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Saturday, December 5, 2009

SMOB Endorses Illegal MCPS Practice

Here is a recent webposting from Tim Hwang, Student Member of the MoCo Public School Board of Education concerning a student poll on curricular fees.
 

My questions for Tim:

Are you in favor of the previous MCPS policy charging fees?

Do you realize that the prior MCPS policy charging curricular fees is illegal?  Do you also know that the "fees" did not always go for the purpose intended (eg, clothing for teachers at Richard Montgomery and Churchill high schools, and staff retreats at Blair HS)?

Did you know that fees were collected for books sold to students, but not used in classes?  I have a large selection from Blair HS and RM to show you.

You are aware that Dr. Weast doesn't spend the full amount allocated each year on textbooks and declares the amount surplus?  Dr. Weast even provided you and the other BOE members with a memo on the subject, and you approved the action.  In September 2009, the County Council approved of the BOE and Dr. Weast's finding that $4.6 million in MCPS Textbook & Instructional Funds for the 2008-09 school year were surplus and could be allocated to other MCPS needs.  

Seems as if you have several options if you are interested in actions that benefit the students:
1. Direct that MCPS spend more money on textbooks.
2.  See that moneys allocated to textbooks are really used on textbooks.
3. Work on legislation at the state level if you want ot allow curricular fees, since it's part of the state constitution to provide a free public education. 

So - what is your action plan while you are on the BOE?

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Friday, December 4, 2009


Curricular Fees Poll

As many you may have noticed, your schools have now stopped charging fees for school classes. Recently, MCPS has made strong attempts to eliminate curricular fees at the county-level. While this is true, the blunt of the effects will now be felt by the students of Montgomery County. At a recent December 3, 2009 SMOB 2.0 Policy Meeting, students spoke to the issues of curricular fees in schools and had a long discussion about its impacts. In general, students understood the need for a free, public education but also understood the opportunities that the curricular fees brought them. Many schools are now cutting back on supplemental labs, art supplies, music equipment, work books, and even assignment books which are now being considered "extra".

In cases such a foreign language, art, music, etc. where materials are needed, the elimination of these fees have forced MCPS, the county, and the state to cut back on the services to these program in these times of economic and budgetary crisis. One student at Montgomery Blair High School replied with an email stating, "The poorest students in MCPS [are] feeling the blunt of the consequences academically because [they] do not have the money or the resources to afford expensive tutors, prep books, and instruments rather than buying the subsidized cost of the materials in [their] schools".

Polling in MCPS Schools by our SMOB 2.0 Staff among high school students in MCPS shows that students have varying opinions on the issue. When asked the question: "Do you think the elimination of fees was detrimental to your academic learning?", county-wide (N=297), 58% of students were against the elimination of the fees, 31% of students were for the elimination of the fees, and 11% were ambivalent about the issue. Specifically at Red Zone high schools, the numbers (N=108) are at about 52% of students against, 30% support, and 18% ambivalent. However, there doesn't seem to be much passion behind this issue. For many students, the issue isn't about fees; rather its about getting every opportunity to learn, regardless of the cost - which is why many of their parents moved to this high cost of living area in the first place.

Despite all this, MCPS continues to be at the top of the country, as one of the best education systems in the nation as we can see in the recent increase in the number of passing AP Exams. So, are the fees good, are they bad? I'll leave that up to you.

1 comment:

  1. Board member Hwang says, "In cases such a foreign language, art, music, etc. where materials are needed, the elimination of these fees have forced MCPS, the county, and the state to cut back on the services to these program in these times of economic and budgetary crisis."

    This is a competely false and misleading statement.

    Neither MCPS, the county or the state receive money collected from parents & guardians through illegal curricular fees. The fees are illegal and there is no statutory authority to collect the fees.

    All of the illegal curricular fees collected at schools stay right at the school and are spent at the sole discretion of the principal, or the person that collected the fees. There are no receipts given and there is no accounting for how much is collected or how the funds are spent.

    Bank robbers don't report their take on their income taxes, and there is no accounting for the collection of illegal curricular fees or for how the fees are spent.

    Local schools can't pay salaries and no staff have been cut from not collecting illegal curricular fees. MCPS is given funding for textbooks and instructional materials for all students countywide, but year after year the MCPS Board of Education grants Superintendent Jerry Weast's request to NOT spend the full funding allocated to that budget category.

    Year after year, the Board of Education removes textbook and instructional material funding from that account and uses it for other purposes.

    The Board of Education has it within their power to provide the textbooks and instructional materials that students need, but they don't. Why not?

    ReplyDelete

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