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Montgomery County Council of PTAs
January 29, 2012
Advocacy Opportunities
You're encouraged to attend....
   

The MCCPTA  

Operating Budget Forum  

 

Wednesday, February 15

7:30pm

 

Richard Montgomery High School Auditorium

 

250 Richard Montgomery Drive, Rockville

 

Come hear directly from Board of Education members about the proposed MCPS Operating Budget which will be approved by the BOE on February 14.  County Councilmembers will also be in attendance to answer your questions and hear your concerns as the operating budget funding cycle begins. 

 

Flyer for distribution to local PTA members
 
Operating Budget Resources

Governor's Proposed Budget

MCPS Webpage on Operating Budget Info

MCPS Response to BOE Questions on Budget

Superintendent's Memo on State Aid

Superintendent's Memo on Proposed Revisions to Recommended Operating Budget

As always, check the homepage of our MCCPTA website for Operating Budget Updates to include posted documents.

 
Links to
MCCPTA Resolutions














 
 

Update on MCPS Operating Budget

 

In a recent memo to the Board of Education, the Superintendent outlined changes he will formally propose in an amended budget recommendation, to be submitted to the Board on February 14th. The changes fall into two categories.  First, the Governor's budget proposal includes $4.6 million more in State Aid than had been projected in the Superintendent's original budget proposal.  Second, the Superintendent is proposing a realignment of certain dollars within the previously proposed budget.  We do not know whether the Board will actually vote on this amended proposal when they cast their vote on February 14th - Dr. Starr has outlined the proposal in his memo and will provide additional detail to the Board next week, however, per his memo, his formal submission of the amended budget will not be made until February 14th.  The Superintendent also outlined the Governor's proposal to shift 50% of the total costs of retirement from the state to counties.  While such a change would clearly impact the availability of County funding, these issues are yet to be decided by the General Assembly.     

 

Additional State Aid

The Governor's proposal includes $4.6 million dollars more in State Aid than was projected in the Superintendent's original budget proposal.  The State Aid formula is based on a multitude of factors, not all of which are known with certainty when the Superintendent's budget is released in December.  The Superintendent will increase his budget request to include the additional$ 4.6 million proposed by the Governor.   This additional amount does not  reduce or offset the amount of money MCPS is seeking from the County.  The budget request will continue to be a Maintenance of Effort (MOE) request, seeking the same level of local per pupil funding as last year.  

 

Per the Superintendent's memo, and as confirmed Thursday, the $4.6 million will be added to the $8 million "placeholder" in the proposed budget -- for a total of $12.6 million -- to "offset costs resulting from the forthcoming completion of negotiations between the Board and its employee unions."  The Superintendent's proposed budget separately includes $35 million for step and longevity increases and related employee benefits. (See Operating Budget in Brief, page 62).  Ordinarily, an MOE budget would not be adequate to provide for such increases.  However, there are unprecedented savings --$26.4 million -- in the "continuing salaries" category for FY 2013 due to  retirements/staff turnover (savings from replacing senior employees with lower paid junior employees) and savings resulting from short term vacancies.  As a result, the overall net increase in continuing salaries is only $8.6 million.  All economic issues are still in negotiation with the employee associations, including decisions on salaries.    

To the extent that adequate funds might be available in the FY 2013 budget, we have and will continue to press for the MCCPTA priority to fully implement hours-based staffing this year in our middle schools (the total projected cost would be $774k).   The priorities for "restoration" of prior year cuts will be considered as part of FY 2014 budget planning process. 

 

Realignment
As for the realignment within the existing budget proposal, the Superintendent is proposing 1) additional support for two middle schools in Year 4 of improvement (details are to be provided to the Board next week); 2) $221,000 for higher than projected pre-kindergarten enrollment; 3) $300,000 for a Gallup Staff Engagement Survey; and 4) realignment of $825,000 currently budgeted for staff development (this was highlighted in a more general way in the original budget proposal).  In addition to realignment of funds within the staff development and school restructuring categories, MCPS has identified just over $1 million in additional "savings and efficiencies" that can be used to offset these amounts.  Those savings and efficiencies include: 1) $366,000 in tuition savings for students requiring non-public education (MCPS budgeted for a 2% increase, and the Governor's proposal capped the increased at 1%); 2)  $625,000 in savings that will have "no impact on programs or students" , including $425,000 for part-time salaries and summer employment and $200,000 for part-time salaries, stipends and substitutes in the k-12 budget (these savings are based on actual spending this year and prior years spending patterns); and 3) $230,000 resulting from discontinuation of the TerraNova2 (TN2), a test currently administered to second graders.

 

As for the TN2, principals and most teachers support the proposal to eliminate the test on the basis that it does not correlate with the new common core standards.  They consider MAP-Rs to be a more useful tool as they measure student progress.  And, as is presumably true of any national test, to the extent that student performance might decline in other parts of the country, comparatively higher scores for MCPS students on the TN2 are not necessarily indicative of MCPS student progress. We did share the concern about the use of these test scores to apply for GT programs - particularly for the John Hopkins Center for Talented Youth program.  We are providing below the follow up information provided by MCPS after our meeting.

 

As for the Gallup Staff Staff Engagement survey, the proposed survey would include staff and middle school students, but not parents.  There are a range of different surveys available through Gallup.  This particular survey provides an opportunity to examine staff engagement and its connection to student achievement, which is considered vitally important.  This survey was piloted at thirty-six schools last year, and there was a 90% response rate -- more than 40 percentage points higher than the MCPS survey response rate.   MCPS plans to continue to administer the MCPS survey, which does elicit parent input.  We will inquire about whether there is Gallup survey that includes parent input, and if so, what the cost (or additional cost would be).  Depending on the success of the staff engagement survey, and next year's funding situation, we think it is would be worthwhile to explore.  As for the proposed staff engagement and middle school survey, we will ask that MCCPTA be represented in discussions about the administration of that survey. 

 

MCPS Answer to Board Question regarding Promethean Boards

MCPS responded to the Board question about how Promethean boards are provided to elementary schools in Answer 39.  (See document.).  In short, MCPS says the goal is to provide two-thirds of all elementary schools classrooms with these interactive instructional technologies, and that schools that have none will have priority.  Kris requested that MCPS share with MCCPTA the specifics for the plan (which schools, when and how many boards).  While capital budget funding has been used to purchase these technologies for elementary schools receiving modernizations and additions, the federal Education Rate (E-Rate) program fund has been used to finance payments for smartboards for secondary schools.  As we understand it, MCPS uses the E-Rate program to finance these technologies for those elementary schools that are not being modernized or renovated. The County Executive is apparently proposing using the E-Rate program fund for other purposes, potentially eliminating this funding source.  We will get additional details so that we can address this concern in our Operating Budget testimony before the Council.   

 

As always, please don't hesitate to ask questions or provide input.

 

Jean Schlesinger

Operating Budget Committee Chair

[email protected] 

 

 

MCPS follow up on TN2:

"In response to this afternoon's meeting where the elimination of the TN2 was discussed, Dr. Lacey wanted to be sure you had the following information regarding the criteria that will qualify Grade 2 students for the Center for Talented Youth at the Johns Hopkins University.

The following information was provided by Marie Smith, School Coordinator at the Center for Talented Youth,(CTY).

There are three criteria that qualify Grade 2 students for the CTY Talent Search, which "identifies, assesses, and recognizes the academic talents of highly able young people across the country and around the world":
1.  Achieve scores at or above the 95 percentile or higher on a nationally normed test or a CTY Parent Nomination Form; 
2.  Earn scores at advanced levels (advanced proficiency, distinguished, honors, etc.) on state tests or 
3.  Demonstrate superior academic performance

According to Ms. Smith, it is not unusual for Grade 2 students to not have scores from a nationally normed test, as most students are not assessed on nationally normed assessments until Grade 3 or later. Hence, Grade 2 students can be enrolled in the Talent Search via the CTY Parent Nomination Form.

It is important to note that, according to Ms. Smith, no Grade 2 student is ever denied access to the Talent Search because he/she has a Parent Nomination Form instead of scores from a  nationally normed assessment. 

Ms. Smith can be reached directly at 410-735-6229."

 

 

Montgomery County Council of PTAs thanks you for all that you do!