At minute 1:30 of this exclusive video Maryland Delegate Kathleen Dumais says the MCPS Press Release on the school construction budget is false.
There did not appear to be any reporters at this event. This video was taken towards the end of the meeting.
November 17, 2014, Montgomery County Board of Education Press Release
...MCPS sought additional help from the state for school construction during the 2014 legislative session, but the funds were not approved. After the proposal fell through, the Montgomery County Council approved a $1.53 billion CIP for fiscal years (FY) 2015-2020, which was $214 million less than requested by the Board of Education. The Board’s requested amendments approved Monday would increase the six-year CIP to $1.75 billion.
“We deeply appreciate the partnership of our local elected officials and the significant investment our citizens make to meet the space needs of our students,” said Patricia O’Neill, vice president of the Board. “It is my hope that our state leaders will now step up to help provide our students with the learning spaces they need and deserve.”...
What is the deal with Josh Starr trying to control who is controlling the message and what few people get to say it? If we don't get the entire community talking about our funding crisis and spending time making sure the information is accurate that we put out there, per Kathleen Dumais's point, then we will again fall short. Also, people don't seem to realize this, but Baltimore has been working on that funding deal for 15 or more years, talking to people around the state, to get that done.
ReplyDeleteThat didn't happen overnight.
So, this entire group won't reconvene before the legislative session begins to agree on what our approach is; the school district can't get its facts straight with regard to what funding our legislative delegation obtained last year, but Josh Starr is focused on designating a specific few people as spokespeople to give a message that has yet to be articulated with correct facts.
ReplyDelete