It’s been quite a week for education news in Montgomery County, and I’ll have a few more posts coming soon. The big news: the budget crunch comes to MCPS. For over a year we’ve been watching what’s been happening over in Fairfax County, and now it’s our turn. (For proof of my powers of prognostication, check this post.) On Wednesday, Superintendent Weast announced the proposed FY2011 MCPS operating budget. You can read the full press release here and hear his remarks here.
The Post covered the news with this headline: Budget scenario bleak for Montgomery schools. While the Gazette’s headline read: Weast calls for ‘as is’ operating budget, but prepares for possible cuts.
In the next day the news filtered down to the school listservs, where some of the details emerged.
- 20 percent cut in teaching positions in the immersion, IB, signature and other special program teachers. (10.6 FTE, $682,000)
- Elimination of transportation to optional regular education programs
outside normal attendance zones, including magnet, immersion, IB, high school consortia, and other special programs. Fees are not permitted for these services. This reduction would not impact special education transportation. (65.0 FTE, $4,900,000) - Elimination of additional staffing to middle school consortia special course offerings at Loiderman, Argyle, and Parkland (8.0 FTE, $515,472)
- Academic intervention teachers – Reduce by 20 percent additional teacher staffing for direct support to struggling students and for intervention programs. Currently, there are 128.9 academic intervention teachers. (Reduced by 9.8 positions in FY 2010)
- Cuts to funding for guidance counselors and pupil personnel workers. (18.0 FTE, $2,329,642)
You can read all of Weast’s recommended cuts here (.pdf format). (Hat tip to Parents’ Coalition blog for the pdf link.).
I don’t have to tell you how I feel about the proposed elimination of transportation for “special” programs. These cuts potentially spell the death knell for the middle school magnets, elementary Center Programs but especially for the countywide IB magnet at Richard Montgomery High School. This program, which over the years has achieved national and international recognition (99% pass rate on IB exams; highest in the U.S.), draws the most talented students from across the entire county. Take away the transportation and many, many top students simply will not be able to attend, eroding the program. I’m sure some will argue that just about every cluster now offers an IB program in at least one high school, so the kids can just go somewhere closer to home. But those program just aren’t the same caliber.
I live in the “down county’ red zone, and these cuts are really going to be felt here, where they can be afforded least. Increased class sizes? Fewer counselors, para-educators and reading initiative teachers? No transportation within the down county consortium or to Center and Magnet programs? As a friend of mine notes, “Here in the red zone, the existence of signature programs (including “subtle” programs such as the “extra” science teacher at Piney Branch who works with every student in the school) is critical to providing more than reading/math assessment-driven education, critical to keeping families in the public school system and in the community.”
Amen to that. People will simply vote with their feet. And if you need any validation of that, just spend some time on the school forums at DC Urban Moms and Dads. In the affluent parts of the county, they’ll just shrug and continue to coast on their high SES (socio-economic status).
A final word. Looking at the proposed cuts, I wonder where are the cuts the PR and technology budgets? (Hello Promethean boards! Hello slick videos and websites promoting the Seven Keys to College Readiness!) Only $1 million from athletics? Why is it always the gifted kids? Simple answer: MCPS officials figure they can get away with it, that these kids are “privileged.” Let’s hope parent advocates band together and prove them wrong.
The cuts to immersion don’t make any sense. Immersion doesn’t have extra teachers — in fact, immersion classes for K – 2 are larger than their counterparts (25 – 26 kids per class).
Yes, I agree. The lack of transportation will be the death-knell for many or most of these programs.
I’ve been warning parents about this. We need to focus on keeping teachers.
I love this blog. Truly, I turn to it regularly for interpretation of news and finding cool resources. But PLEASE don’t make this a red vs green zone conversation. That just hurts everyone. Green zone parents can advocate, too! Green zone parents are appalled at the lack of enrichment for their younger kids. Green zone parents are just as befuddled by the disproportionate resources and idiotic counselors at their schools as Red Zone parents. How brilliant Weast was to create this schism, this dichotomy of parent groups–because if he can divide us, he can conquer. We are letting him dictate the conversation. That’s why his PR budget is so high and his management staff so many layers deep. Have you looked at those org charts? They border on surreal.
I heartily agree that the bureaucracy and ridiculous prioritization of promethean boards and flashy stuff is offensive. We need teachers. Quality, talented, passionate teachers. If “schools” can be formed aside the train tracks in India with little more than a passionate teacher and kids eager to learn, we don’t need sizzle. We need focus.
Why tamp down the different learners on the right of the bell curve at the expense of the left side?
Can we please show Weast and his yes-women and yes-men that WE will vote and shake up the school board?
The fact of the budget cuts is not Weast’s fault; anyone with a brain saw that he was gambling with that maneuver with the state budget, and he lost. How he handles that setback IS up to him. And how we shift the public dialogue is up to us.
Newbie, You are absolutely right. I should not have introduced the red-zone green zone issue at the end of this post. And just so you know, I was also taken to task about it off blog by another reader. I plead fatigue (you don’t want to know how many cookies I baked this week), but also frustration, because from where I sit it feels like green zone families have a choice. If they don’t choose a middle school magnet, they can be reasonably assured (based on test scores and other data) that their kids still have decent middle schools they can attend. Or is my perspective completely warped? I mean, I’m guessing there’s not too much of this: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/10/AR2009121002346.html
happening in Bethesda, right?
So yes, let’s have ALL parents contact the BOE about these proposed cuts.
Switched on, your green zone red zone debate still holds.
“The fact of the budget cuts is not Weast’s fault; anyone with a brain saw that he was gambling with that maneuver with the state budget, and he lost. How he handles that setback IS up to him. And how we shift the public dialogue is up to us.”
Time out. The MCPS budget has NEVER been cut since Weast arrived. It has gone UP each and EVERY year. The total MCPS Operating Budget has more than doubled from $1 billion to over $2.1 billion. Never gone down. Never been cut.
The pitiful little amount of money involved in the Maintenance of Effort issue isn’t even worth talking about. $45 million out of $2.1 BILLION?
Jerry Weast lets Larry Bowers and Sherwin Collette sign off on leases and purchases orders for $45 million without any Board discussion or votes. $45 million is what Jerry Weast has in a drawer for a rainy day.
$45 million COULD be cut from the MCPS budget without EVER touching classrooms, teachers or students.
Where there’s a will, there’s a way. But there is no will.
Point well taken about the plight of underserved kids. I’ve worked in social services organizations. I do get it.
But if your kid isn’t being challenged, your kid isn’t being challenged and there ought to be a way to fix that . I wholeheartedly agree with nagc’s goal of getting the brightest kids in historically low-performing demographics the support they need to reach their potential. In fact I signed up on their website to lobby today.
To me, it’s just not a zero-sum world. But when Superintendent “We don’t measure certain factors except when they support the argument I’m trying to make at this particular time” pits two groups of parents against each other, he can force his way right through that schism he has crafted. It’s not coincidental.
Don’t you wish he would actually watch that video of the high schools in Texas? Look, they’re actually proud of their achieving students, whether low income or not! how ’bout that?!
[...] if not approved? Be prepared for cuts … oh and he’s provided a helpful list of cuts to programs and services most guaranteed to outrage reliably vocal parents. Now I confess, I am not a numbers/budget girl. Just ask Husband Dear. So this budget stuff [...]