WTOP: Montgomery Co. to have 3 finalists for schools chief by May

WASHINGTON -- It will be down to three candidates by the end of the month in the Montgomery County Public Schools' search for a new superintendent, before the community gets a chance to weigh in.  

The Board of Education reviewed 30 applications from candidates in 15 different states, according to a schools release, 18 of whom are current superintendents. Only three will make it through a board selection, to be presented before a Community Committee who will interview those candidates.

The board will then conduct second interviews with these applicants and, after consulting the Community Committee, will identify their top choice.
The new superintendent is expected to begin work in July, 2011.
A local parents group, the Parents Coalition of Montgomery County, has complained about a lack of transparancy in the process.

           REPORT CONTINUES HERE.

Sine Die

Here is a roundup of education-related bills that were passed in Annapolis.  The session ended at the stroke of midnight April 11th-12th.  According to the round-up in the MarylandReporter.com, Len Lazarick and Megan Poinski reporting,

ALCOHOL TAX

The House of Delegates and Senate Monday night passed a new 3% sales tax on alcohol sold in stores, bars and restaurants, with most of the proceeds in the first year going to schools and school construction.


Advocates for people with developmental disabilities started pressing for an increase in a nickel-a-drink alcohol tax hike 18 months ago. Then they joined forces with a coalition of health care advocates pressing for a dime-a-drink dedicated to improve access to care and reimbursement for caregivers.

The original bill as proposed would have taxed beer, wine and liquor distributors, and raised $213 million, with about $32 million going for developmental disabilities.

After that proposal stalled, the excise tax was turned into an extra 3% consumer sales tax on alcohol, which would raise a total of $88 million. The Developmental Disabilities Administration got just $15 million in the final version, and the other health and mental health programs who would have gotten a percentage of the take in the original bill got nothing at all.

Instead, over $72 million of the new revenue is going to school aid and school construction in the first year, allocations made to gain the votes to get the tax passed. To get the tax’s proceeds to both places, both houses had to pass two bills.

The first $22 million for schools in Baltimore City, Prince George’s, Allegany and Garrett counties helped the new tax get through the Senate. When the bill ran into problems in the House on Saturday, the Ways & Means Committee added $47.5 million for school construction projects, mostly to the large suburban counties in central Maryland.

And

Del. C. William Frick, D-Montgomery, the floor leader for the debate, said that the alcohol tax before them actually takes the price of the drink into consideration. The “dime-a-drink” proposal would have increased the cost of each individual drink, regardless of its cost. Frick also said that his wife is an alcohol retailer, and she has not opposed the proposal.

“I have not had to sleep on the couch,” Frick said.

Del. Michael Smigiel R- Caroline, Cecil, Kent and Queen Anne’s, said he did not want to vote for a bill that would take away money for people with disabilities. “We’re like a bunch of hyenas picking at rotting flesh,” Smigiel said.

Del. Susan Krebs, R-Carroll and Howard counties, said that her biggest frustration is that for two years, advocates for the disabled and mentally ill had lobbied for an alcohol tax to raise more money to help them.

“In my opinion, this money is going to buy votes, not where it is meant to be,” she said.

For the complete article go here.
Other bills passed, as reported by the AP in the herald-mail.com:

FOR-PROFIT COLLEGES

The Maryland Higher Education Commission will have regulatory authority over for-profit colleges.

STATE BUDGET
Maryland’s $34 billion budget includes tens of millions of dollars in new fees and increases education funding over what was previously submitted by the governor. Certificate-of-title fees for vehicles rise from $50 to $100. A separate fee for paperwork when buying a new car goes from $100 to $200. A fee for filing land records increases from $20 to $40. A fee for vanity license plates doubles from $25 to $50.

IMMIGRANT TUITION
Undocumented immigrants will be able to receive in-state tuition if they complete two years at a community college and can show their parents paid state taxes for at least three years before they graduated high school.

For the full article go here.

Jim Clark: Is Heath Morrison's glitter wearing off? | TahoeBonanza.com

Checking in on a former MCPS administrator, now a superintendent in Nevada. Commentary from Tahoe Bonanza.com

Jim Clark: Is Heath Morrison's glitter wearing off? | TahoeBonanza.com

INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. — The glitter is beginning to wear off our many-degreed new superintendent of schools. Readers of the Bonanza know all too well about the recent battle that raged amongst Incline/Crystal Bay citizens over the proposed International Baccalaureate program for our schools. Dr. Morrison's position was if locals could raise $150,000 the school district would staff the program. Because of controversy, only $85,000 was raised.

Morrison's response was to call a town meeting at the Incline High auditorium and announce that IB would be offered only in the 11th and 12th grades. He then appointed a “Great Schools Committee” consisting only of educators (and later a few parents) which announced it was going to meet in secret and make recommendations for Incline schools. Public outcry ended the secret deliberations. Morrison then demanded the local nonprofit turn over the $85,000; he also ordered a survey which was sent only to parents, thereby disenfranchising the rest of the community. Then, before the “Great Schools Committee” even came up with its findings, Morrison canceled even the 2 grades of IB. The community is sharply divided over these autocratic antics and many who donated generously towards IB feel they got the short end of the stick...

...Sandoval is too much of a gentleman to criticize a critic, but some of the legislators at the GOP meeting were aghast at Morrison “stabbing the governor in the back.” There was also conjecture about why a superintendent of schools would advocate taking teacher salary funds and using them for school renovations when enrollment is declining. And if he would have had to lay off 5,000 teachers who would use the proposed classrooms? Finally why would Morrison publicly side with Democrats in a meaningless political PR battle where everyone knew up front that the Democrats were going to lose?...

continues here.

Md. employee uses govt. credit card for $71,000-worth of personal items, audit says | Brian Hughes | Maryland | Washington Examiner

A Maryland state employee racked up more than $71,000 in "questionable" payments on a taxpayer-funded credit card, using the state card to have computer games, clothing and other items delivered to a home address, according to a newly released audit report.

Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://washingtonexaminer.com/local/maryland/2011/04/md-employee-uses-govt-credit-card-71000-worth-personal-items-audit-says#ixzz1JK4TKcrb

-----

Good thing there are no credit cards floating around MCPS...oh wait...there are 1,400! Anyone have a clue the last time the $5 million+ in purchases made with those 1,400 credit cards was audited?

Dinner's on us!

Ultimate Food Fight Erupts as Feds Recook School Lunch Rules

Ultimate Food Fight Erupts as Feds Recook School Lunch Rules

Rahm Emanuel looks to innovators, reformers in CPS CEO search

Rahm Emanuel looks to innovators, reformers in CPS CEO search

Update on New Superintendent Search

All,
One more member of the Orwellian-sounding 'Community Committee' has come out to state he was invited to the secret interview of the finalists chosen by the Board of Education.  (I understand the Board met last weekend to interview the 'semi-finalists.')  That is Tom Jones, a member of the Special Education community.  He posted on the MCNeeds listserv.  Thank you Mr. Jones.  That means so far out of 14-15 people, three have announced they received the secret invitations, and signed the confidentiality agreeements.  If you are a member of the NAACP, please contact your leadership.  Someone from the NAACP was secretly invited to be a member of this interview committee.  Please let us know who it is.  As I said in an earlier posting, other invitees include members from MCBRE, the unions, and the colleges.  As I find out more I will post here.

Thank you.

Paula Bienenfeld
Education Committee Chair, Montgomery County Civic Federation

Muckraking Lawyer Dee Alpert Dies at Age 65

This is a great tribute to an incredible New York advocate for children who even reached out to help parents in Montgomery County, Maryland.  


Thank you, Ms. Alpert for all you did to advocate for the best interests of children.  


You will be missed.  


The Wall Street Journal
By Jacob Gershman

Dee Alpert, a bespectacled, muckraking lawyer who helped guide parents and others through the often-murky corridors of special education, died last week at age 65. Her family said the cause of death was related to a cerebral aneurysm. 

Within the city’s education world, Ms. Alpert was something of an unofficial inspector general. She had a rare grasp of the arcana of school regulations, audits and budgets, and volunteered her services to parents and advocates. 

She probed the city’s methods for determining drop-out rates of students and detailed the roadblocks in front of parents who seek information about the progress of their disabled children.. She scoured financial statements of school districts, such as Roosevelt on Long Island, blowing the whistle on risky borrowing schemes. 

In blasts of thousands of words, she posted her findings on her personal website, Special Education Muckraker, which then circulated around the parent-advocacy arena. Her style had a touch of the conspiratorial, but commanded the attention of major policy experts, like Diane Ravitch, who praised Ms. Alpert for her “fierce integrity” and “keen intellect.” 

She wrote about how abuse cases are treated differently when a victim is a special education student. One of Ms. Alpert’s most high-profile exposes was titled “Abu Ghraib on the Hudson,” in which she untangled proposed state regulations for allowing schools to lock students with disabilities inside “seclusion rooms.” State officials said they wanted to help schools better manage behavioral problems. But Ms. Alpert pointed to loopholes that she said opened the door to corporal punishment. Her piece found its way to the inboxes of advocates in other states and stirred more national opposition to such policies.

article continues here.

Waiting for Jerry’s Kids or Twisted Realities

By Joseph Hawkins

Recently, a read of an August 2010 Pew report, Lessons in Early Learning, left me puzzled. You can read the entire Pew report here:

http://www.pewtrusts.org/our_work_report_detail.aspx?id=60521

From the above report, this paragraph had me scratching my head:

“What can happen when a school district integrates high-quality early learning across the system as part of a comprehensive pre-k-12 reform plan? Almost 90 percent of kindergarteners enter first grade with essential early literacy skills, nearly 88 percent of third graders read proficiently, achievement gaps between different racial and ethnic groups across all grade levels decline by double digits, about 90 percent of 12th graders graduate from high school and about 77 percent of graduating seniors enroll in college.”

The reason I’m scratching my head is because the first cohort of Jerry’s kids—this is a label Board of Education members tagged students who experienced Weast initiatives and programs— are still currently sitting in 10th grade. How is possible for us to conclude that their preschool experiences had a positive impact on their high school graduation rates and college enrollment rates?

Jerry Weast first arrived in Montgomery County in August of 1999. So, the very first cohort of Jerry’s kids were preschoolers during the 1999/2000 school year. That then means that the first cohort or group of Jerry’s kids are now sitting in the 10th grade. Here is how that works/looks:



So, if Jerry’s kids are still in the 10th grade how is possible to correlate their preschool experiences with experiences that have not happened yet? And recently, I also noticed that Weast himself is attempting to connect MCPS preschool experiences with college graduation rates. Please see this Weast 2010 presentation here:

http://www2.ed.gov/about/inits/ed/earlylearning/weast-presentation.pdf

The first cohort of Jerry’s kids become college seniors in the fall of 2016, and they begin graduating from undergraduate schools in the spring of 2017. So, if this monumental occasion is still 6 years into the future, how does Weast get away with “twisting” realities?

Madaleno's "Rockville Smackdown" Bill Withdrawn

Remember the bill that Senator Madeleno introduced to strip the City of Rockville of zoning authority with regard to the placement of classroom trailers?


As of today, the bill has been withdrawn. 

"Interpretations Suggested by County Board (MCPS) Yield an Absurd Result"

The Parents' Coalition has obtained a copy of the April 1, 2011, letter from the Maryland Association of Counties, Inc. (MACo) that was submitted to the State Board of Education in response to the Petition for Declaratory Ruling filed by the Board of Education of Montgomery County.


In the letter MACo makes three points about the Board of Education's Petition for Declaratory Ruling:

• MOE [Maintenance of Effort] is Conditional, Not an Absolute, Mandate
• County Council Authority is Enhanced, Not Limited, By State Education Law
• The Interpretations Suggested by the County Board Yield an Absurd Result

April 1, 2011 Maryland Association of Counties, Inc


Gazette coverage of this letter:


Gazette: Montgomery school board encroaching on county authority, MACo asserts 
In April 1 letter, group warns budgeting processes could be damaged

Civic Fed Awards Gordon Clark 'Community Hero' Award

Please join the Civic Fed tonight as we award Gordon Clark the Community Hero Award.  The entire program is as follows:

Montgomery County Operating Budget for next fiscal year, FY2012

Speakers

Alex Espinosa, Manager for Operating Budget, MC Office of Management and Budget;
Steve Farber, County Council Staff Director; and
Community Hero Award Presentation to Gordon Clark, Project Director of Montgomery Victory Gardens, for spearheading efforts to allow healthy gardens in our public schools and create community gardens in neighborhoods.

DATE: Monday, April 11, 2011

TIME: 7:45 p.m.
LOCATION: County Council Building - 1st Floor Auditorium, 100 Maryland Avenue, Rockville
For directions go here.

Paula Bienenfeld
Education Committee Chair, Montgomery County Civic Federation

Montgomery County Taxpayers League Program: Doug Prouty (MCEA) and Gino Renne (MCGEO)

The next monthly meeting of the Montgomery County Taxpayers League is scheduled for Thursday, April 14, 2011 from 7:30 - 9:30 p.m. in the Council Office Building, 100 Maryland Avenue, 5th Floor Conference Room, Rockville, MD.  For directions go here.


Speakers: Doug Prouty, President, MCEA and Gino Renne, President, MCGEO

Topic: The Role of Public Sector Unions in Montgomery County
____________________________________________________________________________
These are the questions that have been sent to Messrs. Prouty and Renne in advance of the meeting:

1. Public employees at the federal, state and local levels perform very similar functions for the public (except for foreign policy and defense). They are protected, like private sector workers, by a wide range of laws. Unlike the private sector, they benefit from more stable and dependable employment. Why are public employees deserving of collective bargaining rights?

2. Collective bargaining at the federal level does not cover salaries and benefits but does cover conditions of employment. Why do public sector unions in Montgomery County deserve collective bargaining rights that cover the whole range of compensation while federal unions do not?

3. Federal unions, like Montgomery County unions, are well-organized and appear to have a strong influence on lawmakers. However, federal employees, unlike Montgomery County public employees, are prohibited from most political activities as they are governed by the Hatch Act. Why should Montgomery County public employees not be restricted in the same way? What effect would this have on your unions?

4. Across the country, public service unions have been confronted with the choice of either (a) retaining employment levels but receiving a decreased level of benefits or (b) reducing employment while maintaining the level of benefits. While many in the private sector opt to retain employment at the cost of reduced benefits, it appears that your unions have chosen benefit retention at the cost of reduced employment. Could you explain the thinking behind choosing reduced employment levels?

5. When the economy was strong, county tax revenues were also strong, county taxpayers were getting jobs and buying houses and county employees shared in those revenue increases. But with the economy now weak, county tax revenues are also weak, and county taxpayers are losing their jobs and their houses. Should county employees also be expected to share the same burdens as the taxpayers who support them?

6. What are your views if contracts for all unions in Montgomery County, including the MCPS unions, were approved by the County Council?

7. Why is the MCEA health benefits system more generous than that of MCGEO-covered members? Why do teachers get supplemental pension funding when no other teachers in the state of Maryland do? It appears to us that county workers covered by MCGEO are sacrificing more towards the county's ongoing budget deficit than those covered by MCEA? Why are MCEA members exempt from benefit cuts?

8. MCPS teachers have a system of 20-step increases within each salary grade, all of which are automatic. The current system of step increases has resulted in the highest pay going towards athletic instructors. MCEA continues to defend step and grade increases over merit pay? Why?

9. The federal government, most of the private sector and much of the Montgomery County Government has moved away from a defined benefit system of retirement towards a defined contribution system. When will MCEA-covered workers move in the same direction and if not, why not?

10. Both MCGEO and MCEA have been very successful in gaining generous salaries and benefits for its members, many of whom do not live in the county and do not pay taxes but who gain much from the Montgomery County taxpayer. What could be done to encourage those non-resident union members to move into the county?

Update on New Superintendent Search

All,
Last week I spoke with Hank Gmitro, of Hazard, Young. Attea (HYA, the search firm the Board of Education [BOE] has hired for the superintendent search).  He told me that HYA both received applications; and reached out to potential applicants to compile resumes for the new Montgomery County Public Schools superintendent.  There were 25-30 resumes in all.  These resumes were reviewed by the Board of Education and the list was narrowed to a smaller group of ‘semi-finalists.’  I understand that the Board of Education will be interviewing ‘semi-finalist’ candidates this weekend.  


In addition, the Board has chosen a small group of 14-15 people to invite to a ‘community committee’ which will take place ~April 13^th -15^th, however, those invited have heard nothing further as of last Thursday.  They have signed confidentiality agreements, however, which include agreeing to not take notes at the meeting; and not reveal where the meeting will be held.  These individuals include members of: the unions; NAACP; Gifted and Talented Association (GTA); someone from the Special Education community; the Montgomery County Business Roundtable for Education (MCBRE)*; the PTA; and local colleges.  More were invited however I do not have a complete list.  The only people that have come forward to say they have been invited are Fred Stichnoth, president of GTA; and Kristin Trible, president of MCCPTA.  Both have asked for input prior to the interview.  Thank you both.


If you have not heard from a representative of your group, contact the president to see if they have been invited and make sure your voice is heard.  The school system and the superintendent are paid for by your tax dollars, and, whether you have a child in this system or not, over one-half your tax dollars are going to support this system.  Make sure your voice is heard.


Thank you.
Paula Bienenfeld
Education Committee Chair, Montgomery County Civic Federation


*the MCBRE board is composed of for-profit business members including for example, Pearson, Wachovia Bank, Sodexo, Citigroup, Lockheed Martin, Dell, Hess Construction; representatives of various colleges, and the current superintendent.

New Superintendent Named

Oh, no...not here...Frederick County. 


Our Board of Education doesn't have a Board meeting scheduled until the end of April.  They must all be on vacation this month. Nothing going on with our Superintendent search. [Ooops - see the update here. Where are the meeting notices for this activity?]

Board meetings have to be announced under the Maryland Open Meetings Act and our Board certainly wouldn't try to sneak out of town and have a meeting without letting the public know...right?


Meanwhile, in Frederick County a new superintendent.  Someone who used to work in Montgomery County just a few years ago.  Read the story here. 

What Weast Told Them In Kentucky

Remember when Jerry Weast went to Kentucky last year to talk about the importance of preschool education (that would be around the time he had killed a highly successful preschool program for children with disabilities)?
According to a press release from Glascow (KY) Independent Schools, here's what he told those folks in Kentucky:

Dr. Weast shared their strategy of making an investment in pre-school education for both public and private providers that has paid great dividends. The districts most disadvantaged young children have demonstrated text-level reading skills comparable to those of their peers in a wealthy suburb, which raises standards and narrows the achievement gap. This fundamental investment has proven to increase graduation rates for all sub populations of students and increased the number of students attending and graduating from college.

Sounds rosy, no? SHOW ME THE DATA.

Fat in the MCPS Budget

There must be some fat in the MCPS budget.  Why else would the Board of Education be spending $100,997 on a diet company in this "tight" budget year?


There is no evidence of the Board of Education approving of this expenditure in Board of Education minutes.  Hard to know what MCPS is getting for this $100,000+. But since the Navarro Board began spending money like water, Board approvals on major procurements have been disappearing like muffin tops at Zumba classes.


Maybe this expenditure is to help cut the "fat" in the MCPS budget? Anyone know?

Montgomery Co. Delegation Jeopardizes Funding For Disability Services

Action Alert from the Arc of Montgomery County:

Alcohol Tax Bill Passed through Senate;
In Jeopardy in House of Delegates
Due to Montgomery County Delegation


SB 994 (Alcohol Tax) passed through the Senate. The Montgomery County delegation in the House of Delegates is stalling the vote because they want assurances that some of the funding will go to Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS). The legislative session ends on Monday and this decision will be made over the weekend. Personal calls and emails are needed!!


We need you to contact your delegate IMMEDIATELY and tell him or her:


We understand the desire for more MCPS funding, BUT DO NOT RISK THE ENTIRE BILL because of this demand! The developmental disability community desperately needs this funding to support hundreds of individuals on the Waiting List. We URGENTLY ask you to pass SB 994.


Click here if you need to know the names and contact information for your delegates: www.thearcmontgomerycounty.org/speakout/find-your-election-district.html

Are you interviewing to be the next Superintendent?

In the spirit of this New York Times City Room article...

NYT:  If You Were Asked About Chancellor’s Job, Tell Us

...we are asking the same sort of question.

Are you in town interviewing to be the next MCPS Superintendent? We'd love to meet you! 

We'd like a little bit of sun to shine on our public school system.  

No better time to start than now! 

Comment below or send us an e-mail submission for the blog.  

Our e-mail address is:  contact-at-parentscoalitionmc.com

Welcome to Montgomery County! 

Weast on Graduation Rates - "I'm telling you, they're chasing the wrong rabbit."

The Washington Post, Lifestyle -  Exit Interview:  MoCo superintendent Jerry D. Weast on lessons learned

From the article, question in bold and Weast response in italics.

Many people are focusing on graduation rates. 

I’m telling you, they’re chasing the wrong rabbit.