MCPS FY 2014 end-of-year fund balance is $39.34 million

MEMORANDUM
To: Members of the Board of Education
From: Joshua P. Starr, Superintendent of Schools

Click this link to read Memorandum - Subject: Fiscal Year 2014 Operating Budget End-of-Year Categorical Transfer 

Cost of an Average MCPS Elementary School

Superintendent Joshua Starr put together a presentation to go with his FY 2015 Operating Budget.  As part of that presentation he leaked out a little bit of budget information. He gave the public his version of budget transparency by releasing average costs for an elementary school.

School by school budget information is not contained in Superintendent Starr's FY 2015 Operating Budget submission to the Board of Education, is not available to the public in any form, and the information in this presentation can not be verified or analysed.

Don't ask questions and be happy with what you get!

$6,700,000 Total Funding "Average" MCPS Elementary School
$5,300,000 people
$1,200,000 support operations
$   165,210 materials/supplies/technology
People
$   289,997 administrators
$3,560,000 classroom teachers and specialists
$1,000,000 special education and student services
$   366,058 clerical and student support
Support Operations
$   448,580 transportation
$   208,372 food services
$   440,770 building services and maintenance
$   111,505 utilities
Materials/Supplies/Technology
$     76,603 technology (capital budget)
$     84,280 textbooks and instructional materials
$       4,327 furniture and equipment

Cold? If you were a BOE member you could be in sunny California!

MCPS Board of Education member Christopher Barclay shown in Twitter picture
from Walter Johnson High School principal. Date of Tweet:  January 25, 2014.

How much is this January "vacation" for these dozen or so MCPS employees and a Board of Education (BOE) member costing taxpayers? 

When exactly will the BOE discuss the purpose and findings of this trip? Based on past MCPS travel, the answer to that question is NEVER!

Hint: INNOVATION = JUNKET

Guest Post: MCPS Plan- $2 Billion for What? Words vs. Numbers

Ever wonder if we’re getting what we pay MCPS for? The MCPS strategic plan (6/24/13) just approved by the Board, and the Council’s recent staff report on the achievement gap bring this issue into focus.  Our own studies show that teachers in higher performing schools are paid more than teachers in lower performing schools because of a practice known as “free agency” that encourages experienced teachers to leave red zone schools for the green zone.  We’ve also shown there is no correlation between what teachers are paid and student performance improvements.  And, because our teachers are paid 20% more than teachers in Howard and Fairfax counties we can afford fewer of them, increasing our reliance on para educators to teach in underperforming schools.

The new plan doesn’t address these problems, and doesn't have cost estimates or academic performance targets.  Just words.  The latest budget only explains how 1% of the money will be spent on lowering the achievement gap, but lowering the gap will take a much larger share of the budget.  Absent performance targets, the plan requires us to imagine outcomes.  But, closing the gap could take another 20 years at the current rate of progress.  We can only hope that the newly designated 20 innovation schools with stepped up interventions will have higher targets than the remaining 80 or so formerly designated red zone schools, and that these remaining schools will soon benefit as well.

The Superintendent told the Council’s Education Committee that it’s impossible to figure out how much will be spent on gap closing strategies. Really?  If we don’t know the funding for each strategy, then we can’t know how the benefits compare to costs, and which strategies are most efficient.    This management gap is consistent with another gap in the plan.   The academic measures stop measuring classes that at risk kids take after the 9th grade, and don’t assess their academic performance until they’re expected to graduate. Many at risk kids will drop out in between 9^th and 12^th grade, and the dirty secret is that drop-outs improve system-wide performance averages.  Can’t we do better?

Gordie Brenne
Board Member
Montgomery County Taxpayers League

Council will Review MCPS Operating and Capital Budgets at 1:30 PM May 13th

  2013 May 13 County Council Review of MCPS Budgets by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland

Montgomery council committee asks school system to pull more from reserves

Committee recommends county provide minimum school funding under law next fiscal year

Montgomery council education panel approves financial plan for schools

The Montgomery County Council’s education committee approved a financial plan for the school system Thursday that would use surplus money from this year’s budget to pay for the Board of Education’s requested $10 million spending increase for fiscal 2014.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/montgomery-council-education-panel-approves-financial-plan-for-schools/2013/05/02/51f761ac-b361-11e2-bbf2-a6f9e9d79e19_story.html

Council Says No to Starr and BOE's $10 Million Over MOE Request, Tells BOE to use own Surplus

Video Minute:
1:00  Council wants more information on MCPS students who failed their math final.
2:00 Achievement Gap update-Education Committee will follow up on this after the budget...
5:00  Final recommendation on MCPS CIP and Operating Budget
6:00 Capital Budget - Increase in facility planning. HVAC funding...
12:00 Phil Andrews - school construction
13:30 Craig Rice - school construction largest number of school children and best performance in state...
16:00 Christopher Barclay - funds from state - all due respect to Baltimore City
Seneca Valley, Gaithersburg - pressure in pushing back on Capital projects...
18:00 Ervin wants parity with Baltimore City
18:10 Larry Bowers - enrollment increases...160,000...170,000 - BCC placeholder put in to keep it out of moratorium - HVAC maintaining systems
22:00 School impact tax
22:20 FY 2014 Operating Budget - fully fund request with adjustments - this includes $27 million of MCPS surplus to be applied to MCPS.
27:00 Discussion of budget Category 12 - Fixed Charges
Pension and Insurance

  2013 May 2 by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland

$35,964 for Pedometers. Did your student get one?

The Board of Education bought $35,964 worth of pedometers this fiscal year. They did this in the last fiscal year, too.  This was an "extension" of a previous contract (no bids taken).

These pedometers cost at least $31 each. They are 5 funcion digital models. That means the BOE bought at least 1,160 of these fancy pedometers. (Doesn't appear to be one of the $19.99 ones) Seen one on your child?

Were these bought for students or were these a perk for the employee unions?

Starr Robbing High School Copiers to Send $$ to Private Company

Here's an interesting fact from Superintendent Joshua Starr's FY 2014 MCPS Operating Budget. 

Superintendent Starr is going to move $100,000 from MCPS to a private company without Board of Education discussion or vote! Obviously, that is not a legal budget item.  A Superintendent can't go around handing MCPS Operating Budget cash to private companies, right? 

The George B. Thomas Learning Academy is not a part of MCPS!  It is a private company.  In fact, as we have reported, the George B. Thomas Learning Academy even refuses to tutor students with special education needs.  But, no matter, Superintendent Starr is going to hand them $100,000! Starr is taking $100,000 from MCPS money used to lease and maintain copiers at MCPS high schools and hand it to this private company.

Tough luck for the high school teachers with copier needs, but a windfall for a private company!

Realignment  $100,000 from lease/maintenance duplicating to fund instructional materials for the George B. Thomas Learning Academy (Page 1-23)

-----------------------
April 26, 2013 Update on public funding for this private company.

Sentinel: Council Reviews School Budget for 2014

Full article is on Page 8 of this issue of the Sentinel:

http://data.axmag.com/data/201304/U22594_F205883/FLASH/index.html

MCPS: Leggett Falls Short In Funding Schools

Montgomery County Public Schools Superintendent Joshua Starr said he is disappointed in the County Executive's budget plan.

Today's Twitter from the Superintendent

Twitter:  Joshua Starr ‏@mcpssuper

1h

Meeting with council member nancy Floreen re: our budget. Interesting that she invited County taxpayer league.

County to MCPS: Use Your Reserves

Despite asking for $10 million more than state-mandated minimums, Montgomery County Public Schools looks to get no more than the county is required to give.
Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) recommended in his fiscal year 2014 budget providing a county contribution to the school system at maintenance of effort, but his proposal also says it funds 100 percent of the school system’s $2.2 billion request.
Leggett’s budget includes a county contribution of $1.4 billion plus $27 million in carry-over funds among other sources including $605.4 million in state aid, $34.5 million for teacher pensions.
Superintendent Joshua P. Starr’s budget asked for $10 million more from the county and used only $17 million from the school system fund balance.
“We are saying, use your reserves,” county spokesman Patrick Lacefield said of the subtle difference.
http://www.gazette.net/article/20130315/NEWS/130319358/1022/leggett-x2019-s-budget-falls-short-of-schools-x2019-request&template=gazette

Smondrowski: Time to move forward

Twitter:  Rebecca Smondrowski ‏@RebeccaOnBoard

Ike releases budget. @MCPS will get MOE about $2.2Billion.  Its $10Mil less our ask but now it's time to move forward.

Starr, "There is a projected surplus of $14,500,000."

That's what the Superintendent says...

 

  07.0 Monthly Financial Report by   Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland

Montgomery taxpayers league grills president of countywide parent group

Please note, the MCPS Secret Budget Meetings are held in secret. The public is not permitted to attend these meetings. The MCCPTA President's statements can not be verified by reviewing video or minutes of these meetings. MCCPTA and the Unions sign CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENTS in order to attend these meetings. The public will never, ever know what goes on at these budget meetings.

Gazette:  Members want $2.2 billion school budget spent efficiently

Only a handful of people from outside the school system take part as schools superintendent Joshua Starr draws up his budget.
Montgomery County Taxpayers League President Joan Fidler thinks more leaders of civic groups could be included to ensure efficiencies.
“It could be us,” Fidler said. “But it doesn’t have to be.”
On Thursday, the league grilled one of those people allowed inside Starr’s inner circle: Janette Gilman, president of the Montgomery County Council of Parent Teacher Associations. League members wanted to know just how involved she is when it comes to school system budget talks.
The MCCPTA president, along with a few other MCCPTA members, and leaders of the county’s three school-based unions are the only people outside of school system staff allowed in the private budget meetings before the superintendent’s request is released publicly. Not even school board members are included in these talks...

Patricia O'Neill: "Stay Home on Friday Night"

In a follow up to Lyda Astrove's post regarding Board of Education member Patricia O'Neill's comment at the February 25, 2013, Board of Education meeting, the rest of O'Neill's statement on the MCPS Fiscal Year 2014 budget is also notable.

After Ms. O'Neill stated that $75 is "not even a fancy steak dinner that somebody is paying for", she told Montgomery County citizens to "stay home on Friday night".   Instead, she told County citizens to put the money that they would be spending on that "steak dinner" toward "our kids".

Is that Ms. O'Neill's new economic plan for Montgomery County? Everyone is to stay home so that the Board of Education can get $2.2 Billion to play with?  Restaurants, malls, entertainment venues can all close to support the public school system?

Montgomery County citizens love Ms. O'Neill, no matter what names she calls them. They have elected her to this seat 4 times.  She has been on the Board of Education since 1998.

No doubt, her loyal followers will take her advice.  They will stay home!  Take that Steve Silverman!

BOE Members to Get Raise

It's looking good!
Looks like the Montgomery County Board of Education members will get a raise this year.  They've been working hard after all. They deserve it, right? It takes a lot to continually raise their helium hands up in the air to every increase in the MCPS Operating Budget.

The legislation proposed in the State Legislature is sailing right through the committees!

Union Demands $6 Million More! MCPS Budget Keeps Going Up and Up!

Gazette:  Montgomery schools chief adds more staff pay at the last minute to next year’s budget

...Starr is now requesting about $6 million more for compensation increases, bringing the total that he wants to hold as a “placeholder” up to about $18 million. The school system is still negotiating with the three unions that represent its employees.
The Montgomery County Board of Education approved his request, with board member Michael A. Durso (Dist. 5) of Silver Spring as the only dissenting vote...

...School board members said Monday it will now take a fight to persuade the Montgomery County Executive and County Council members to approve the budget request, which totals about $2.2 billion, about $57.5 million more than the current school year...