Educational extortion continues in MCPS.
The Maryland State Education Association (MSEA) video statement below from a MCPS teacher at Edison High School in Silver Spring says it all.
Curricular fees are alive and well in MCPS under the new superintendent.
Students will be turned away from classes if they don't come up with the cash for the class.
If you don't pay up, you can't take the class.
The Maryland Constitution guarantees ALL children a free, public education. Curricular fees are illegal in Maryland.
But Montgomery County isn't in Maryland, right?
There has not been a single county or state elected official, Board of Education member, past superintendent (Jerry Weast) or current superintendent (Joshua Starr) that will stand up for the right of ALL Montgomery County children to a free public education.
And so, the practice of denying Montgomery County children access to a free public education if they don't fork over cash for classes continues.
The charging of illegal curricular fees by Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) has no bearing on funding from the state of Maryland. MCPS has been charging students to attend classes in violation of the Maryland Constitution for years.
MCPS curricular fees are not authorized by Maryland law, are not accounted for in the MCPS Operating Budget, and are often collected as cash payments without receipts.
Pay up, or drop the class.
This is how we close the achievement gap in MCPS!
My name is Jesse McGee, I am in this video. You have completely taken what I said out of context. I am offended and appalled at you are using my words to try to "spin" your offensive agenda. NOT ONE STUDENT WAS TURNED AWAY FROM A PROGRAM AT THOMAS EDISON HIGH SCHOOL OF TECHNOLOGY THIS YEAR. Students who attend career programs that bring their own tools from home do not need to pay fees. Students who buy tool kits from our schools system, NOT CLASS MATERIALS SUCH AS TEXTBOOKS, pay that fee, as MCPS and Maryland schools could never afford to pay the tens of thousands of dollars needed to outfit its career students with tools. WE WORK WITHIN ALL COUNTY LAWS AND GUIDELINES. All fees paid to Thomas Edison are for tools that are purchased and kept by students, as career beginners kits. THIS IS NOT ILLEGAL, it is actually specifically stated in the regulations that tools and, NON CLASS MATERIALS can be charged for. It is for these things that students were asked to pay, and even then THOMAS EDISON HIGH SCHOOL FOUND THE MONEY VIA FUNDRAISING TO PAY FOR THESE STUDENTS WHEN THEIR FAMILIES COULD NOT. I am sure that you will not allow this comment on your website, as I know that you keep any comment that is not in line with your views off of the forum. I do know, however, that you will read this. I am forwarding a copy of this text to the MCPS school board, the Maryland Board of Education, all Montgomery County House Representatives and State Senators, and the Governor’s office. I would ask you to check your facts before you post baseless accusations, and before you EVER use my image to smear MCPS in any way. I work for the youth of Montgomery County miss. I would ask you to at least have some respect for that.
ReplyDeleteJesse McGee
Network Operations Teacher
Thomas Edison High School of Technology
Jesse McGee
Network Operations Teacher
Thomas Edison High School of Technology
A free public education for all is a guarantee of the Maryland Constitution. If that is an "offensive agenda" then propose that the Maryland Constitution be changed.
ReplyDeletePlease consult the Maryland Attorney General for what constitutes a free public education in the state of Maryland. Let us know what you find out. Thanks.
Here's the web page for Maryland Attorney General Douglas Gansler. Let's hear his response to this issue. Can public school students in Maryland be asked to bring money to school to pay for class supplies for a course where they are receiving credit?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.oag.state.md.us/index.htm
How do other Maryland Counties provide courses and field trips without charging public school students?
Janis;
ReplyDeleteActually what I was offended by is that you STATED AS FACT that students were being turned away from Thomas Edison High School of Technology. That was FALSE. Not one student has ever been turned away because of their means, not only would that be illegal, it would also be morally repugnant.
Also, the tools I was talking about the students keep for LIFE. If they can not afford tools they are provided (as to meet the spirit and rule of law), but since the video you posted was edited at the end you didn't show where I was talking about providing a starter kit for their future career.
Jesse McGee
Network Operations Teacher
Thomas Edison High School of Technology
@ Jessie,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your response. This video was posted by MSEA. It was not edited by us.
In this video, starting at :50, this is what you are heard saying:
"...they were sent home to their parents and told that they had to come up with $47 or they were not going to be able to attend the program. That was, it's a serious issue to tell a kid who is interested in a career program, who probably needs the career program, that if they don't come up with a certain amount of money they're not going to be able to attend the program."
Tools for a network operations class? This doesn't sound like a traditional network operations class to me. Sounds more like a hardware maintenance / repair class. But let's just go with whatever the class actually covers and assume that it covers things that aren't part of a typical network operations curriculum.
ReplyDeleteSo why do the students need tools that they will keep "for life"? Aren't their future employers going to provide the necessary tools?
Back in the 1970's (and before), when middle and high school students took wood shop and metal shop, the school provided all of the hammers, screwdrivers, saws, and so forth. Certainly any student who wanted to work on their own projects at home (or for a future career) could purchase their own tools, but no one was ever expected to provide their tools for use in school. Why would things be different for a network operations class?
Mr. McGee, could you please provide a list of the tools so we have some idea and more detail for this discussion. It would be helpful to all if we were on the same page. I find this discussion very interesting, thanks all for posting.
ReplyDeleteBased on the information at http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/foundations/information-technology/enroll.aspx , it looks like the Network Operations class has at least a component of hardware repair/maintenance. I would also be interested in learning more about what the tools involved are. It seems like whenever we get new hardware at home it takes a different tool to even open the case. Tools that opened computer cases 10 years ago (much less a lifetime ago) don't work on current netbook and tablet computers.
ReplyDeleteThank you.
Melanie
I am also confused about the relationship between a class of money Mr. McGee called out as 'MOE money,' that then wasn't there and these public school kids somehow are shorted on their education. MCPS money is spent according to the way the elected Board of Education tells MCPS how to spend it. How could one class of our children be called out and treated differently than the rest of our children, and be told, you have to pay for your education, while the rest of our children are getting the free education required by our Maryland constitution? Maybe it's just me, but I think that's called 'separate but equal.'
ReplyDeleteAccording to the MCPS website this 47$ seems legit:
ReplyDelete•Students may not be charged for materials of instruction unless, as noted below
•The materials are used to create a product eaten by the student
•The materials are used to create a product that becomes the property of the student
•The materials become the personal property of the student for reasons of personal hygiene or industry requirements
I think what Mr. McGee was saying is that funds to help more students in need have been cut or eliminated and that puts stress on a school budget to find funds for those students.
@Mr. Wilen - The 1970's, really, that is your model for education. If teacher still taught like that then you would be up in arms. Please, that's rediculous.
Unfortunately, "seems legit" is not the law. Who said the MCPS website was a correct statement of the law? Certainly not the Maryland Attorney General's office.
DeleteThe MCPS budget is a HUGE pot of money. Over $2 BILLION that the Board of Education can spend as they like. It's their CHOICE what to fund. The vast majority of the $2 BILLION doesn't come with any strings EXCEPT that it is to be used for the FREE PUBLIC EDUCATION of Montgomery County students. Gasp! Yes, free. That's what the tax dollars collected are to pay for.
That was the law even way back in the "70's". And back then in MCPS, public school WAS FREE! No fees for shop class, no fees for art class. Imagine that.
In public schools all over Maryland that is still was goes on. Public school in Maryland is free. Except in Montgomery County, the one county that has the most trouble following the law.
@Anon 5:35 AM:
ReplyDeleteWhile the methods of instruction have changed since the 1970's, the 1970's (and the 1800's) **funding model** for primary and secondary school education in Maryland remains to be a FREE PUBLIC EDUCATION for all students.
Fees for anything related to the curriculum are illegal.
And if you have any doubt about the constitutional requirement for a free public education, here's confirmation of that requirement from the Maryland Attorney General.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.scribd.com/doc/18771202/KameenOAGLetter
@Anonymous 5:35 AM, just because it is on the MCPS website does not make it 'legit.' The Board of Education is not a law unto itself. It does not have the authority to make laws or change existing law. Every penny the Board members spend comes from federal, state, and county taxpayers. They are required to follow the law, not their own convenient 'regulations.' From what Mr. McGee said, he is teaching legitimate classes to our public school students. These classes are required by law to be free.
ReplyDeleteSo why don't you sue MCPS? If they so flagrantly violate the state Constitution, as you claim, do something about it.
ReplyDeleteWhat would you like to sue MCPS for? Anyone that knows the law, doesn't pay the fee and gets all of their curriculum needs met for free. MCPS is free for those that know the law. If you know the law, fees magically disappear.
DeleteFor those that don't know the law, MCPS is more than happy to bully them into paying an illegal fee. It's called educational extortion for a reason.
Will you be telling the students in your school that curricular fees are illegal in Maryland, or will you continue to collect cash from students? What will you teach your students?