Today: Council to Review MCPS Financial Report, Moving Cash Around and $2 Million for Chromebooks #found$$$ #notforteachers #slushfund

September 28, 2015 

Montgomery County Council Education Committee

9:30 AM- Room 3CCR at Montgomery County Council building

•MCPS FY15 year-end financial report and categorical transfer

    •Update-MCPS Technology Plan

MCPS ended FY 14 with a year-end surplus of $17.04 million.

Montgomery County Council's Education Committee will meet on Monday, September 15th at 9:30 AM to discuss MCPS' Fiscal year 2014 year end surplus.

Details at this link:

http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/council/Resources/Files/agenda/cm/2014/140915/20140915_ED2.pdf

Council Limits Review of MCPS Budget to 1 Category

The County Council resolution below says "full and transparent budget information from every County agency is essential to the integrity of our fiscal decision-making process."


But the Council only calls for the Office of Legislative Oversight to investigate the MCPS budget in one budget category, just category 12. 


What about Categories 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 37, 51, 61, 71, and 81? 


Who is making sure there is "full and transparent budget information" on the rest of the MCPS budget? 

20110621_17-177

Ervin: Will the Board use the newly discovered savings to restore...positions?

Council President Valerie Ervin: "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?" 


County Council President Valerie Ervin’s Letter to Board of Education President Christopher Barclay on Funding of MCPS FY12 Budget

Release ID: 11-134 Release Date: 6/6/2011 Contact: Neil Greenberger 240-777-7939 or Delphine Harriston240-777-7931 From: Council Office

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.