At Monday's Board of Education Fiscal Management Committee meeting an April 30, 2012, Memorandum was made public that describes the "new" behind closed doors process for setting the MCPS Operating and Capital Budgets.
BOE Committee meeting documents are not made public on the MCPS website. Thanks to Parents' Coalition member Danuta Wilson for attending this meeting and making this memo public.
What is interesting about this memo is that the MCPS budget process has been a secret for years! So, it's impossible for us to say what is "new" about this process. The secret committee members sign bogus Confidentiality Agreements swearing that they will never reveal what goes on in these budget meetings! (The oath includes "cross my heart and hope to die...") Somewhere along the way Montgomery County citizens forgot that a public school budget is created in a public process, not behind closed doors.
For those new to MCPS land, Maryland law mandates that the BOE will set the public school budget. But, in Montgomery County our BOE doesn't do that anymore. They used to, but they stopped around 2006. Apparently, they found it boring. We don't know. The BOE never voted to stop creating the MCPS budget.
Here's the "new" process. Good luck guessing what's changed.
I don't think the over-reliance on focus groups and the MCPS capability to control the process provides enough consumer input.
ReplyDeleteThank you Danuta! You are doing amazing work and we appreciate it.
ReplyDeletePlease note the memo states the FY15 budget planning will begin May 15! Yesterday as I write this. So, the focus groups of 'parents, students, employees, and communnity' have already begun. Anyone been invited to be in these focus groups? Please post here.
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