From the article:
"You've got to ask yourself, how did we get to this state of affairs?" said [Laura] Berthiaume (Dist. 2) of Rockville. "I think we have a significant part of the population in Third World conditions. Patchwork Band-Aids have been applied to old schools in lieu of new schools being built."Berthiaume is one of four new members of the Board of Education. She was elected in late 2008, along with Phil Kauffman. The other new members are Michael A. Durso, who was appointed to the BOE in June 2009 when former BOE member Nancy Navarro left to join the County Council, and Student Member Tim Hwang, who began his term in mid-2009.
Superintendent Weast's "plan" has always been to let schools rot. When parents have advocated for repairs, the response is - your school is on the modernization list, you'll get a new building in 15 years. That meant NO REPAIRS because SOMEDAY your school would be "modernized".
ReplyDeleteKids were left with bathrooms without running water, roof leaks, mold issues, broken air conditioning, broken steps, deteriorating gym floors etc...
Then Superintendent Weast could then sit back and watch as the parents ran to the County Council crying for more Capital funds.
In two budget years Superintendent Weast took money OUT of the Capital Budget and moved it to the Operating Budget. In one of those years he "promised" to put the funds back later. Did that ever happen?
As long as students are in horrific conditions in their schools Superintendent Weast is guaranteed a pool of furious parents that will plead his case for more tax payer dollars to the Council. There is no incentive for Superintendent Weast to ever have our schools in tip-top shape. If they were, he would lose his crowds of advocates for more funding that can be used for consultants, tech toys, book tours, dinners and travel.