Durso, didn't use email at all. She had her assistant print out any emails she received.