7:25 PM Tonight Call in to Leggett & Andrews

County Councilmembers in the Community Tonight - Monday March 16th - CALL IN SHOW with County Council President Phil Andrews and County Executive Ike Leggett. Call (240) 777-6540 starting at 7:25 P.M. to the live show to ask questions during the hour long broadcast.

Mon., Mar. 16	Phil Andrews Call-in TV show, 7 p.m. The program begins at 7:30 pm and is available on Comcast channel 6, Verizon channel 30, or on the web here.
Tue., Mar. 17	Council Session Phil Andrews Thomas Farm Community Center Ribbon Cutting Ceremony, Rockville, 7:30 p.m.
Wed., Mar. 18	Nancy Floreen Rockville Business Appreciation Breakfast, Rockville, 9 a.m. Council Town Hall Meeting, 8 p.m.
Thur., Mar. 19	Nancy Floreen Women’s History Month Celebration at Leisure World, Silver Spring, 2 p.m. Annual Meeting with Maryland Municipal League, Rockville, 6:30 p.m Duchy Trachtenberg Seniors Organized for Change, Rockville,10:30 a.m.
Fri., Mar. 20	George Leventhal Interfaith Works’ 12th Annual Companies Caring Breakfast, 8 a.m., Bethesda 35th Annual Public Safety Awards, 12 p.m., Bethesda Nancy Floreen 12th Annual Companies Caring Breakfast, Bethesda, 8 a.m Public Safety Luncheon, North Bethesda, 11 a.m. Duchy Trachtenberg Public Safety Awards Luncheon, North Bethesda, 11 a.m.
Sat., Mar. 21	Phil Andrews Commission on Juvenile Justice Annual Meeting, Rockville, 11:30 p.m. Nancy Floreen Thomas Farm Community Center Ribbon Cutting, Rockville, 11:30 a.m. Duchy Trachtenberg Awards Banquet of Rockville Volunteer Fire Department, Bethesda, 6 p.m.

$21,684,092.59

Montgomery County Council
Capital Budget Testimony
February 10, 2009

Good evening. Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the Capital Budget. This evening I would like to speak to a source of revenue for the County Capital Budget. The source of revenue is the rebates that Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) receives through the E-Rate rebate program. MCPS has been participating in the E-Rate rebate program since 1998 and in that time has received $21,684,092.59 according to the Universal Service website. The E-Rate money is not required to be used for Capital Budget expenditures, but as that is the focus of this hearing I will point out the benefit that those funds could have on this budget.

$21,684,092.59 is the equivalent of modernizing an elementary school, or 2 or 3 school additions or, an unknown number of bathroom renovations, window repairs or HVAC repairs. At present Appendix G of the MCPS Capital Budget lists 47 schools that needed bathroom renovations. That list represented only HALF of the schools in need of renovations. Any school that was anywhere on the modernization list was deleted from the list of bathrooms in need of renovation. No doubt, $21 million could have completed the listed renovations and those of the schools deleted from the list, giving all students access to workable bathrooms today.

The rebates that MCPS has received over the last 11 years are available to the public on the UniversalService.org website. A search of that site shows that MCPS received the following amounts in each of the following years:

1998 $1,500,617.92
1999 $2,425,319.57
2000 $1,535,174.02
2001 $1,434,388.33
2002 $1,756,316.93
2003 $1,902,003.78
2004 $1,731,744.92
2005 $1,497,545.12
2006 $1,760,241.90
2007 $3,459,021.34
2008 $2,681,718.76

http://www.universalservice.org/sl/
Attached is a Universal Service report for 2008 payments to MCPS.

Superintendent Weast maintains that he is not required to bring these funds before the Council for appropriation but can spend these funds without Board of Education or Council action. See the November 26, 2008 Memo from Superintendent Weast to the MCPS Board of Education. Available at the following link: http://www.parentscoalitionmc.com/MCPSExpenseReports.html

Council staff, however, in a January 29th memorandum, recommends that E-Rate Rebates “come to the Council for appropriation when they are received.”

http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/content/council/pdf/agenda/cm/2009/090202/20090202_ED01.pdf (See Page 4)

I urge you to support the recommendation of Council staff. Bring these funds to the Council table so that the use of these funds can be discussed and appropriated in public. The Capital needs of our public schools are great, and every dollar is needed. If for nothing more than to make sure that every child has access to a usable bathroom.

Thank you.
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UPDATE 4/8/09: $21,684,092.59 represents the total amount of rebates that MCPS could have received under the e-Rate Rebate program. The Universal Services website also shows how much has been disbursed to MCPS under this program. An updated disbursement number will be posted soon.

March 3rd County Council lunch with Board of Education

The Montgomery County Council's agenda shows a lunch meeting with the MCPS Board of Education on March 3rd. The Board of Education agenda has no such listing.
At a lunch between the Council and Board last year, sandwiches and sodas were provided by a caterer. As the Council looks for ways to economize, a suggestion would be that the March 3rd joint lunch be "brown bag".
In furtherance of open government it would be hoped that the Board of Education would begin to announce these meetings on their agenda.

Feb 23rd Council Ed Committee: Promethean Boards in MCPS classrooms - new date

This meeting of the County Council's Education Committee was originally scheduled for February 2nd. The meeting was canceled and has been rescheduled for February 23rd. Council staff has already released their analysis of this multi-million dollar MCPS purchase in the meeting packet.

ED 9:30 AM - 7CHR
Feb 23 • CIP Amendments: Montgomery College (Sherer)
• CIP Amendments: Montgomery County Public Schools (Levchenko)
• Promethean boards in MCPS classrooms (McGuire)
T&