Cash-strapped Montgomery County adds six-figure wellness, innovation czars

...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.

EXAMINER ARTICLE AT THIS LINK 

When Pomp and Circumstance Collide: College Graduates and the March Back Home

Newswise — This month, thousands of college graduates are walking across the stage to shake hands, smile for the camera, and pick up their diplomas. Many of those newly minted American college graduates are moving out of their dorm rooms and back into their childhood bedrooms... 

http://www.newswise.com/articles/when-pomp-and-circumstance-collide-college-graduates-and-the-march-back-home

Half Of Recent College Graduates Lack Full-Time Job, Study Says

Huff Post Business

...Unemployment, for Whitecotton and many of her peers, comes with other consequences. Graduates since 2009 have earned an average starting salary of $27,000, down from $30,000 for the classes of 2006 and 2007. That's because employers can pay less with a surplus of job-seekers. In addition, many recent graduates take jobs below their skill level. The study found that 43 percent of employed recent graduates said their jobs do not require a college degree.
The wages of these recent college graduates will likely remain depressed for the next 10 to 15 years because they graduated into a weak economy, according to the Economic Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank...

Montgomery County’s wrong education priorities

Click Here for The Washington Post:  Editorial

Note: No mention of the elected Board of Education in this Editorial.  

Policy changes follow Penn State scandal

http://thedailyrecord.com/2012/05/20/policy-changes-follow-penn-state-scandal/

Montgomery council to monitor school system’s growing surplus

Gazette:  School system has $32 million surplus

Chicago could have had Jerry Weast!

MCPS Superintendent Jerry Weast was on the short list for the job of Chicago's superintendent.  But, instead of picking Weast, Mayor Rahm Emanuel picked Broad Superintendent Academy graduate J.C. Brizard.  
Here's an update from Diane Ravitch on how that selection is working out.  Wouldn't Jerry Weast have turned Chicago public schools around by now?


Chicago Supt Brizard Admits Failure

Gangs At Richard Montgomery HS?

Are there really GANGS at Richard Montgomery High School? According to today's Washington Post, it would seem so. In an article about the recent shooting at the Rockville Metro Station, the Post reported the following:

Nguyen was charged as an adult with attempted murder, along with 17-year-old Tavares Harris, who police say gave Nguyen the gun. Both boys attend Richard Montgomery High School in Rockville, one of the top schools in the county, officials said. Both suspects, as well as the victim, are members of gangs, Feeney said in court. He did not say what, if any, role that played in the shooting.

Just a couple of questions for the MCPS $10 million dollar public relations department: 1. Was the gun used in the shooting ever on the RMHS campus? Has an investigation been done? 2. Exactly how many gangs are active at RMHS? 3. What efforts are being made at RMHS to address the issue of gangs? (or, as Montgomery County likes to call them, "criminally oriented youth subculture." The first priority, before everything, should be safety in schools.

MCPS down to 1 in Newsweek top 100 High Schools Ranking

2012: 1 MCPS high school in the top 100


2011:  2 MCPS high schools in top 100
Eight MCPS High Schools Ranked among Newsweek’s Top 500 High Schools 


2010:  7 MCPS high schools in top 100
MCPS Has Seven Schools in Newsweek's Top 100 List


2009:  4 MCPS high schools in top 100
Newsweek Ranks Four MCPS High Schools in the Top 100 in the Nation

Board of Education Stakes Claim to School Land

The sign shown was put up today on the Brickyard Middle School future school site.


The sign is a bit late, as the Board of Education has already turned this 20 acre future school site over to County Executive Ike Leggett.  Leggett has already turned the land over to MSI Soccer for their private use.   

"...erroneous rankings for the high schools on U.S. News & World Report's "Best High Schools" list...."

The National Center for Education Statistics plans to check data on about 5,000 high schools after faulty information from the federal agency led to erroneous rankings for three high schools on U.S. News & World Report’s yearly “Best High Schools” report......However, Jeff Horn, the principal at Green Valley High School in Henderson, Nev., noted that his school’s number 13 ranking was based on federal statistics that mistakenly said his school had 477 students, 111 teachers, and a 100 percent passing rate on Advanced Placement tests that school year. In actuality, the school has about 2,850 students, a student-teacher ratio that is closer to 24 to 1, and an AP pass rate of about 64 percent. Student-teacher ratios and AP pass rates are a part of the magazine’s ranking system...

Education Week:  Statistics Agency to Review 'Best High Schools' Data

Andrews: ‘Are the actions of the county Board of Education affecting adults, or are they affecting children? … It is a choice.”

The Town Courier: A Talk With County Council Member Phil Andrews

Sine Die?

Hard to tell, folks.  However we can tell you that in the special session which ended last week, the Maryland House of Delegates shifted pension costs to the counties; and passed legislation to increase state income taxes on people with incomes of over $100,000.  They voted down increases in your gasoline tax.

Del. Kumar Barve voted in favor of the tax increase in part because, he said, "I am willing to pay that price" (an additional $4.88 per week for him and his wife), according to an article by reporter Len Lazarick, which you can read here.  In contrast, Del. Kelly voted against that tax because, she said, "I believe this discriminates against two-income families."  Read Mr. Lazarick's article on Del. Kelly here.

Opposing the tax increase from the Montgomery County Delegation were: Charles Barclay, Jim Gilchrist, Ana Sol Gutierrez, Ariana Kelly, Ben Kramer, Kirill Reznik.

The entire vote can be seen at the General Assembly website here.

An Eastern Shore legislator's view of Montgomery County

From an article by Laura E. Price, a member of the Talbot County Council, in the Star Democrat in Talbot County.

The state should not be able to mandate how much a county must pay for education by some arbitrary formula, with no regard to the current economy and revenues. Unfortunately, a few big counties on the western shore have all the power and the teacher's union has an inordinate amount of influence.

"Particularly for sophomores & juniors who want to stop going to school as early in June as possible, APs are an easy excuse out. "

Silver Chips Online:  The Advanced Placement problem

Accessory Apartments in Your Neighborhood!

The Montgomery County Planning Board is working on a new zoning ordinance that will allow attached and separate apartment buildings in residential neighborhoods all across the county. Yes, that would mean in your neighborhood, too.  Your neighbor -- or you! would be able to build an add-on or a separate apartment structure housing up to two new residential units.  An apartment-in-a-box in your backyard! Just think of it.  Currently these apartments require the builder to go through a public 'special exception' process with a public hearing at the Board of Appeals.  However, your Planning Board (appointed by your county council members) want to change that: why bother with a public process? Instead, let's have these apartments built 'by right.'  No discussion required.  No discussion of the additional parking spaces needed; additional classroom space needed; additional stress on infrastructure. Naw, why bother with those pesky questions?

Because of those pesky questions, the Planning Board has scheduled two meetings on Monday May 21st, please attend.  Originally these were to be 'Q&A' meetings.  But again, why bother with those pesky questions? Instead the Board has suddenly changed the format to an "open house" format with "stations."

DATE: Monday May 21
TIMES: 3:00 - 4:30 PM and 7-9 PM
LOCATION: Montgomery County Planning Board, 1st Floor Auditorium, 8787 Georgia Ave,. Silver Spring.  Metered parking in the rear.

Please attend -- make sure the Planning Board answers your questions.  And please let the County Council know what you think of new apartments in your neighborhood.  Email the council at county.council@montgomerycountymd.gov And, here is the email for the Planning Board: MCP-chairman@mncppc-mc.org.

MCPS Class Sizes and School Staffing for 2012-2013

Below is the Class Size and School Staffing budget document for the 2012-2013 school year.
The yellow highlighting shows changes from the 2011-2012 budget document.  
Read the 2011-2012 document at this link.

For example, in the box for Classroom Teacher under Elementary Guideline we see that the following sentence has been added to the 2012-2013 staffing guidelines: 

"When numbers support it, positions are allocated for combination classes."

There are many other changes to the document that will reduce or change the number of staff at local schools next year.  There are also more instances where staffing is at the discretion of the local principal, and a number of positions do not give the details of actual allocations. 


Remember that this document is prepared at the secret budget table by MCPS administrative staff, the 3 Unions, and MCCPTA select officers. This document is not prepared at the public Board of Education table by the elected Board of Education.  

FY 2013 K-12 Staffing Guildelines

MCPS K-12 Class Sizes for 2011-2012

Recently, members of the County Council brought up the issue of overcrowded classes in MCPS.  Superintendent Starr was not familiar with the issue of overcrowded classes. 
For reference, below is the document in the MCPS budget that sets class sizes.  This document is for the 2011-2012 school year. But, as with much of MCPS, principal discretion has the final say in class size.


Kindergarten  26 students (18 at Red Zone Schools)
Grades 1-3    27 students  (19 in Grades 1-2 at Red Zone Schools)
Grades 4-5    29 students
Middle and High Schools are staffed by a formula as shown below.  

FY 2012 K-12 Staffing Guidelines

"We will sleep in the classroom and eat breakfast."

Tattler Extra: What Happens in AP Classes After Exams?

D.C. Counts Illegally Enrolled Students. Does MCPS?

The Washington Post:  OSSE report: District pays at least $10 million to educate non-resident studentsBy Bill Turque 

The District has been trying to save a few dollars by reducing the number of special education students in expensive private schools at public expense.
According to a new report, that includes 118 students whose families don’t even live in the city...