OF course you can give it a try. If it doesn't work, people can vote Baker out of office. Hold the council's feet to the fire. Demand a property tax freeze. Move.

And again, what is the alternative? Doing nothing? Living in a county with a reputation for poor schools? Homeschooling? Forking over the cost of a second mortgage for privates? Letting low income kids continue to suffer? I'd love to hear some alternative ideas. I'm all ears. In the absence of that, the status quo is not ok. And I'm concerned that this combined with Hogan's cuts might actually make things worse.

There are newcomers to the county who want to see it thrive and are willing to put in work to improve their local schools. There are some much improved schools that are fighting to get better. Home values are on the upswing. Maxwell has a great reputation. So does Baker. They are trying to move the county forward. Let's do it.

Anonymous wrote:I support it. To all the naysayers, particularly those on the city council: what do you propose? The status quo is not acceptable. I understand the reluctance given the way the schools have been run in the past. But how do we get beyond that? How do you really improve the schools and by extension, the reputation of the county, if you don't try something bold?

As for my personal bottom line, I'll gladly pay the extra couple hundred dollars in taxes to give it a try. It's way cheaper than sending my two kids to private school or uprooting them from a community we all love.

Also, to the poster who said the only way to improve schools is to get middle class families to move here -- we have that and have for years. These families are simply content to send their kids to religious and private schools. But as more people get priced out of DC, the inner ring suburbs are booming with a new crop of middle class families who love it here and desperately want to stay beyond their kids turning 5. And a lot of them don't want to go the private school route. We love our communities, want them to thrive and want every kid to be able to go to a great school. People won't stay here unless there is a considerable investment in the schools.

what do you propose?

Thank for asking!

I propose:

1) Close down the bottom 10% of underperforming schools

2) Once there's a rigorous and independent process in place to approve good charter schools, lease those school building to them.

3) Give parents a $12,000 voucher per kid to decide where they want to send their children (before you ask -- that is LESS than it costs now to "educate" a kid in PG using the system we have today

Anonymous wrote:I support it. To all the naysayers, particularly those on the city council: what do you propose? The status quo is not acceptable. I understand the reluctance given the way the schools have been run in the past. But how do we get beyond that? How do you really improve the schools and by extension, the reputation of the county, if you don't try something bold?

As for my personal bottom line, I'll gladly pay the extra couple hundred dollars in taxes to give it a try. It's way cheaper than sending my two kids to private school or uprooting them from a community we all love.

Also, to the poster who said the only way to improve schools is to get middle class families to move here -- we have that and have for years. These families are simply content to send their kids to religious and private schools. But as more people get priced out of DC, the inner ring suburbs are booming with a new crop of middle class families who love it here and desperately want to stay beyond their kids turning 5. And a lot of them don't want to go the private school route. We love our communities, want them to thrive and want every kid to be able to go to a great school. People won't stay here unless there is a considerable investment in the schools.

But you simply can't "give it a try." It's not like there's any going back once the taxes are raised and completely misused. "Giving it a try" only means we'll be payng more with no results.

I support it. To all the naysayers, particularly those on the city council: what do you propose? The status quo is not acceptable. I understand the reluctance given the way the schools have been run in the past. But how do we get beyond that? How do you really improve the schools and by extension, the reputation of the county, if you don't try something bold?

As for my personal bottom line, I'll gladly pay the extra couple hundred dollars in taxes to give it a try. It's way cheaper than sending my two kids to private school or uprooting them from a community we all love.

Also, to the poster who said the only way to improve schools is to get middle class families to move here -- we have that and have for years. These families are simply content to send their kids to religious and private schools. But as more people get priced out of DC, the inner ring suburbs are booming with a new crop of middle class families who love it here and desperately want to stay beyond their kids turning 5. And a lot of them don't want to go the private school route. We love our communities, want them to thrive and want every kid to be able to go to a great school. People won't stay here unless there is a considerable investment in the schools.

Anonymous wrote:The county's schools really need help. I'm not sure if funding alone is the answer, but I know funding could help. Meanwhile, our lovely Governor Hogan (and, yes, I am being VERY sarcastic) is cutting school funding and claiming there are other ways to better education - yet he has offered no solutions. I am sure he doesn't care.

I agree with Senator Miller that this fund cutting is like a "declaration of war" on our kids. *sigh*
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/marylands-hogan-to-withhold-funding-for-high-cost-school-systems-this-year/2015/05/14/ccf4204e-fa58-11e4-a13c-193b1241d51a_story.html

PG not turning out to vote is a large part of the reason we have Mr Hogan, the pan handle and eastern shore of course want their man to cut and dice away at the areas that majoritied them so many times.

The county's schools really need help. I'm not sure if funding alone is the answer, but I know funding could help. Meanwhile, our lovely Governor Hogan (and, yes, I am being VERY sarcastic) is cutting school funding and claiming there are other ways to better education - yet he has offered no solutions. I am sure he doesn't care.

I agree with Senator Miller that this fund cutting is like a "declaration of war" on our kids. *sigh*
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/marylands-hogan-to-withhold-funding-for-high-cost-school-systems-this-year/2015/05/14/ccf4204e-fa58-11e4-a13c-193b1241d51a_story.html

If I were to consider sending my child to a PG County school, that would be in 3 years. I don't see a turn around happening in that time even with the extra money. So I will probably leave the county. And I won't be able to sell my house because no one is going to buy in a bad school area with taxes that high.

Also, PG County has not shown that they will handle money appropriately.

I am against this. I came from another state with similar issues as PG. They tried to do the same thing and it passed, but the school system is still horrible and actually worse than it was when the increase passed. I'm not sold that this will fix PG's school issues.

Well, yes, these are the vague and overly-general platitudes I have already seen repeated. I cannot get behind a 15% tax hike without more information. As such, I do not really agree that any of the below will contribute to any kind of substantial improvements in PG's schools. At least not enough to enact a demographic shift that is needed to increase tax revenue and build support for neighborhood schools.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Do you have a link or citation to a source that actually delineates these items or whatever Maxwell intends to do with this extra money? I haven't seen it and can't find anything.

http://www1.pgcps.org/promise/

New instructional coaches in every school whose sole responsibility is to assist students below grade level in reading and math.

Improving school buildings that have the greatest need for repair.

Which schools? What repairs?

The expansion of our already successful college and career academies to all schools as well as our International Baccalaureate program.

Not sure I agree that this is needed more than expanded vocational programs as pp mentioned.

An increase in teacher salaries so the most experienced teachers stay with us and don’t leave for surrounding counties who currently offer higher pay. Our teachers will also have more opportunities to pursue professional development and training so they stay on top of the latest methods to provide high-quality education to our children.

This I support!

Expanding our healthy start breakfast program, so none of our students start their day on an empty stomach.

FARMS is federally funded. Not sure what the need is for universal breakfast for children who do not qualify for FARMS. Would want to see more data on that.

More funding for all neighborhood schools so spending decisions can have the most impact at the school level.

67 new pre-kindergarten programs at neighborhood elementary schools.

This is good, but how many additional children will this serve? How many children currently qualify for Pre-K who do not have access to it?

More art and foreign language programs and gifted and talented offerings.

I see this repeated, but I do not see ANY information beyond this very vague and general statement. What schools? And in what way? Do they plan to bring in more specialty immersion programs? And if so, where? I would absolutely support that. But I have my doubts since they keep this statement so vague.

More technology like iPads and Chromebooks for students to increase digital literacy.

I do not support this.

Anonymous wrote:What PG County needs is more middle class families. It is a chicken egg problem.
Higher taxes are not going to solve this issue. We pay the same amount in property tax that my parents, who live in a very high performing district, pay. Their elementary school is an 8. It is about demographics.

Agreed. The only way to get more middle class families is to convince families that there are good options for schools. Let's face it, raising the taxes without a solid plan isn't going to magically make parents choose to move here or stay. I know it's not liked by parents in PG who have decent options and don't want middle class families to chose charters, but the charters and the possibility of good choices is what is causing property values to skyrocket in sections of DC that aren't traditionally known for their good schools - Brooklyn, Fort Totten, Michigan Park, and even Trinidad!!

There was a flurry of expensive administrative hiring just before the spending freeze this year. The spending freeze that resulted in schools having to wait to purchase materials and teaching staff.

If they decide to raise taxes, PGCPS should definitely spend money on capital improvements. Middle class families are not going to voluntarily chose to send their kids to schools that are lacking toilet seats and doors in the bathrooms. I'm also of the opinion that if they do end up raising taxes, a good chunk should really go to improving the options for vocational and technical education and workforce training. That is the way to get the graduation rate higher than 90%. But that is also not appealing to middle class families.

What PG County needs is more middle class families. It is a chicken egg problem.
Higher taxes are not going to solve this issue. We pay the same amount in property tax that my parents, who live in a very high performing district, pay. Their elementary school is an 8. It is about demographics.

Anonymous wrote:

Do you have a link or citation to a source that actually delineates these items or whatever Maxwell intends to do with this extra money? I haven't seen it and can't find anything.

http://www1.pgcps.org/promise/

New instructional coaches in every school whose sole responsibility is to assist students below grade level in reading and math.

Improving school buildings that have the greatest need for repair.

The expansion of our already successful college and career academies to all schools as well as our International Baccalaureate program.

An increase in teacher salaries so the most experienced teachers stay with us and don’t leave for surrounding counties who currently offer higher pay. Our teachers will also have more opportunities to pursue professional development and training so they stay on top of the latest methods to provide high-quality education to our children.

Expanding our healthy start breakfast program, so none of our students start their day on an empty stomach.

More funding for all neighborhood schools so spending decisions can have the most impact at the school level.

67 new pre-kindergarten programs at neighborhood elementary schools.

More art and foreign language programs and gifted and talented offerings.

More technology like iPads and Chromebooks for students to increase digital literacy.

http://www.princegeorgescountymd.gov/sites/ExecutiveBranch/CommunityEngagement/Invest-EDU/Documents/CEX_Factsheet_0415.pdf

some other links:

http://www.princegeorgescountymd.gov/sites/ExecutiveBranch/CommunityEngagement/Invest-EDU/Pages/FAQs.aspx

http://www.princegeorgescountymd.gov/sites/ExecutiveBranch/CommunityEngagement/Invest-EDU/Pages/default.aspx


http://www.princegeorgescountymd.gov/sites/ExecutiveBranch/CommunityEngagement/Invest-EDU/Pages/schld.aspx

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What pg county doesn't need is a bunch of scattered charter schools like DC. Most of those school test scores are below average and parents move to one part of the city to try to get their kids into 3 or 4 good schools. Improve upon the existing schools in pg first by creating programs and implementing them in the local neighborhood school. Also focus on business revenue not just taxes based upon housing. That way of thinking needs to die. Pg school system has improved drastically over the last 15 years. They have a done a good job with little funds

Exactly. It is the lack of commercial development that hurts tax revenue for the county. Continuing to place the burden on residential property taxes to pay for the county's expenses will simply serve to drive away the residential density needed to support development and retail. Which will not only bring a higher tax base, but attract new residents to convenient inside the beltway neighborhoods. Baker has his priorities backwards.

What a lot of people don't get is how attracting more businesses can be interrelated to the schools and other factors. Poor-performing schools often correlates to more crime/loitering and less resident retention which makes it difficult to attract the better businesses.

Anonymous wrote:What pg county doesn't need is a bunch of scattered charter schools like DC. Most of those school test scores are below average and parents move to one part of the city to try to get their kids into 3 or 4 good schools. Improve upon the existing schools in pg first by creating programs and implementing them in the local neighborhood school. Also focus on business revenue not just taxes based upon housing. That way of thinking needs to die. Pg school system has improved drastically over the last 15 years. They have a done a good job with little funds

Thank you! In total agreement.

Anonymous wrote:What pg county doesn't need is a bunch of scattered charter schools like DC. Most of those school test scores are below average and parents move to one part of the city to try to get their kids into 3 or 4 good schools. Improve upon the existing schools in pg first by creating programs and implementing them in the local neighborhood school. Also focus on business revenue not just taxes based upon housing. That way of thinking needs to die. Pg school system has improved drastically over the last 15 years. They have a done a good job with little funds

Exactly. It is the lack of commercial development that hurts tax revenue for the county. Continuing to place the burden on residential property taxes to pay for the county's expenses will simply serve to drive away the residential density needed to support development and retail. Which will not only bring a higher tax base, but attract new residents to convenient inside the beltway neighborhoods. Baker has his priorities backwards.