Board of Education members also are considering not hiring 177 people who were offered contracts as long as they graduated college, although they were not told which school they would be assigned. Those positions may be rescinded, Jawando said in a statement following the council’s approval of a $7.1 billion budget for Fiscal Year 2025, which begins in July...
https://www.mymcmedia.org/board-of-education-considers-cutting-143-teaching-positions/
Central Services Administrator
— Dr. Cara Grant (@CaraGrant11) January 31, 2024
📖Professional Learning 📝
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And @MCAAPMD updates @MCPS @MCPSWellAware pic.twitter.com/qT12ZnEsMw
Keep in mind that the MCPS Operating Budget is prepared by a secret committee that includes representatives from the teachers' union. The music teachers were going to the people that represent them on the secret MCPS Operating Budget Committee - their union representatives.As a MCPS music teacher who has tried to bring our concerns to MCPS/union leadership, the response is usually "your constituency (i.e. the number of MCPS music teachers) is too small for us to worry about your concerns." ...
...The wellness coordinator will oversee a program aimed at improving the physical and mental health of county employees. The appointee, who will report to Human Resources Director Joseph Adler, is slated to earn $110,000 in salary and benefits...
...Joan Fidler, president of the Montgomery County Taxpayers League, said the two positions make sense but the county should be integrating the job functions into existing positions rather than shelling out for new ones.Cato Institute budget analyst Tad DeHaven agreed. "It sounds like a waste of taxpayer money to me," he said.Most health insurance companies already offer wellness programs for employees, he said. And the chief innovation officer's job functions probably could be handled with existing staff."There's nothing inherently wrong with these things," he said. "It's just that I'm sure it could be handled by the bodies that they already have."The County Council approved the $4.6 billion budget for fiscal 2013 on Thursday.
After one of the most heated budget debates in recent memory, the Montgomery County Council is moving toward final approval of a $4 billion county spending plan that would deliver all but a small amount of the money sought by the school system.
Although proposed trims in Superintendent Jerry D. Weast's $2 billion request are not huge -- perhaps as little as $6 million - - the approach suggests that the county government might be taking a harder stand on school funding as state and local lawmakers confront looming deficits.
"I think, clearly, the public schools aren't going to get all the money that they anticipated receiving, and neither has any other county agency or department," said council member Valerie Ervin (D- Silver Spring), a former member of the school board.
The debate began in early March, when County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) unveiled his budget proposal. Leggett proposed a $117 million increase for schools, about $20 million less than Weast and the school board requested.
Leggett was hit by a barrage of criticism from Weast, school officials and the school system labor unions, whom Weast had promised 5 percent raises.
Leggett noted that his proposal included a 6.3 percent increase in school spending. But Weast argued that the total was less than the school system needed to cover union contracts and other commitments.
Ervin, a member of the council's education committee, said in the early spring that she hoped to ensure that Weast and the school system could get the $137 million increase they were seeking.
But as the weeks passed, a majority of the council, while not fully embracing Leggett's plans, decided that the school system should shoulder at least part of the fiscal pain.
Leggett predicted that the county, which faced a $200 million revenue gap when he took office this year, will confront a bleaker scenario next year. Estimates already suggest that the county will need to find $269 million next year to essentially maintain current spending, Leggett said. State officials, struggling with their own looming $1.5 billion deficit, have signaled that they will provide less school-construction money to counties next year.
"Next year is going to be a disaster," said Michael Knapp (D- Upcounty), who took over the chairmanship of the council's education committee this year and pledged to more carefully scrutinize the school system's budget than did his predecessor, Michael L. Subin (D- At Large).
County Council President Marilyn Praisner (D-Eastern County) said the school system cannot be exempt from budget scrutiny. "Every . . . agency has identified extremely painful reductions," she said.
For weeks, Weast insisted that the council should not chip away at his proposed spending increase. But last week he told the school board that he had found $6.9 million in unspent funds and reiterated a willingness, expressed earlier in the spring, to trim another $6 million from his original proposal.
The council's education committee then added nearly $8 million by transferring school construction money to the operating budget, and with that, the $20 million gap for school system operating expenses suddenly was closed.The council will examine the committee's plan tomorrow...
The Office of the Superintendent is responsible for reviewing all correspondence prepared for the signature of the president of the Board of Education or another member of the Board. The correspondence is prepared in final form by the appropriate associate superintendent or department director for review by the Office of the Superintendent after review by the Office of the Chief Operating Officer or Office of the Deputy Superintendent of Schools.
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ROCKVILLE, Md., June 6, 2011—Montgomery County Council President Valerie Ervin today sent a letter to Montgomery County Board of Education President Christopher Barclay asking if the board will go ahead with previously announced program cuts after, as she wrote, MCPS said late last week it “suddenly discovered millions of dollars in additional resources and intends to meet the Council’s approved FY12 budget level for MCPS without making changes to the employee cost-sharing required for health benefits.”
The complete text of Council President Ervin’s letter: June 6, 2011 TO: Christopher Barclay, President Montgomery County Board of Education FROM: Valerie Ervin, Council President SUBJECT: FY12 MCPS Budget The Council understands that the Board of Education has suddenly discovered millions of dollars in additional resources and intends to meet the Council’s approved FY12 budget level for MCPS without making changes to the employee cost-sharing required for health benefits. As you know, the Council’s budget action explicitly assumed a multi-million dollar reduction associated with a minor increase in school employee cost-sharing. The current share – 5% for employees in HMOs and 10% for others – is remarkably low. For example, federal employees on average pay 28%. If the Board now finds itself with these additional dollars, do you still intend to implement the program cuts you tentatively approved on May 23? These include cuts to media assistants, academic intervention teachers, reading recovery teachers, staff development teachers, counselors, para-educators, and lunch hour aides. Will the Board use the newly discovered savings to restore these positions, or will you inflict the cuts on schools to preserve the employee share of health benefits? In your May 19 statement to the community on the Council’s budget action, you said: “The Council has stated that they support the school system and that its cuts will not hurt the classroom. That simply isn’t true. Every school will feel the effects of these cuts.” On the contrary, the Council urged the Board to adjust employee health benefits explicitly to minimize cuts to the classroom and protect vital school services. The Council urges the Board to reconsider its apparent budget approach and redirect any additional resources to the employees and programs that directly benefit our children. The Council would expeditiously consider any categorical transfer that might be required to achieve this important outcome for our schools. I look forward to hearing from you as soon as possible on this matter. |
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"In Bethesda, shrinking spending means not renewing a bipartisan and demographically diverse list of periodicals next year. The Nation and Weekly Standard are out. Car and Driver? Town and Country? Gone. Also among the titles to be discontinued: Runner's World and Bicycling, Entrepreneur and Fast Company, Nature and the Journal of the American Medical Association.
In Damascus, it has meant scaling way back on efforts to help babies, toddlers and preschoolers - and their parents and caregivers - get ready for early reading. The branch organized 124 early reading programs during the last fiscal year, and attendance topped 4,000. But in the first half of this fiscal year, about 800 participants squeezed into just 13 such programs.
The cuts also have meant earlier closing times."
Possible litigation discussed in closed session Monday
This story was corrected on May 3, 2010. An explanation follows the story.
Montgomery County Public Schools officials will sue the county if the council cuts the system's operating budget beyond what has been proposed by County Executive Isiah Leggett, a council attorney told The Gazette on Monday.Council attorney Michael Faden said that he could not discuss many details of the possible litigation because they are confidential."The council hopes that litigation does not proceed, and I think that's clear," Faden said.Dana Tofig, a spokesman for the Montgomery County school system, refused to discuss any possible litigation, only saying that "all options are on the table, but we hope that's an option we don't have to do."On Thursday, the council's management and fiscal policy committee unanimously recommended that all county agencies furlough employees for a minimum of five days. That same day, Councilwoman Duchy Trachtenberg (D-At large) of North Bethesda said the school system might have to accept furloughs for its employees or face additional cuts to its budget.Currently, the school system is the only county agency to spurn furloughs for its employees; its employees make up about two-thirds of all county workers. The council met Monday afternoon in a closed session to discuss the potential litigation.Council President Nancy M. Floreen (D-At large) of Garrett Park said she would not discuss the details of the meeting."I think it's really important to be clear. We are in no position to require the school system to do anything," she said, referring to the furlough issue.The school system has said it could sue the county based on the state's education law, which includes restrictions on when and how a school system's budget can be cut, Faden said.He said the school system believes the council is limited to appropriating only what the executive has proposed — or more money than that amount.The county, Faden said, disagrees."That would be a really radical change in what has always been the case," he said. "The council is the final fiscal authority."The school system has an operating budget of about $2.2 billion."In three of the last 15 fiscal years, the council has reduced the school budget beyond the executive's reduction," Faden said. "And there was never any hint of litigation."The state's maintenance-of-effort requirement has not been mentioned as a reason for the lawsuit.By state law, maintenance of effort requires county school systems to spend at least as much on education as they did the previous year.Today, the county was expected to request of the state school board a waiver of its maintenance-of-effort requirement for fiscal 2011. That waiver, according to county information, is for $137.7 million. The school system already is making cuts in its budget, its employees aren't getting pay increases and the system is increasing class size by one student.If MCPS furloughed all its employees for five days, it would save $33.7 million, according to data from Stephen B. Farber, the council's staff director.Leggett has proposed 10 furlough days for some county employees to save $15 million. However, if all county employees, including those who work for MCPS, were furloughed the same amount could be saved in 1.5 days.The council has not taken any action on the school system's budget, but a decision will be made by May 20.Staff Writer Marcus Moore contributed to this report.The original version of the story said the school system would have to accept furloughs for its employees or face additional cuts to its budgets, however, that is not a definite. This story was also clarified to include a committee recommendation on furloughs.
Jerry Weast, Superintendent of Schools, proposed to cut off all transportation for out of local buses, forcing any IB or magnet program students to find their own way to school. Many students, including myself, can NOT find this kind of transportation. Please spread the news about this problem.
Lights On AfterschoolIf you look at the list of supporters, you will see National PTA and the local Montgomery County Commission for Women. Overall, MoCo seems to be very quiet on this issue - are we taking the lead from our Superintendent Dr. Jerry Weast who is cutting programs that impact kids? Will our County Executive Ike Leggett become the champion of afterschool programs or does his advocacy end with the award?
Register your event right away! The 10th annual Lights On Afterschool is coming Oct 22, 2009 register now and receive planning tips and tools, 10 free posters and more! In 2008 more than a million people rallied for afterschool programs at 7,500 events nationwide so be sure to register your event now!
