"this county needs a cultural earthquake to occur on the current Board of Education"

Gazette Letter: 

...I ask the voters of Montgomery County to vote for Kristin Trible, Laurie Halverson, Larry Edmonds and Jill Ortman-Fouse because this county needs a cultural earthquake to occur on the current Board of Education. We need a new breed of leaders who will be accountable to the parents, teachers, students and taxpayers, will be open and transparent with the allocation of $2.3 billion and will respond to constituents emails, telephone calls and questions instead of being ignored or brushed aside.

Furthermore, I ask residents in Montgomery County to vote against the Apple ballot and MCEA’s monopoly of thought that has pervaded MCPS for too long...

 http://www.gazette.net/article/20141017/OPINION/141019216/1014/support-for-school-board-challengers&template=gazette

BOE Candidates on MCPS Cell Towers

Board of Education candidates answer a question about the use of MCPS land for the construction of cell phone towers at the September 30, 2014, forum.

Video: Board of Education Candidates Forum

Montgomery County Board of Education Candidates
Good Governance Forum

Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Rockville Memorial Library
21 Maryland Avenue
Rockville, MD 20850

Speakers: Larry Edmonds, Shebra Evans, Laurie Halverson, Jill Ortman-Fouse, Kristin Trible

As we are aware of the views of the School Board incumbents, here is an opportunity to hear from the challengers. We will send them 3-5 questions ahead of the meeting. However, most of the forum will be open to questions from the floor - from you.

Co-sponsored by the Montgomery County Taxpayers League, the Montgomery County Civic Federation, and the Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, MD

Union reps keep budget discussions from membership

Notes from a meeting of MCEA (Montgomery County Education Association) and SLMP (School Library Media Program): 

"Administrators have been advocating for flexibility in making many decisions for their buildings, including staffing decisions.  In this case, the decision to give elementary principals the flexibility to make cuts that included media specialist positions came approximately two weeks before that decision became public
knowledge.  Nothing was finalized at that time. Until decisions are final, they must remain confidential to minimize rumors and misinformation that can arise.
Therefore, MCEA representatives could not inform media specialists in advance."

Thus, Media Specialists had no opportunity to advocate for their positions before a final decision was made. That's how the MCPS Secret Budget Table works. Those select few at the table keep all budget discussions confidential to prevent any public discussions of decisions being made. 


Who's at the MCPS Secret Budget Table? Union reps, MCCPTA and MCPS staff is all we know. When does the group meet? No clue. Public minutes of meetings? None. Public input into budget discussions? Zero.


Final Notes April 7th MCEA SLMP

Three finalists chosen for superintendent job

Sorry, April Fools Again!

This time it is DeKalb County in Georgia that has announced the names of the 3 finalists for the Superintendent of schools position.

Look at this - public presentations by the candidates and questions from the public! Click the link to find out more:

Three finalists chosen for superintendent job

Don't worry. This kind of transparency won't happen here in Montgomery County. 


Our school board and 14 citizens will be meeting with our candidates at a super secret location. Only 2 of the citizens selected have made their invitations public. What about the other twelve? 
And where is this super secret location? 


Stay tuned!