[1. Opening of Meeting - 10:00 a.m.]
[00:00:18]
GOOD MORNING, AND WELCOME TO THE BOARD OF EDUCATION'S FIRST F FY 2026 OPERATING BUDGET WORK SESSION.
I'M GOING TO DO A ROLL CALL, TO ESTABLISH A QUORUM.
I'M GOING TO START FROM MY LEFT PRANEEL SUVARNA, STUDENT, MEMBER OF THE BOARD.
EXCITED TO BE AT MY FIRST OPERATING BUDGET, WORK SESSION.
KARLA SILVESTRE, SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER AT LARGE.
WITH US IS GRACE RIVERA OVEN, DISTRICT ONE.
THANK YOU, EVERYONE FOR BEING HERE AND FOR WATCHING AT HOME.
GOOD MORNING, LAURA STEWART HERE.
WELCOME TO OPERATING BUDGET PALOOZA.
[2. Operating Budget Work Session: Overview]
GOOD MORNING, JULIE YANG, DISTRICT THREE.MAY I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE AGENDA FOR TODAY? SO MOVED. SECOND.
ALL IN FAVOR, RAISE YOUR HAND.
THAT'S UNANIMOUS WITH THOSE PRESENT.
ALL RIGHT, SO BEFORE WE BEGIN TODAY'S IMPORTANT BUDGET CONVERSATION, I WANT TO TAKE A MOMENT TO HIGHLIGHT THIS COMMITMENT TO ENSURING THAT OUR SCHOOLS REMAIN A PLACE OF OPPORTUNITY, GROWTH AND SUPPORT FOR ALL.
AND CREATING A BUDGET IS MORE THAN JUST CRUNCHING NUMBERS.
IT'S ABOUT INVESTING IN THE FUTURE AND STRENGTHENING OUR PROGRAMS. THIS PROCESS REFLECTS OUR VALUES AND THE HARD WORK AND DEDICATION OF THIS BOARD, THE ADMINISTRATION, AND ALL THE STAFF IN OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM.
WE REMAIN COMMITTED TO MAKING INFORMED, THOUGHTFUL DECISIONS THAT SERVE THE BEST INTERESTS OF OUR DISTRICT AND UPHOLD THE TRUST THAT YOU, THE COMMUNITY, HAVE PLACED IN US.
THANK YOU FOR JOINING US, AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO A PRODUCTIVE AND COLLABORATIVE DISCUSSION.
AND NOW THIS DISCRETIONARY REQUIREMENTS AND OVERVIEW OF THE BLUEPRINT.
STAFF SHOULD POINT OUT PERTINENT ISSUES THAT MY CONCERNED ABOUT.
AS ALWAYS, BOARD MEMBERS ARE FREE TO ASK QUESTIONS AT ANY POINT.
NOW, DUE TO THE LARGE QUANTITY OF THE INFORMATION, I WOULD LIKE FOR MEMBERS TO FOCUS ON QUESTIONS THAT WILL HELP YOU MAKE DECISIONS FOR THIS BUDGET.
A SECOND WORK SESSION WILL BE HELD ON JANUARY 22ND, AND OUR THIRD AND FINAL WARD SESSION WILL BE HELD MONDAY, JANUARY 30TH IN ADDITION, THE BOARD WILL HAVE TWO BUDGET HEARINGS AND THREE OTHER BUDGET COMMUNITY INFORMATION SESSION.
THE FIRST HEARING WILL BE ON JANUARY 16TH, 2025, AND A SECOND HEARING IS ON JANUARY 27TH.
BOTH HEARING BEGINS AT 6 P.M..
I WANT TO REMIND EVERYONE THAT BOI IS SCHEDULED TO TAKE TENTATIVE ACTION ON THE PROPOSED BUDGET IN FEBRUARY.
NOW, DOCTOR TAYLOR, DO YOU HAVE ANY COMMENTS BEFORE WE BEGIN TODAY'S CONVERSATION? I'M JUST REALLY EXCITED TO BE HERE AND, LOOK FORWARD TO, RICH DISCUSSION AND SOME, THOUGHTS AND DIRECTION FROM THE BOARD.
ALL RIGHT. SO, THEN LET'S BEGIN.
THIS THIS MORNING, I'M STANDING IN FOR OUR CFO, WHO IS AWAY ON FAMILY BUSINESS TODAY.
AND, WE'VE GOT A NUMBER OF GUESTS WHO ARE ALSO WITH ME TODAY WHO WILL CHIME IN.
DEPENDING ON SOME OF THE QUESTIONS THAT THE BOARD MAY ASK, WE'RE GOING TO GIVE A VERY BRIEF OVERVIEW AND GIVE YOU SOME HIGHLIGHTS OF SOME OF THE CHANGES THAT ARE LISTED IN TERMS OF REVENUE, AS WELL AS SOME OF THE CHANGES THAT ARE LISTED FOR NON-DISCRETIONARY REQUIREMENTS IN THE BUDGET IN ADDITION TO THE BLUEPRINT.
SO SOME REALLY EXCITING TOPICS FOR TODAY KIND OF SAID THAT IS A LITTLE HUMOROUS.
MAYBE I'LL GET A SMILE. OKAY. VERY GOOD.
BUT BUT WE WILL DIVE INTO SOME REALLY IMPORTANT TOPICS THIS MORNING.
JUST AS A REMINDER, THIS IS NOT A BUDGET OF CAKE.
THIS IS VERY MUCH A BUDGET OF VEGETABLES AND, SOME TOUGH THINGS THAT WE NEED TO ADDRESS.
NOT A LOT OF, THE THINGS THAT WE'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT TODAY ARE SUPER EXCITING.
THERE'S MANY THINGS THAT ARE ACTUALLY QUITE FRUSTRATING IN THIS PARTICULAR BUDGET THAT WE HAVE TO ADDRESS, BUT WE HAVE TO ADDRESS THEM, AND THEY ARE GOING TO BE PERSISTENT CHALLENGES THAT WE HAVE TO DEAL WITH FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL YEARS.
[00:05:03]
I REALLY APPRECIATE THE THE BOARD OF EDUCATION AND THE GUIDANCE THAT YOU GAVE ME VERY EARLY ON IN TERMS OF SETTING THE STAGE FOR, THIS BUDGET PROCESS.YOU MADE IT EASY FOR ME, ACTUALLY, TO HONE IN ON SOME OF THE COMMUNITY FEEDBACK THAT WE'VE RECEIVED ALREADY AND, HOW WE MIGHT, CREATE THE CONDITIONS TO MOVE THE MIC FORWARD.
SO THIS BUDGET IS REALLY ABOUT A HANDFUL OF THINGS.
AND, TO DISTILL THIS DOWN TO A HANDFUL OF THINGS, AND TO GIVE IT MEANING TO OUR COMMUNITY, THIS BUDGET IS ABOUT FOCUSING OUR ENERGIES AND EFFORTS INTO SUPPORTING SCHOOLS, MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE TAKING CARE OF WHAT HAPPENS IN THE CLASSROOM.
BEING VERY FOCUSED ON OUR FUNDAMENTALS AND THE THINGS THAT WE KNOW WORK, EXHIBITING GOOD FISCAL STEWARDSHIP AND THEN SHARING OUT IN A VERY TRANSPARENT WAY.
I'M VERY PROUD, THAT YESTERDAY WE TOOK OUR VERY ROBUST TABLE ONE, A DOCUMENT AND, ONLINE.
WE UPDATED THIS DOCUMENT YESTERDAY AND SENT OUT NOTICE TO THIS EFFECT.
WHEN WE DID THE ORIGINAL BUDGET PRESENTATION AS WELL, THAT WE ADDED EXHIBITS SO THAT OUR PUBLIC CAN KIND OF DRILL DOWN ON EACH INDIVIDUAL LINE AND SEE, WHAT WHAT COMPRISES SOME OF THE, THE NUMBERS THAT ARISE IN THE BUDGET. THIS IS NEW.
THIS IS A NEW LEVEL OF TRANSPO FOR M.C.P.S.
AND WE ARE THRILLED TO BRING THAT FORWARD.
THIS FIRST WORK SESSION, AS WE POINTED OUT, IS LARGELY ABOUT REVENUES, ABOUT BLUEPRINT EXPENDITURES AND NON-DISCRETIONARY EXPENDITURES.
AND TO TRANSLATE A LITTLE BIT OF THAT, OUR NON-DISCRETIONARY EXPENDITURES ARE THE THINGS THAT ARE TIED TO CONTRACT, TIED TO LAW, TIED TO POLICY AND REGULATION.
AND THEN, OF COURSE, ROBUST BOARD QUESTIONS, ANSWERS AND DISCUSSION.
OUR NEXT BOARD, WORK SESSION WILL FOCUS LARGELY ON DISCRETIONARY EXPENDITURES AND MORE BOARD Q&A.
AND THEN OUR FINAL WORK SESSION, TALK ABOUT CHANGES TO OUR BASE BUDGET REORGANIZATION AND, CLOSE OUT OUR BUDGET DISCUSSION AND GIVING DIRECTION TO THE SUPERINTENDENT AND STAFF ON ON WHAT THE FINAL BUDGET ADOPTION SHOULD LOOK LIKE, ON THE BOARD'S BEHALF.
SO JUST TO REVISIT VERY BRIEFLY, OUR STRATEGY, OUR APPROACH, OUR APPROACH IS VERY MUCH, FOCUSED ON A HANDFUL OF THINGS, THAT WE AIM TO DO IN THIS BUDGET TO LEVERAGE BETTER OUTCOMES FOR OUR STUDENTS AND FOR OUR COMMUNITY.
WE DO NEED TO RETURN TO HIGHER EXPECTATIONS FOR ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE.
WE DO NEED TO INVEST IN OUR TEAM.
WE NEED TO HAVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS THAT ARE SAFE, WELCOMING, SUPPORTIVE, AND INCLUSIVE.
WE NEED TO HAVE SYSTEMS, STRUCTURES, AND PROCESSES THAT MAKE, FOR A CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT ENVIRONMENT.
WE NEED TO PROVIDE A DIFFERENT LEVEL AND LAYER OF SUPPORT THAN WHAT WE HAVE BEEN DOING ALREADY FOR SCHOOLS.
WE NEED TO ORGANIZE IN A WAY THAT SUPPORTS OUR SCHOOLS, AND WE NEED TO RECOGNIZE THAT NOT EVERY STUDENT WHO WALKS INTO OUR SCHOOL HOUSES, COMES WITH THE SAME, TOOLKIT.
WHEN THEY, WHEN THEY SHOW UP AND THAT WE NEED TO ADJUST OUR APPROACH, TO MEET THE NEEDS OF OUR VARIOUS LEARNERS.
AND THEN FINALLY, WE NEED TO HAVE A BIG OLD PLATE OF FISCAL VEGETABLES.
WE NEED TO HAVE SOME DISCIPLINE AND SOME INTERNAL CONTROLS ON HOW WE MANAGE OUR MONEY AND HOW WE PLAN FOR THE MANAGING OF OUR MONEY OVER A MULTI-YEAR PERIOD OF TIME.
AND IT BRINGS US TO OUR REVENUE PICTURE AND WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR AND WHAT OUR REQUEST IS.
I WILL SAY THAT THERE ARE A LOT OF VARIABLES ON THIS PAGE, AND, THAT IN THE PAST WE WOULD HAVE A MUCH CLEARER PICTURE OF WHAT SOME OF THESE VARIABLES MIGHT LOOK LIKE.
AND, WE DON'T THERE IS ACTUALLY A LOT OF QUESTION MARKS, THAT LAY AHEAD BOTH IN THE FEDERAL LANDSCAPE.
GRANTED, THE FEDERAL FISCAL CALENDAR IS A CALENDAR THAT STARTS JANUARY TO DECEMBER, AND OUR BUDGET CALENDAR IS JULY TO JUNE.
BUT LOOKING AHEAD AT WHAT OUR FISCAL LANDSCAPE MIGHT LOOK LIKE AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL HAS SOME QUESTION MARKS.
THE GOVERNOR IS SET TO RELEASE HIS, BUDGET PROPOSAL, VERY SOON AS WELL.
THAT SHOULD ALSO ILLUMINATE, SOME OF OUR, REVENUE PICTURE.
AND THEN, OF COURSE, OUR COUNTY GOVERNMENT HAS ITS PROCESS.
ONCE, THE BOARD CONCLUDES WITH, YOUR PROCESS.
WE HAVE A NUMBER OF THINGS TO, TO, TO KEEP IN MIND AS WE ARE TRYING TO PUT FORWARD A PROPOSAL THAT BOTH MEETS OUR NEEDS AND ALSO LIVES WITHIN OUR MEANS AT THE SAME TIME.
GOING INTO A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL, YOU'LL SEE, THAT BY COMPARISON, FROM LAST YEAR, TO THIS YEAR,
[00:10:04]
WE ARE PROJECTING A DECREASE IN FEDERAL REVENUE.A SLIGHT INCREASE IN STATE REVENUE AND A VERY SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN LOCAL REVENUE.
ALL OF THIS IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE.
AS I MENTIONED EARLIER AND, JUST AS AN ARTIFACT FOR OUR FRIENDS THAT ARE VIEWING AT HOME, THAT WE ARE LOOKING VERY INTENTLY AT THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING AT THE STATE, FEDERAL AND LOCAL LEVELS AND, THE, THE DECISIONS THAT ARE MADE IN ANNAPOLIS, THE DECISIONS THAT ARE MADE IN WASHINGTON, AND, OF COURSE, THE DECISIONS THAT ARE MADE IN ROCKVILLE THAT HAVE AN IMPACT ON OUR REVENUE PICTURE.
LOOKING AT OUR BLUEPRINT, WHICH IS A BIG COMPONENT OF OUR BUDGET AND, IS, A FOCAL POINT OF THIS YEAR BECAUSE WE HAVE EXPAND THAT IS PLANNED, TIED TO THE BLUEPRINT, PARTICULARLY IN PILLAR NUMBER ONE, WHICH IS EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION, AS WELL AS, MEETING THE, NATIONAL BOARD CERTIFIED TEACHER REQUIREMENTS IN PILLAR TWO AND SOME OF OUR COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS, ASSESSMENT REQUIREMENTS IN PILLAR THREE.
WE DO HAVE SOME EXPENDITURES THAT ARE TIED, TO THE BLUEPRINT THIS YEAR THAT ARE PLANNED.
OUR CURRENT TOTALS, THAT WE HAVE COMMITTED, TO BLUEPRINT EXPENDITURE YEARS REFLECT $30.1 MILLION.
NOW, I WILL SAY THAT THAT THAT IS IN, IN ADDITION TO SOME OF OUR ALREADY EXISTING OPERATIONS.
THAT IF WE WERE TO TIE, MUCH OF WHAT WE DO IN TERMS OF COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS, THAT NUMBER IS ACTUALLY MUCH, MUCH BIGGER BECAUSE WE HAVE, A LOT OF OUR EXISTING EFFORTS PRIOR TO THE BLUEPRINTS CONCEPTION THAT ARE ALSO REFLECTED IN, OUR, OUR BLUEPRINT OUTLOOK.
SOME THINGS THAT, THAT WE ARE STILL LOOKING FOR SOME CLARITY, FROM THE STATE, ABOUT HAVE TO DO WITH, THE, THE REGULATIONS AND ROLES THAT, DIFFERENT STATE ENTITIES HAVE IN TERMS OF BLUEPRINT.
THERE SEEMS TO BE A LOT THAT'S STILL IN THE AIR.
AND THERE IS ALSO SOME ADVOCACY, EVEN IN, THE BOARD'S LEGISLATIVE AGENDA ABOUT ADDRESSING SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE THINK COULD BE TIGHTENED UP A LITTLE BIT, TIED TO BLUEPRINT.
WHEN WE LOOK AT OUR EXPENDITURES THIS YEAR AND WHAT WE HAVE PROPOSED, WE ARE LOOKING AT, THE POTENTIAL OF ADDING 13 GENERAL EDUCATION AND 15, SPECIAL EDUCATION, CLASSROOMS, IN ADDITION TO TEN SPECIAL EDUCATION COLLABORATIVE CLASSROOMS AND TO OUR, EARLY CHILDHOOD MIX.
THIS IS, BOTH REALLY EXCITING, A TREMENDOUS AND POSITIVE INVESTMENT FOR OUR COMMUNITY.
BUT IT ALSO COMES AT A AT A SIGNIFICANT EXPENSE.
MOVING ON TO THE NEXT, FOCAL POINT, AND THIS MAY ACTUALLY BE A GOOD TIME TO TO PAUSE IF YOU WANT, MADAM PRESIDENT TO HAVE A DISCUSSION ABOUT THE BLUEPRINT COMPONENTS.
AND WE COULD KIND OF GO BACK AND AND HIT THE NEXT SECTION IF YOU WANT.
JANINE, OF COURSE, IS HERE, OUR BLUEPRINT DIRECTOR AND, RESIDENT EXPERT.
AND, THERE ARE ALSO SOME MATERIALS AT YOUR DESK THAT, REFLECT, SOME OF OUR BLUEPRINT OUTLAY AS WELL.
I, I DO THINK THIS IS A GOOD PLACE.
I'M GOING TO TURN TO MY COLLEAGUES TO SEE IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS.
AND WHEN WE COME TO THE STAFF, BEFORE YOU ANSWER THE QUESTION, INTRODUCE YOURSELF.
OKAY. I'M GOING TO START FROM THE RIGHT HAND SIDE.
LAURA STEWART HERE. I NEEDED TO KNOW, MORE ABOUT THE BLUEPRINT.
I SEE, YOU KNOW, I SEE THE MONEY THAT CAME IN FROM STATE AID 39 MILLION.
AND I SEE THAT WE HAD, THE 30, WHAT, 30.1 MILLION THAT YOU MENTIONED IN YOUR SLIDE? I'M A LITTLE UNCLEAR.
HOW MUCH ARE WE SPENDING ABOVE THE STATE AID FOR BLUEPRINT? GO FOR IT.
LET'S MAKE SURE THAT, I THINK THAT WE, HAVE SOME ONGOING COSTS THAT ACTUALLY HAVEN'T BEEN COMPLETELY TALLIED.
SO WHEN WE LOOK AT THE 30 MILLION, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THINGS THAT WE ABSOLUTELY NEED TO DO IN TERMS OF MANDATES.
BUT SOME OF THESE PIECES HAVE BEEN IN PLACE OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS.
SO THERE HAVE BEEN SOME ONGOING COSTS.
THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE BLUEPRINT BECAUSE IT'S A STATE LAW.
SO IT I WOULD SAY IT'S MUCH MORE THAN THAT.
I DON'T HAVE THE EXACT AMOUNTS RIGHT NOW.
AND JUST AS ONE ILLUSTRATION, FOR EXAMPLE, ONE OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF BLUEPRINT WAS AN ADJUSTMENT TO THE SALARY SCALE FOR STARTING TEACHERS THAT, FOR EXAMPLE.
SO SOME OF THOSE LIKE BIG EMBEDDED PIECES DON'T NECESSARILY STAND OUT.
[00:15:03]
THESE REALLY ARE THE MORE SORT OF DISCRETE REQUIREMENTS, AS JANINE WAS MENTIONING.AND AS DOCTOR TAYLOR SAID, WE REALLY, HAVE A LOT OF OUR ONGOING WORK THAT IS EITHER PREEXISTING OR RESPONSIVE TO BLUEPRINT, BUT WAS NOT NECESSARILY A SPECIFIC ADD ON FOR A SPECIFIC PIECE.
SO THIS IS REALLY SORT OF AN ENUMERATION.
AND THOSE BLUEPRINT DOLLARS FROM THE STATE ALSO SUPPORT SOME OF THE VERY SPECIFIC RESTRICTED FUNDS SUCH AS COMMUNITY SCHOOLS.
SO, SO THERE THERE ARE A NUMBER OF LAYERS TO THAT, TO THOSE ASPECTS AS WELL.
I THINK I, ACTUALLY SENT AN EMAIL TO THE ADMINISTRATION ASKING FOR A MORE DETAILED NUMBER, AND WE WILL BE ABLE TO SHARE ONCE WE GET THAT NUMBER.
WELL, AND IT'S AN INTERESTING QUESTION TO FOR A COUPLE OF REASONS, BECAUSE, WE COMPENSATE IN THE COMPENSATION QUESTION, THERE'S AN EXPECTATION IN THE BLUEPRINT THAT WE COMPENSATE TEACHERS.
THE STARTING SALARY ABOVE 60,000.
WHAT WE DO THAT, WE ARE, ONE OF THE FEW DISTRICTS IN MARYLAND THAT DOES.
AND SO THE QUESTION THEN COMES, WOULD WE BE DOING THAT ANYWAY BECAUSE THE LABOR MARKET DIRECTS THAT, OR ARE WE TYING THAT BACK TO BLUEPRINT? AND IT'S A GRAY AREA, SO IT'S HARD FOR US TO DISCERN WHETHER OR NOT THAT IS A BLUEPRINT EXPENSE.
AND THE EXPENSE OF THAT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN 59 NINE, 99 VERSUS WHEN WE'VE CROSSED THAT THRESHOLD.
EVERY NICKEL BEYOND THAT, DOES THAT THEN NOW BE TIED TO BLUEPRINT, OR IS THAT JUST US MEETING THE LABOR MARKET DEMAND? I THINK THERE'S PROBABLY A WAY WE COULD WE LIKE FOR INSTANCE, WE KNOW THAT WE WERE ALREADY GOING TO PAY OUR TEACHERS A PREMIUM.
BUT SOME OF THE OTHER AREAS ARE A LITTLE MORE GRAY, I FEEL.
SO YEAH, I JUST I'M TRYING TO DETERMINE, HOW MUCH OF THE UNFUNDED MANDATES DO WE HAVE? SO ANYWAY, THAT THAT'S WHERE I'M THINKING.
YEAH. I JUST WANTED TO PROVIDE ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF THAT.
UNDER THE TEACHER COMPENSATION BETWEEN 2019 AND 2024, WE WERE REQUIRED TO INCREASE TEACHER SALARIES BY 10%.
SO WOULD THERE LIKELY BE SOME TEACHER INCREASE DURING THAT PERIOD OF TIME? YES.
WOULD IT HAVE ACHIEVED THE 10%? I'M NOT SURE, BUT WE WERE MANDATED TO DO THAT.
I THINK THE OTHER THING IS THAT, MONTGOMERY COUNTY IS ALSO SUBJECT TO THE WEALTH EQUALIZATION.
AND BECAUSE WE'VE HAD A FEW INCREASES IN WEALTH IN THE COUNTY, THEN OUR SHARE BECOMES LARGER.
I THINK ON AVERAGE, THE PRE-K IS FUNDED BY THE STATE AT ABOUT 30% OF WHAT THOSE COSTS ARE.
AND THEN THE TEACHER COMPENSATION AT ABOUT 36%.
SO THERE IS A LOCAL AND STATE SHARE, BUT OUR SHARE IS IS SOMETIMES MUCH GREATER THAN IT MIGHT BE IN OTHER JURISDICTIONS.
AND SO THAT THOSE ACCOUNT FOR SOME OF THOSE ADDITIONAL COSTS.
BUT I THINK THERE'S A WAY THAT WE CAN WORK TO BE ABLE TO CALCULATE THAT. BUT I WOULD SAY THAT THAT'S THE CASE ACROSS ALL OF THE PILLARS.
SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT WHAT WE DISCRETELY HAVE TO DO FROM YEAR TO YEAR, AND THEN WHAT WE'VE DONE OVER A PERIOD OF TIME, I WOULD HOW LATE THAT IS A MUCH GREATER AMOUNT.
BUT I THINK WE CAN WORK TO, TO DETERMINING AN APPROXIMATE COST.
THOSE NUMBERS YOU JUST GAVE HELP US HAVE A FULLER PICTURE.
SO I APPRECIATE THAT. THANK YOU.
ALL RIGHT, MISS MONTOUR, THANK YOU FOR THAT.
WITH THE PERCENTAGE BREAKDOWN, THAT WAS ACTUALLY REALLY HELPFUL.
AND THAT WAS ONE OF MY QUESTIONS AS WELL.
AND IF YOU HAVE ANY MORE INFORMATION LIKE THAT, THAT WOULD BE REALLY HELPFUL FOR US.
IN REGARDS TO ON YOUR SLIDE, SO TWO THINGS, YOU SAID THAT THERE'S A POSSIBLE MAJOR REDUCTION IN STATE FUNDING.
SO I'D LIKE TO LEARN A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT.
YES. THERE IS WE'VE JUST STARTED THE NEW LEGISLATIVE SESSION FOR FY FOR 2026.
AND THE, GOVERNOR HAS PROPOSED THAT WE FREEZE FOR FOUR YEARS, THE COLLABORATIVE TEACHING TIME PORTION OR REQUIREMENT OF THE BLUEPRINT THAT THAT THOSE FUNDS WOULD BE FROZEN FOR THE NEXT FOUR YEARS.
THE ACCOUNTABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION BOARD, WHICH IS THE ENTITY THAT OVERSEES THE BLUEPRINT, AND HAS JURISDICTION OVER MSD CONCERNING THE BLUEPRINT, HAS ALSO PUBLISHED A STATEMENT THAT IS VERY CLOSELY ALIGNED WITH WHAT THE GOVERNOR'S RECOMMENDATION IS.
SO ESSENTIALLY, WHAT IT IS SAYING IS THAT THE AMOUNT OF FUNDS THAT WOULD BE GIVEN TO EACH SCHOOL DISTRICT OR THE TEACHER COLLABORATIVE TIME IS, ESTIMATED TO BE CALCULATED AT APPROXIMATELY $163 TIMES YOUR STUDENT ENROLLMENT.
SO FOR M.C.P.S, IF WE HAVE AN ENROLLMENT OF APPROXIMATELY 155,000, THERE IS A POTENTIAL FOR US TO HAVE A REDUCTION OF $25 MILLION.
SO WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THE LEGISLATIVE OUTCOME IS GOING TO BE.
WE'RE STILL ALSO WAITING THIS WEEK, TO SEE WHAT THE GOVERNOR RELEASES IN HIS BUDGET.
[00:20:03]
BUT THERE IS A POTENTIAL FOR US TO LOSE $25 MILLION.AND I THINK M.C.P.S OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS AND INCLUDING THIS YEAR, HAS REALLY INVESTED A LOT OF TIME AND ENERGY ON THIS TOPIC OF TEACHER PLANNING AND WORKING WITH NCA.
AND SO THE POTENTIAL IMPACT ON US IN TERMS OF OUR EFFORTS, OUR EXISTING EFFORTS FOR TEACHER COLLABORATIVE WORK, AS WELL AS THE IMPACT ON THE FOUNDATION FUNDING FORMULAS COULD BE SIGNIFICANT.
SO THERE IS A THERE IS A LIKELIHOOD THAT THAT WILL HAPPEN.
BUT WE DON'T KNOW UNTIL THIS SESSION PLAYS ITSELF OUT.
YOU KNOW, IF THAT HAPPENS, DO WE KNOW THEN HOW WE'RE GOING TO MOVE THESE THINGS AROUND? BECAUSE EVEN IF WE'VE ALREADY BEEN DOING THAT, WE CAN'T THEN JUST SAY, WELL, IT'S ON PAUSE NOW.
YOU KNOW, THAT IN ITSELF COULD BE DISRUPTIVE.
AND I THINK THEY, THEY'VE JUST PUT THIS PLAN OUT FOR THIS WEEK.
SO I THINK AS WE HAVE HAD TO DO IN PAST YEARS, WE'LL HAVE TO SORT OF REGROUP, RECALIBRATE, MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE IN COMPLIANCE WITH WHAT THE STATE REQUIRES OF US.
ALSO WHAT HOW THAT WILL IMPACT OUR POTENTIAL PLANNING FOR THE FOR THE ROLLOUT OF A CAREER LADDER LEVEL FOUR THAT LEADS TO TEACHER LEAD POSITIONS AS WELL AS ADMINISTRATORS WILL HAVE TO RECONSIDER ALL OF THAT, AND TAKE A LOOK AT THAT AND SORT OF REGROUP OUR PLAN FOR MEETING THOSE REQUIREMENTS.
AND THEN I HAVE ONE QUESTION ABOUT THE, AB IB FEES.
DO WE HAVE ANY INFORMATION ABOUT HOW MANY OF THOSE STUDENTS WHOSE FEES ARE BEING PAID FOR BY M.C.P.S OR EVEN FOR DUAL ENROLLMENT, AS WELL, OUR FARMS VERSUS NON FARMS. AND THEN ALSO AND IT COULD BE BY PERCENTAGE IF YOU'D LIKE, HOW MUCH PERCENT OF THE FUNDING OF THAT IS THE STATE COVERING.
BECAUSE THAT IS SOMETHING WE ARE REQUIRED TO DO BY STATE LAW.
OH, WE ARE REQUIRED TO DO THAT BY STATE LAW.
I THINK AND I BELIEVE THAT WE CAN GET THE NUMBERS TO DETERMINE HOW MANY OF THOSE STUDENTS ARE ELIGIBLE FOR FREE AND REDUCED MEALS SERVICES.
BUT THE STATE LAW REQUIRES THAT WE COVER CURRENTLY, IT REQUIRES THAT WE COVER ALL OF THE COSTS FOR THOSE STUDENTS WHO ARE ELIGIBLE FOR THE AP, IB, AND DUAL ENROLLMENT.
SO THE STATE PROVIDES A CERTAIN ALLOCATION, AND THEY HAVE SORT OF AN ESTIMATED NUMBER.
BUT ANYTHING THAT EXCEEDS THAT OR ANY ADDITIONAL COSTS THAT WE MAY HAVE OUR FUNDS THAT MCPS HAS TO PROVIDE IN ORDER TO MEET THAT MANDATE.
IT IS QUITE A BIT A LARGE AMOUNT.
AND HOW MUCH? I GUESS THAT'S WHAT I'M WONDERING.
LIKE, EVEN IF IT'S JUST A BALLPARK, I'D LIKE TO KNOW HOW MUCH YOU KNOW, KIND OF WHAT MS..
STEWART'S QUESTION WAS IS HOW MUCH IS UNFUNDED? RIGHT.
WE'RE REQUIRED TO DO THIS, BUT HOW MUCH ARE WE HAVING TO COME UP WITH ON OUR OWN? SO A COUPLE OF THINGS.
THIS IS ALSO SOMETHING THAT'S A PART OF THE BOARD'S LEGISLATIVE AGENDA AT THE STATE HOUSE.
AND, AND IT IS ONE OF YOUR LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES THAT WE HAVE THE FLEXIBILITY TO ADDRESS THIS AND DIFFERENTIATE OUR APPROACH TO FUNDING.
THIS IS REFLECTED AS A $2.1 MILLION INCREASE IN WHAT WE CURRENTLY EXPEND, FOR AP IB TESTING FEES.
IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE, TOO, THAT THERE ARE, SOME INADVERTENT PIECES THAT KIND OF COME WITH THIS BECAUSE, THERE IS AN EXPECTATION THAT STUDENTS THAT TAKE THESE ASSESSMENTS, THAT THEY REGISTER IN THE FALL, AND SOMETIMES THOSE STUDENTS DON'T, FULFILL THAT, THAT EXPECTATION IN THE SPRING AND THAT WE ARE ON THE HOOK FOR THE COST AS WELL, WITHOUT A LOT OF RECOURSE.
SO, US ADJUSTING, THAT EXPECTATION AND US, COMPLYING AND HAVING DIFFERENT GUIDELINES MIGHT ACTUALLY BE A HUGE RELIEF TO US AND CREATE SOME FINANCIAL BENEFIT. OKAY.
AND I, I'D LIKE TO HEAR TO AND IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE RIGHT NOW.
BUT ALSO THEN ABOUT HOW MUCH AGAIN BALLPARK ARE WE LOSING TO STUDENTS THAT ARE REGISTERING AND THEN NOT THEY DON'T END UP TAKING THE TEST.
I WANT TO, IN THE INTEREST OF TIME, LET'S EACH HAVE ONE QUESTION FIRST.
IF WE HAVE ADDITIONAL TIME, THEN WE WILL COME BACK.
MR.. MISS MOORE, THAT'S A LITTLE BIT UNFAIR AT THIS POINT IN TIME.
YES, I UNDER I UNDERSTAND THAT, I UNDERSTAND I'M GOING TO ASK WHAT I REALLY DID TO HAVE A QUESTION, BUT I WANTED JEANINE TO TALK ABOUT THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE I B BECAUSE I THINK THAT WILL HELP PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THAT THERE ARE A LOT OF UNFUNDED MANDATES HERE.
EVERY DISTRICT IS COMPLAINING ABOUT THE SAME THING.
AND UNTIL THE LEGISLATIVE START TALKING ABOUT IT, WE WON'T HAVE ANY REAL IDEAS.
BUT THEIR BELIEF IS THAT THE THE SCHOOL SYSTEMS HAVE NOT BEEN EDUCATING STUDENTS THE WAY THEY NEED TO, AND THEREFORE THEY'RE GOING TO TAKE CONTROL.
THE DIFFICULTY IS THAT THEY ARE NOT YEAH, THEY'RE NOT IN THE COUNTIES WORKING IN THE SCHOOLS TO KNOW,
[00:25:02]
THE ISSUES.THEY'RE SORT OF EDUCATIONAL EXPERTS.
BUT I THINK IT WOULD HELP, JANINE, IF YOU SHARED THAT THE I BE REALLY AT THIS POINT ISN'T INTERESTED IN WHETHER OR NOT WE HAVE THE FUNDS THEY WANT THIS DONE.
I THINK YOU ASKED ME TO INTRODUCE MYSELF EARLIER, JANINE MACKEY.
I THINK THAT, AS, AS I MEET ON A MONTHLY BASIS WITH ALL OF THE OTHER LOCAL SCHOOL SYSTEMS, ALL THE OTHER BLUEPRINT STAFF, WE HAVE A RUNNING AGENDA OF QUESTIONS THAT WE HAVE REGARDING GUIDANCE OR LACK OF GUIDANCE THAT WE'RE GETTING FROM THE ACCOUNTABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION BOARD.
AND SOME OF THESE QUESTIONS HAVE BEEN ON RUNNING LISTS THAT WE'VE HAD FOR MORE THAN A YEAR.
GETTING SOME OF THE GUIDANCE IN A TIMELY FASHION AND GETTING SOME OF THE GUIDANCE IN A WAY THAT SORT OF EXPLAINS EXACTLY WHAT WE NEED TO DO HAS BEEN A CHALLENGE.
WE RECEIVED GUIDANCE LAST SPRING, IN THE BEGINNING OF JUNE.
BY THE END OF JUNE, WE HAD WE HAD TO SUBMIT CAREER LADDERS LEVEL ONE, TWO AND THREE.
SO IT WAS A VERY SHORT TURNAROUND TIME FOR US TO BE ABLE TO MAKE ADJUSTMENTS FOR US TO BE ABLE TO NEGOTIATE WITH UNIONS.
AND SO IT CAUSED SOME DIFFICULTIES.
AND FOR ALL OF THE PIECES OF THE GUIDANCE THAT THEY PROVIDED, THERE WERE PROBABLY AT LEAST 5 OR 6 QUESTIONS THAT CAME BACK FROM THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS ASKING THEM TO SORT OF EXPLAIN, SOME OF THE GUIDANCE, OR THERE WERE DIFFERENT SCENARIOS BASED ON HOW DIFFERENT SYSTEMS HAVE THEIR CONTRACTS NEGOTIATED WITH THEIR TEACHERS.
AND SO, AGAIN, WE'RE HAVING FRUSTRATION WITH THAT.
FOR EXAMPLE, WE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE ROLLING OUT A TIER TWO FOR PRE-K LEVEL NEXT YEAR, 300 TO 600%, AT THE POVERTY LEVEL FOR OUR PRE-K STUDENTS, FOR A FULL DAY.
WE STILL HAVE NOT RECEIVED THE GUIDANCE ON THAT.
MOST SCHOOL DISTRICTS ARE STARTING THEIR RECRUITMENT AND ENROLLMENT PROCESSES IN MARCH.
SO IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO IMPLEMENT THAT OR TO DETERMINE IF PARENTS WHOSE INCOME IS ABOVE THE STATE, GUIDANCE WOULD PAY TUITION, THERE'S BEEN NO INFORMATION ON THAT.
SO ONE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS WAS THAT THEY PUT TOGETHER A COMMITTEE, AND THE COMMITTEE WOULD QUICKLY MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS TO ROLL OUT TO US.
WE DON'T HAVE ANY ANSWERS FOR THAT.
ANOTHER EXAMPLE WOULD BE THE WAIVER PROCESS FOR ADMINISTRATORS.
SHOULD THEY HAVE TO RECEIVE THEIR NATIONAL BOARD CERTIFICATION OR BASED ON THEIR EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION AND LOCAL TRAINING, WOULD THEY BE EXEMPT FROM THE NVQ PROCESS AND SPECIFICALLY ASKING FOR THE CORRELATION BETWEEN THE OUTCOMES FOR GNVQ AND THE ADMINISTRATIVE PARALLELS? WE THEY'RE NOT GOING TO ADDRESS THAT FOR AT LEAST A YEAR.
AND WE DID JUST GET SOME GUIDANCE REGARDING THE PRE-K PARENT EDUCATION WAIVER.
WHETHER THEY HAVE TO HAVE A CHILD DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATE'S OR AN ASSOCIATE'S DEGREE, WE'VE BEEN ASKING FOR THAT FOR TWO YEARS.
SO I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF FRUSTRATION.
AND THE RESPONSE REALLY IS WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO MEET THESE MANDATES.
AND THERE ISN'T ONE DISTRICT IN THOSE CONVERSATIONS THAT IS AN INTERESTED IN MEETING THE MANDATES, THAT IS AN INTERESTED IN AND CLOSING THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP AND MOVING OUR STUDENTS FORWARD IN TERMS OF WELLNESS AND ACHIEVEMENT.
BUT IT'S VERY DIFFICULT TO DO THAT IF OUR HANDS ARE TIED BECAUSE WE NEED TIME TO MEET WITH VARIOUS OFFICES.
IT'S CERTAINLY IMPACTFUL FOR US AND M.C.P.S BECAUSE WE'RE THE LARGEST DISTRICT IN THE STATE.
SO FOR THE SMALLER ONES AND THE VERY LARGE ONES, IT PRESENTS EVEN MORE OF A CHALLENGE BECAUSE WE HAVE TO EVEN FOR PRE-K, IT INVOLVES MULTIPLE OFFICES, TRANSPORTATION, FOOD SERVICES, FACILITIES IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO IMPLEMENT THESE PLANS.
SO I JUST WANT TO JUST REITERATE AND SORT OF CORROBORATE WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, THAT THERE ARE SOME FRUSTRATIONS.
I ALSO THINK THAT WE DO THE AIB DOES RELY ON NUMEROUS EXPERTS THAT THEY BRING IN, AND THEY THEY CITE A LOT OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH, WHICH I THINK IS IMPORTANT.
BUT WHAT IT ACTUALLY LOOKS LIKE ON THE GROUND IN A SCHOOL SYSTEM IN MARYLAND, IT CAN BE FRUSTRATING SOMETIMES TRYING TO WORK THROUGH ALL OF THESE PIECES AND SEE HOW WE CAN MAKE ALL OF THAT FIT.
SO I THINK THAT'S ANOTHER CHALLENGE.
AND THE RESPONSE TO THAT REALLY IS IT'S A STATE MANDATE.
SO EVEN WHEN SCHOOL SYSTEMS, PROPOSE, SOME ALTERNATIVES.
WHAT ABOUT THIS? CAN WE DO THIS OR THAT.
IT'S REALLY WERE MET WITH YOU HAVE TO MEET THE MANDATE.
IF IT'S UNFUNDED, THEY'RE SAYING YOU HAVE TO LOOK IN YOUR BUDGET AND CUT SOMETHING ELSE BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO DO THESE MANDATES.
BUT SCHOOL SYSTEMS ARE SAYING WE HAVE FIXED COSTS, WE HAVE TRANSPORTATION, WE HAVE FUEL, WE HAVE HEAT.
WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, GETTING SCHOOL SYSTEMS ARE GETTING FUNDS FROM THEIR COUNTY GOVERNMENT.
SOME OF THEM ARE SAYING THE IN ORDER TO IMPLEMENT THIS, IT WOULD COMPETE WITH THE FUNDS THAT MAY GO FOR TRANSPORTATION OR FIRE OR HEALTH HEALTH DEPARTMENT, SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
SO REALLY WE HAVE VERY LITTLE FLEXIBILITY IN BEING ABLE TO MAKE ANY ADJUSTMENTS OR TO LOOK AT THE TIMELINES AND SUGGEST WHAT IS MORE REASONABLE.
AND I UNDERSTAND THEIR CONCERN.
THERE'S THE URGENCY OF NOW FOR OUR STUDENTS,
[00:30:01]
BUT THERE HAS TO BE SOME FLEXIBILITY IN HOW WE'RE ABLE TO BE ABLE TO CARRY OUT THESE MANDATES WITH OUR OTHER REQUIREMENTS.WELL, THANK YOU FOR THAT, JANINE, BECAUSE WE SPENT HOURS TALKING TO THE OTHER 23 DISTRICTS.
AND FLEXIBILITY IS THE WORD THAT WE'RE ALL GOING FOR.
AND SO FAR IT'S FALLING ON DEAF EARS.
SO I JUST WANTED YOU TO SHARE THAT SO THAT PEOPLE WOULD KNOW THAT WE DON'T HAVE A LOT OF OPPORTUNITY HERE, OR EVEN QUESTIONS THAT WE CAN REALLY ANSWER.
THANK YOU, MISS WOLFF, MISS RIVERA, OTHERS.
THANKS, JEANNIE. NICE TO SEE YOU.
I ALSO WANT TO ECHO, SOMEBODY WHO'S SAID ON THE MOVE, EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, I HEAR THIS FROM THE OTHER COUNTIES.
THE LACK OF BEING ABLE TO DO WHAT YOU HAVE.
AND OUR POPULATION NUMBERS ARE VERY DIFFERENT TO SOME OTHER COUNTY POPULATION.
SO THE WAY THIS WAS IMPLEMENTED WAS ONE GLOVE SIZE FITS ALL.
AND WE ARE FINDING OUT VERY QUICKLY THAT THAT'S NOT VERY WELL FITTING FOR COUNTIES LIKE MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
SO WITH THAT BEING SAID, YOU KNOW, WITH THE PRE-K, ROLLOUT THAT WE'RE DOING, I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THE COMMUNITY UNDERSTANDS AND FOLKS WHO ARE FUNDING M.C.P.S, THAT THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS, LIKE YOU SAID, ONLY LIKE 30% OF IT IS GOING TO BE FUNDED BY THE STATE, WHICH MEANS 70% OF THAT HAS TO BE FUNDED BY US.
SO WHEN WE ARE, YOU KNOW, MAKING NOW ALL THOSE PART TIME POSITIONS INTO FULL TIME, RIGHT? THERE'S A LOT OF CALLS, INCLUDING TRANSPORTATION THAT COMES ALONG WITH IT.
AND A LOT OF FOLKS DON'T UNDERSTAND THAT PRE-K TRANSPORTATION IS NOT EVEN PART OF THE FORMULA OF THE STATE THAT WE KNOW THE STATE ONLY IS REQUIRED TO FUND TRANSPORTATION FOR KINDERGARTEN THROUGH 12TH GRADE.
SO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT PRE-K AND STARTING EARLY AND WE ALL KNOW, RIGHT, AND SCIENCE SUPPORTS THAT, AND WE HAVE ALL THIS EVIDENCE OF LEARNING THAT WHEN WE START PRE-K, THE KIDS ARE MUCH BETTER OFF LONG TERM.
BUT YET THEY STILL, YOU KNOW, THIS IS SOMETHING, YOU KNOW, THAT HAS TO BE, MADE BETTER AT THE STATE LEVEL, THAT THEY HAVE TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE TRANSPORTATION, ESPECIALLY FOR COUNTIES LIKE MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
IS A HUGE PART WHERE WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO DO THE FUNDING ON THAT.
AND LIKE YOU SAID, IT HAS TO BE DONE.
AND I THINK THIS IS DIFFERENT SITUATION FOR, YOU KNOW, FOR, FOR A LOT OF, A LOT OF COUNTIES.
SO WITH THAT BEING SAID, WHEN I LOOK AT THE COLLEGE CAREER READINESS, PILLAR NUMBER THREE, I THINK I WOULD BE ALSO GOOD TO KNOW, LIKE IN THESE PILLARS WHERE WE ARE DOING THE FUNDING, IT WILL BE GOOD TO KNOW HOW MUCH OF THE FUNDING THAT WE'RE PUTTING IN TO IT IS SO THAT SO EVERYBODY KNOWS EXACTLY THE COST TO TO MONTGOMERY COUNTY AND INVESTMENT THAT WE'RE PUTTING IN.
AND THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT DIALOG HAS TO BE DONE BECAUSE I KNOW WE HAVE ISSUES WITH COMMUNITY SCHOOLS WITH WITH LACK OF FLEXIBILITY ON WHAT SOME COMMUNITY SCHOOLS CAN DO BASED ON OUR REALITY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY VERSUS THE REALITY OF ANOTHER COUNTY THAT THAT IS, YOU KNOW, 10,000 STUDENTS.
RIGHT? SO I KNOW THAT THE BLUEPRINT COMMISSION IS LOOKING AT MAKING CHANGES, BUT LIKE YOU SAID, THIS IS VERY SLOW MOVING.
WE JUST, YOU KNOW, WE JUST GOT, CLARITY ON ON THE WAIVER PROCESS FOR PERRY DECATUR'S AND, AND WHETHER OR NOT THEY NEEDED A DEGREE.
IT AND THAT HAS A HUGE EFFECT ON ROLLING OUT ALL DAY PRE-K BECAUSE THEN IT'S VERY HARD TO FIND PROVIDERS WITH THOSE QUALIFICATIONS.
SO THESE ARE THINGS THAT I DON'T THINK WE DISCUSS VERY MUCH, BUT I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO TELL THE WHOLE PICTURE.
SO ANYTHING THAT YOU GUYS CAN GIVE US THAT WE CAN EDUCATE THE PUBLIC WHEN WE'RE DOING THIS BUDGET FORUMS, BECAUSE IT JUST SEEMS LIKE, YOU KNOW, THIS IS EASY PEASY AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT, YOU KNOW, WE CAN IT CAN BE DONE, YOU KNOW, WITH THE SNAP OF FINGERS.
BUT IT REALLY IT'S NOT THE PROCESS IS KIND OF COMPLICATED AND IT'S VERY UNFORGIVING, FULL OF CIVILITY.
I THINK WE HAD ASKED LAST TIME, THE, THE, YOU KNOW, THE FARM STUDENTS WHO, WHO DO AP IB VERSUS THOSE WHO DO NOT TO SEE IF WE CAN HAVE SOME SAVINGS THERE.
BUT AGAIN, EVEN IF WE KNOW THAT NUMBER, WE CANNOT CHANGE THE FORMULA THAT THE STATE GAVE US.
SO THAT IS AGAIN, SOMETHING THAT MAYBE OUR LEGISLATIVE, FRIENDS AND DELEGATE TO SANDERS CAN ACTUALLY TAKE, YOU KNOW, AND, AND TAKE THE FIGHT TO, TO ANNAPOLIS WHERE IT NEEDS TO BE.
AND I JUST SAY THE BOARD'S, LEGISLATIVE RECOMMENDATION, I THINK THAT'S IN GOOD COMPANY WITH WHAT I HEAR
[00:35:01]
FROM THE OTHER SCHOOL DISTRICTS WHO, ARE, YOU KNOW, STRUGGLING TO MAKE DECISIONS ABOUT FUNDING THAT FOR THE FAMILIES WHO ARE ABLE TO AFFORD THE DUAL ENROLLMENT AND THE OTHERS, THEN THEY SHOULD AFFORD THAT.AND THEN WE SHOULD STILL HAVE SAFETY NETS FOR STUDENTS WHO ARE WHOSE FAMILIES ARE UNABLE TO AFFORD IT, BECAUSE WE DON'T WANT THAT TO BE A BARRIER TO THEM, TO HIGHER EDUCATION.
BUT CLEARLY THERE ARE SOME FAMILIES WHO COULD WELL AFFORD IT AND PERHAPS THAT COST SAVINGS COULD BE REDIRECTED TO ANOTHER AREA.
THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MISS SYLVESTER.
I HAVE A COMMENT AND A QUESTION, AND, I JUST WANT TO REITERATE WHAT MY COLLEAGUES HAVE SAID ABOUT ADDITIONAL INFORMATION SO THAT WE CAN SHOW THE PUBLIC THE FULL PICTURE OF THE BLUEPRINT, WHAT WE HAVE INVESTED IN IN PAST YEARS, THE PERCENTAGES OF LOCAL INVESTMENT VERSUS STATE INVESTMENT.
AND THEN, OF COURSE, THE ASK THAT WE ARE, THAT IS IN THIS BUDGET.
I JUST THINK IT'S SUPER IMPORTANT FOR THE MAIN REASON WHICH YOU STATED, WHICH IS WE ARE BEING ASKED TO CUT SOME FUNDAMENTAL THINGS OF TEACHING AND LEARNING IN OUR BUDGET TO PAY FOR NEW THINGS THAT, FRANKLY, HAVE NOT BEEN PRIORITIZED.
IT WAS DO THIS, DO THAT, DO THIS.
THESE ARE ALL GREAT EDUCATIONAL REFORM EFFORTS, BUT THEY HAVE NOT BEEN PRIORITIZED.
AND WE ARE NOW FINDING OURSELVES IN A SITUATION WHERE THINGS THAT WE WANT TO CONTINUE TO EXPAND, LIKE PRE-K, IS COMING UP TO COMPETE WITH OTHER THINGS THAT MAYBE COULD HAVE WAITED A COUPLE MORE YEARS.
SO I JUST THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR THE BOARD AND FOR THE PUBLIC TO HAVE A BETTER PICTURE OF WHAT THE BLUEPRINT ENTAILS.
AND I THINK WE HAVE A COUNCIL SESSION STILL, TO BE SCHEDULED ON THIS TOPIC, IS THAT CORRECT, MISS? YES. THE COUNCIL, IS WILL HEAR A REPORT ABOUT THIS ON THE 28TH, 2028.
SO MY QUESTION IS ABOUT THIS, WHAT? YOU STARTED OUT WITH MISS BECKY, ABOUT THE COLLABORATIVE PLANNING TIME.
I JUST NEED YOU TO EXPLAIN IT TO ME.
THE IMPLICATIONS FOR MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
BECAUSE I DIDN'T CAPTURE, WHAT YOU WERE SAYING.
THE THE THE STATUS, IS GOING TO DELAY IT.
IT'S GOING TO HAVE IMPLICATIONS FOR OUR, NOT THIS BUDGET THAT WE'RE WORKING ON NOW, BUT THE NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET.
BUT JUST HELP ME UNDERSTAND, IN LAYMAN'S TERMS, WHAT THIS MEANS FOR MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
THERE ACTUALLY WILL BE IMPLICATIONS FOR THIS YEAR'S BUDGET FOR FY 26.
AND THERE IS A POTENTIAL FOR A LOSS OF ABOUT $25 MILLION.
BUT BUT IN THIS BUDGET, THAT IS NOT FY 25.
THE THE PROPOSED BUDGET. BUDGET.
WE'RE WORKING ON THE BUDGET WE'RE WORKING ON TODAY.
THAT'S RIGHT. SO, THE STATE REQUIRES UNDER THE BLUEPRINT THAT WE DEVELOP A TEACHER AND ADMINISTRATIVE CAREER LADDER.
ONE ASPECT OF THAT CAREER LADDER IS THAT WE DEVELOP A PLAN BY THIS JUNE THAT OVER SEVERAL YEARS, WE ALLOW FOR TEACHERS TO BE TEACHING IN THE CLASSROOM 60% OF THE TIME, AND THEN THE OTHER 40% OF THE TIME THAT THEY WOULD SPEND TUTORING STUDENTS, WORKING ON THE CURRICULUM, CONFERRING WITH OTHER STAFF, MEETING WITH PARENTS, ALL OF THESE THINGS TO SUPPORT THE STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT AND WELL-BEING.
AND SO WE HAVE TO HAVE A PLAN IN PLACE, BY JUNE 30TH, THAT INCORPORATES THIS COLLABORATIVE TEACHING PLANNING TIME OVER A PERIOD OF TIME.
AND WE HAVE TO START TO IMPLEMENT IT NEXT FALL.
SO WHAT HAPPENS IS, IF THIS THE GOVERNOR HAS PROPOSED THAT WE FREEZE THAT PORTION OF THE CAREER LADDER, THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE COLLABORATIVE PLANNING TIME, AND THAT THOSE DOLLARS ALSO BE REMOVED FROM WHAT EACH OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS IS RECEIVING.
AND SO OUR EXISTING EFFORTS ALREADY WITH TEACHER COLLABORATIVE PLANNING TIME WITH OUR UNIONS WOULD BE IMPACTED BY THE LOSS OF THOSE FUNDS, AS WELL AS OUR PLANS TO ROLL OUT, TEACHER COLLABORATIVE TIME PLAN FOR THE FUTURE.
SO WE WOULD HAVE TO SORT OF TAKE A LOOK AT COMPLETING THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CAREER LADDER WITHOUT THAT PIECE.
BUT THAT'S REALLY AN INTEGRAL PIECE OF WHAT IS THE ENTIRE CAREER LADDER THAT WE'RE DEVELOPING.
THEN THOSE TEACHER LEADS ARE MENTORING OTHER TEACHERS, AND THEY'RE WORKING WITH THEM TO DEVELOP THEM AS TEACHER LEADERS AND AND LOOKING AT WAYS, THAT RESEARCH BASED WAYS TO HELP SUPPORT STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT.
SO I THINK NOT ONLY WILL THERE BE COULD THERE POTENTIALLY BE AN IMPACT IN THE WORK AND HOW WE DEVELOP THE REST OF CAREER LADDER LEVEL FOUR, BUT THAT $25 MILLION POTENTIAL LOSS OF $25 MILLION WOULD BE SIGNIFICANT BECAUSE IT WOULD, IT WOULD NOT ALLOW US ADDITIONAL MONEY FOR TEACHERS AND OTHER RESOURCES IN ORDER TO IMPLEMENT A STRONG TEACHER COLLABORATIVE PLANNING TIME, SO IT WOULD IMPACT US IN A NEGATIVE WAY, BOTH IN OUR PLANNING AS WELL AS IN OUR FUNDING.
[00:40:01]
AND THE $25 MILLION IS REALLY SIGNIFICANT.SO AT THIS MOMENT, WHAT YOUR KNEE IS TALKING ABOUT IS THE POTENTIAL IS NOT A DONE DEAL.
WE NEED TO LOOK AT THE GOVERNOR'S BUDGET RELEASE AND THIS LEGISLATIVE SESSION.
AND IN THE PAST, IT HAS BEEN ANNOUNCED THAT, 2026, 2027 THROUGH PRINT MONEY IS, SAFE.
THERE HAS BEEN CONVERSATIONS LIKE THAT.
BUT THIS IS ONE AREA FOR US TO KEEP AN EYE ON BECAUSE MONTGOMERY COUNTY, WE OFTEN ARE AHEAD OF BLUEPRINT SCHEDULES.
SO, THIS IS, A POINT THAT WE WHEN WE WORK WITH THAT ONE OUT THE BOARD, MY COLLEAGUES WORK WITH, STATE, WE NEED TO, REEVALUATE SOMETIMES WE ARE AHEAD OF THE TIMES SO THAT, WHEN THEY ADJUST, THAT THEY WILL TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION THAT PEOPLE WHO ARE ALREADY UNDER WAY WITH THE WORK.
ALL RIGHT, MRS. EMPOWERMENT, GOOD MORNING.
I HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT COMMUNITY SCHOOLS.
IT LOOKS LIKE WE'RE PROJECTING TO EIGHT OR MORE POTENTIAL DESIGNATIONS FOR COMMUNITY SCHOOLS.
AND THEN WITH GRANT MONEY ATTACHED TO THAT.
SO THAT $280,000, IS THAT SPECIFICALLY FOR HIRING COMMUNITY SCHOOL LIAISONS AND THE NURSES, OR IS THAT FOR HIRING ACROSS LIKE COMMUNITY SCHOOLS? WE ALSO THEN DESIGNATE A PARENT COMMUNITY COORDINATOR AND, A WELLNESS TRAINER.
ARE THOSE POSITIONS INCLUDED IN THAT? DOES THAT MONEY COME FROM ELSEWHERE? I'M CURIOUS.
WE'RE INVITING SOME AUDIENCE FRIENDS TO JOIN US.
HI. PEGGY PUGH, CHIEF ACADEMIC OFFICER COMMUNITY SCHOOLS ACTUALLY ROLLS IN IN A PHASED IN APPROACH THE FIRST YEAR YOU'RE REQUIRED TO DO THE COMMUNITY SCHOOL LIAISON AND THE NURSING, AND THEN IT ISN'T UNTIL SUBSEQUENT YEARS THAT YOU GET THE PER PUPIL ALLOCATION.
SO, ADDING IN THOSE OTHER POSITIONS, ARE WE EXPECTING TO DO THAT FOR OTHER SCHOOLS IN, FY 26 THAT HARRIS ARE TALKING ABOUT THAT ROLLING IN? YES.
THERE ARE NEW SCHOOLS ADDED EACH YEAR AS THE THRESHOLD OF POVERTY THAT THE STATE USES IS DETERMINED.
BUT THEY SEND US A LIST AND SAY WHO'S IDENTIFIED. RIGHT.
SO IF WE'RE PROJECTING TO IDENTIFY THESE SCHOOLS.
SO I'M ASSUMING THERE ARE OTHER SCHOOLS IDENTIFIED IN FY 25.
AND YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THAT THERE'S THAT ROLLING BASIS.
SO WE'RE EXPECTING THAT ROLLING BASIS.
SO WE'RE EXPECTING TO HIRE ALL RIGHT PARENT COMMUNITY COORDINATORS AND WELLNESS TRAINERS WITH THAT ROLLING IN CORRECT OKAY.
NOW, LET'S MOVE ON TO THE NEXT SESSION, PLEASE.
CHANNELING MISS HARRIS, THIS WAS HER QUESTION THAT SHE ALWAYS ASKED, AND THAT WAS ABOUT THE UTILIZATION OF OUR EXISTING PRE-K SEATS.
SHE WAS UNDER THE IMPRESSION THAT, HERE WE ARE EXPANDING PRE-K, BUT OUR PRE-K SEAT, OUR CLASSROOMS WERE NOT FULLY UTILIZED.
SO, I THINK THAT THE ISSUE WAS ABOUT THE HALF DAY PROGRAM VERSUS THE FULL DAY PROGRAMS. BUT, WOULD APPRECIATE JUST SOME UNDERSTANDING.
OUR, OUR FULL DAY PRE-K PROGRAMS FULLY UTILIZE IN TERMS OF CAPACITY IN THE CLASSROOM OR IS THERE SPACE THAT IS NOT BEING FULLY UTILIZED? AS WE LOOK TO INVEST MORE IN THIS, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT FAMILIES ARE UTILIZING THE SERVICE AND THOSE THOSE CLASSROOMS ARE FULL.
YEAH, OUR FULL DAY PROGRAMS ARE FULLY UTILIZED AND THEY'RE DONE ALSO ON A ROLLING BASIS.
SO IF STUDENTS DROP, THEN WE ADD INVITE MORE STUDENTS TO THE FULL DAY.
THE HALF DAY PROGRAMS ARE NOT FULLY ENROLLED BECAUSE IT'S AN INCONVENIENCE FOR FAMILIES.
THE TRANSPORTATION IS AN ISSUE.
AND SO THAT'S PART OF THE DESIGN FOR THE EXPANSION WOULD BE TO TAKE SOME OF THOSE HALF DAY PROGRAMS, MAKE THEM FULL DAY, AND BE ABLE TO QUALIFY FOR WHAT IS ALLOWABLE UNDER BLUEPRINT. BLUEPRINT.
WE WE DO NOT GET ANY FUNDING FOR THOSE PROGRAMS THAT ARE HALF DAY.
WE ONLY GET IT FOR A FULL DAY PROGRAM.
SO RATHER THAN, CREATING WHOLE NEW PROGRAMS, THE IDEA IS THAT WE TAKE A HALF DAY PROGRAM THAT'S IN A PARTICULAR SCHOOL, MAKE TWO FULL DAY.
OFTEN THERE'S NOT ROOM FOR TWO FULL DAY IN THAT SAME SCHOOL, SO SOME WORK WITH FACILITIES IS NEEDED TO BE ABLE TO DO IT IN A CLOSED AREA.
AND WILL THIS FINALLY GET US OUT OF THE HALF DAY PROGRAM, OR DO WE'LL STILL HAVE WITH THIS EXPANSION IN THIS BUDGET, WILL WE STILL HAVE HALF DAY PROGRAMS OUT THERE? WE WILL STILL HAVE HALF DAY PROGRAMS, MOSTLY FOR OUR SPECIAL AND SPECIAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS, FOR WHOM THAT'S APPROPRIATE.
AND WE STILL WILL HAVE SOME THAT ARE NON SPECIAL ED OKAY WITH THIS BUDGET. THANK YOU, MISS RIVERA.
JUST FOLLOWING UP ON THAT, IS TRANSPORTATION GONNA BE PART OF THAT TRANSITION?
[00:45:03]
BECAUSE ONE OF THE BIGGEST ISSUES, EVEN WHEN WHEN PARENTS WERE ABLE TO GET FULL DAY PRE-K, BUT THEIR PRE-K WAS FULL IN THEIR HOME SCHOOL, THEY WERE GIVING THE OPTION OF GOING TO ANOTHER SCHOOL, BUT THEY HAD TO PROVIDE THEIR OWN TRANSPORTATION, WHICH CREATED AN EQUITY ISSUE.SO NOW THAT WE'RE TRANSITIONING, ALL HAVE DAY TO FULL DAY PRE-K, IF THAT'S THE SITUATION, ARE WE GOING TO PROVIDE TRANSPORTATION? YES. TRANSPORTATION IS INCLUDED IN THE BUDGET FOR THE EXPANSION.
IT'S STILL, YOU KNOW, TO YOUR POINT, WON'T GET US TO EVERY SCHOOL, EVERY LOCAL HOME SCHOOL, HAVING A PROGRAM, EVERY STUDENT BEING ABLE TO GO TO THEIR HOME SCHOOL.
SO IT IS A VERY TECHNICAL PROCESS TO MAP OUT THE THE BUS ROUTES AND HOW TO GET THEM.
AND THAT'S PART OF THE CONSIDERATION OF LOCATION OF WHERE WE PUT THE PROGRAMS. MISS FOR NEW.
SO I'M NOT EXPECTING IT NOW, BUT WHEN POSSIBLE, CAN WE HAVE THE INFORMATION ON THE NUMBER OF HALF DAYS THAT WE HAVE? CURRENT NUMBER, HALF DAY.
PRESCHOOL, OUR EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION, THINGS THAT WE HAVE RIGHT NOW VERSUS THE NUMBER THAT WE EXPECT IN THE FUTURE, SO WE CAN UNDERSTAND WHAT THE DIFFERENCE IS, HOW MANY WE'RE SHIFTING FROM, HALF DAY TO FULL DAY.
I KNOW THAT EACH ONE OF THESE CHAPTERS PROBABLY CAN BE A FULL, FULL, BOARD MEETINGS IN, DISCUSSION.
SO I WANT TO REMIND MY COLLEAGUES, FOCUS YOUR QUESTIONS ON THAT WILL HELP YOU MAKE DECISIONS FOR THIS BUDGET CYCLE.
LET'S PROCEED TO THE NEXT CHAPTER.
SO I HAVE ONE MORE FOLLOW UP QUESTION TO LET'S WAIT IT TO THE END.
BY THE VERY END, WE STILL HAVE DISCUSSION TIME.
THANK YOU. OKAY, SO THE NEXT SECTION OF OUR CONVERSATION HAS TO DO WITH OUR NON-DISCRETIONARY REQUIREMENTS.
AND AND THOSE KIND OF COMPONENTS THAT ARE IN FACT, TIED TO THE LAW REGULATION GUIDELINES OR CONTRACTS THAT WE HAVE, AND WE'RE GOING TO DO OUR VERY BEST TO TAKE, A LOT OF LINES IN THE BUDGET AND GIVE YOU THEM IN SMALLER CHUNKS.
THIS IS A SUMMARY BY SECTION OF SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'LL TALK ABOUT.
AND SO THE VERY FIRST ONE IS COMPENSATION.
AND THIS IS THE BIGGEST PART OF OUR BUDGET REQUEST EXPANSION IS LOOKING AT COMPENSATION.
WHEN YOU TAKE A LOOK AT THE BIG, BUDGET DOCUMENT, THAT TABLE ONE, A, THIS IS, REFLECTIVE OF, LINES, 15 THROUGH, 19, RIGHT UP AT THE TOP.
SO WE'VE KIND OF CONDENSED THAT INTO TO ONE LINE FOR YOU TO LOOK AT RIGHT THERE.
THESE ARE PLACEHOLDERS, FOR NEGOTIATED AGREEMENTS, WITH OUR ASSOCIATIONS AS WELL AS, ENCAPSULATING, FUNDS THAT WE SET ASIDE FOR WORKING CONDITIONS AND STIPENDS.
BUT THESE ARE NEGOTIATED AGREEMENTS THAT ARE NOT IN PLACE, AND THESE ARE PLACEHOLDER NUMBERS FOR THAT. ASSUMING, SOME PRELIMINARY DISCUSSIONS AROUND 3.25% PLUS A STEP, WHICH IS ON PAR, WITH, WHAT COUNTY GOVERNMENT HAS MADE ASSUMPTIONS FOR FOR FY 26? THIS ALSO REFLECTS A RECLASSIFICATION OF TWO EMPLOYEE GROUPS, A RECLASSIFICATION OF OUR ATHLETIC DIRECTORS OR ATHLETIC SPECIALISTS, AS THEY'RE CALLED.
AND IN OUR HIGH SCHOOLS, MOVING THEM FROM MCA POSITIONS TO MCAT POSITIONS AND, ALSO DIFFERENTIATING THE COMPENSATION FOR OUR PARA EDUCATORS BECAUSE THEY HAVE A VARIETY OF WORK ASSIGNMENTS BUT ARE COMPENSATED THROUGH ONE DIMENSION AT THIS TIME.
AND WE WOULD ADVISE THAT WE, DIFFERENTIATE THEM DIFFERENTLY IN TERMS OF HOW WE COMPENSATE THEM IN THE FUTURE.
AND THIS ONE, THIS ONE'S PRETTY EASY AND PRETTY BIG AT THE SAME TIME.
MOVING ON TO THE NEXT ONE HAS TO DO WITH FISCAL STEWARDSHIP AND A BIG, PRIORITY THAT THE BOARD HAD LAID OUT FOR ME WAS, FOR US TO PUT OURSELVES BACK ON THE RIGHT TRACK IN TERMS OF FISCAL STEWARDSHIP, MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE COVERING OUR EXPENSES AND THAT WE ARE FINANCIALLY SOLVENT.
THIS IS REFLECTED IN A COMPLEX WAY, AND I WANT TO SPEND A LITTLE BIT OF TIME TALKING ABOUT IT.
THE FIRST ITEM HERE IS OUR HEALTH BENEFITS, PLAN AND MAKING SURE THAT AS A SELF-FUNDED HEALTH BENEFITS PROGRAM FOR OUR EMPLOYEES THAT WE ARE IN THE BLACK AND PRESENTLY WE ARE NOT, WE DO HAVE A DEFICIT THAT IS REACHING 60 MILLION.
AND THIS IS PROBLEMATIC IF WE DO NOT, MAKE CHANGES TO OUR STRUCTURED PLAN.
THIS IS ALSO SOMETHING THAT DOES GET NEGOTIATED WITH OUR ASSOCIATION PARTNERS.
[00:50:02]
WE ARE GOING TO FIND OURSELVES IN TROUBLE.AND GRANTED, THIS IS A PLANNED OR, PROJECTED DEFICIT.
WE DO KNOW THAT WE NEED TO MAKE CHANGES TO OUR PLAN AND THAT WE ALSO NEED TO BACKFILL, THE, THE, THE, THE PLAN ITSELF TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE SOLVENT.
THIS DOES NOT SOLVE THE PROBLEM.
I WANT TO REITERATE THAT IT DOES NOT SOLVE THE PROBLEM, BUT IT DOES PUT US ON A PATHWAY AND THE ROAD TO SOLVING THIS OVER A TWO YEAR PERIOD OF TIME, WORKING WITH OUR PARTNERS, AND PROVIDERS IN TERMS OF OUR HEALTH BENEFITS, THAT IS, AN AN ACCEPTABLE SOLUTION.
BUT WE DO NEED TO FOCUS AND MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE A PLAN THAT IS SOLVENT IN THE LONG RUN.
THIS IS ONE OF THOSE BIG FISCAL VEGETABLES THAT WE NEED TO TAKE A LOOK AT.
PROBABLY THE HARDEST THING TO EXPLAIN IN THE ENTIRE BUDGET IS SALARY LAPSE.
BECAUSE IT IS A $10 MILLION INCREASE, TO OUR, OUR FISCAL CONTROL, BUT IT'S REPRESENTED AS A NEGATIVE NUMBER.
CURRENTLY, RIGHT NOW, YOU HAVE $75 MILLION COMMITTED TO SALARY LAPSE.
AND WHAT WE ARE DOING IS REDUCING THAT SALARY LAPSE BY $10 MILLION, OR WHAT WE ARE PROPOSING THAT YOU REDUCE IT.
IN A PERFECT WORLD, YOU YOU WOULD HAVE THIS BE A ZERO NUMBER OR A VERY SMALL NUMBER.
SALARY LAPSE IS TAKING INTO ACCOUNT, THAT NOT EVERY POSITION IN THE DISTRICT IS FILLED AT EVERY PAY PERIOD.
AND SO YOU ASK YOURSELF THE QUESTION, WHAT ON EARTH HAPPENS WITH THOSE FUNDS, WHEN THEY ACCUMULATE MONTH AFTER MONTH, WHEN YOU HAVE UNFILLED POSITIONS? AND, WHERE DOES THAT THAT MONEY GO? WELL, EFFECTIVELY, IS WHAT BECOMES YOUR FUND BALANCE OVER TIME.
AND IF YOU HAD A ZERO, DOLLAR FIGURE IN YOUR SALARY LAPSE, YOU WOULD HAVE A PROJECTED SAVINGS OF AROUND $75 MILLION A YEAR.
THAT'S, ENOUGH TO DO A LOT IN TERMS OF, CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS, ONE TIME EXPENSES.
YOU COULD USE THAT FOR A WHOLE HOST OF THINGS.
THAT WOULD ACTUALLY BE THE SIGN OF A REALLY FISCALLY HEALTHY ORGANIZATION.
YOU SHOULDN'T END A BUDGET YEAR WITH $0 IN YOUR BANK ACCOUNT.
UNFORTUNATELY, BECAUSE OF SOME OF THE TOUGH DECISIONS THAT YOU'VE HAD TO MAKE OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS, THE BOARD HAS LEVERAGED SOME OF ITS SALARY LAPSE TO FILL SOME OF THE HOLES IN ITS BUDGET.
SO YOU'VE ENCROACHED ON THAT AMOUNT OF MONEY OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS.
AND NOW, WE NEED TO START, CREATING SOME FISCAL CONTROLS TO, TO, GIVE US A LITTLE BIT OF FLEXIBILITY AND A LITTLE BIT OF ROOM BECAUSE AS WE REPORTED, SADLY, EARLIER THIS YEAR, WE WERE PROJECTING A DEFICIT AT ONE POINT BECAUSE WE HAD, OVEREXTENDED OURSELVES IN A NUMBER OF BUDGET CATEGORIES.
THANKFULLY, WE ARE NO LONGER PROJECTING A BUDGET, DEFICIT.
THAT IS THANKS TO US IMPLEMENTING SOME FISCAL CONTROLS AND THE HARD WORK OF A LOT OF FOLKS IN OUR CENTRAL OFFICE TO TIGHTEN BELTS MID-YEAR.
BUT WE NEED TO BE A LITTLE BIT BETTER WITH OUR PLANNING.
SO THIS IS REALLY A FUNCTION ABOUT HOW WE PLAN, AND HOW WE PLAN OVER TIME, MULTIPLE YEARS.
THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WILL HAVE TO COME BACK AND ADDRESS NEXT YEAR.
IT IS SOMETHING THAT WILL HAVE TO COME BACK AND ADDRESS THE YEAR AFTER THAT, AND THE YEAR AFTER THAT, AND THE YEAR AFTER THAT, AND CHIP AWAY AT THIS BLOCK.
OVER TIME, HOW THIS BECAME A BIG CRISIS IS REALLY TWOFOLD.
THE FIRST ISSUE THAT CAME ABOUT IS THAT YOU ARE ACTUALLY REALLY WELL STAFFED THIS YEAR.
YOU ACTUALLY HAVE ONE OF THE HIGHEST, STAFFING PERCENTAGE IS, THAT YOU'VE HAD IN A REALLY LONG TIME.
WE HAVE FILLED A TREMENDOUS NUMBER OF OUR VACANCIES, WHICH HAS ACTUALLY REDUCED OUR SALARY LAPS.
AND THAT CUSHION HAS BEEN ERODED BECAUSE WE HAVE FILLED SO MANY OF OUR POSITIONS.
UNFORTUNATELY, ONE OF THE REASONS THAT YOU HAVE FILLED SO MANY OF YOUR POSITIONS IS BECAUSE YOU HAD TO CUT VACANT POSITIONS BECAUSE OF A BUDGET SHORTFALL LAST YEAR, AND SO YOUR FILL RATE IS IN A LOT OF WAYS ARTIFICIALLY HIGHER THAN IT NORMALLY WOULD BE.
AND YOU HAVE HISTORICALLY USED SALARY LAPSE FOR OTHER PURPOSES AND YOUR BUDGET EFFECTIVELY DOUBLE BUDGETING FOR THE SAME DOLLAR.
THIS IS JUST A PRACTICE THAT IS, ACCEPTED.
IT IS A PRACTICE THAT IS USEFUL ON A SHORT TERM BASIS, BUT ON A LONG TERM BASIS.
THIS IS ONE OF THOSE FISCAL VEGETABLES THAT WE JUST NEED TO EAT, AND, AND ADDRESS A LITTLE BIT MORE DELIBERATELY.
WE DO HAVE, PLANNED INCREASES TO OUR, RETIREE PLAN.
OUR RETIREMENT PLAN, IS COMMITTED TO THE EDUCATORS
[00:55:04]
AND STAFF WHO HAVE GIVEN A LOT TO M.C.P.S.AND SO, MAKING SURE THAT WE KEEP UP WITH OUR PREMIUMS, TO THAT PLAN IS PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT.
THE NEXT BIG SECTION HAS TO DO WITH MAINTENANCE, TYPICALLY, HOW WE HAVE ADDRESSED MAINTENANCE IN, OUR BUDGETS.
IT'S BEEN TO LOOK AT SOME OF THE MAJOR CAPITAL PROJECTS, AND TO ADDRESS THIS THROUGH THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS PLAN.
AND, YES, WE NEED TO CONTINUE TO DO THAT.
AND YES, THAT IS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT, BUT THERE ARE ONGOING MAINTENANCE NEEDS THAT OFTENTIMES GET NEGLECTED.
THIS REALLY IS A WAY MORE SIGNIFICANT ISSUE THAN WE PROBABLY WANT TO ADMIT.
THIS IS UPWARDS OF 179 MILLION THAT WE SHOULD BE BUDGETING FOR ON AN ANNUAL AND ONGOING BASIS FOR PAY AS YOU GO OR PAY GO MAINTENANCE NEEDS.
WE HAVE NOT REALLY, IMPACTED OUR, MAINTENANCE STAFF IN TERMS OF MAKING, INCREASES TO OUR MAINTENANCE STAFF, OVER THE LAST 20 YEARS.
YET WE HAVE ADDED A NUMBER OF NEW SCHOOLS AND MILLIONS OF SQUARE FEET, TO OUR FOOTPRINT WITHOUT INCREASING OUR MAINTENANCE STAFF OR MATERIALS, BUDGET IN THAT SPACE.
AS A MATTER OF FACT, WE HAVE ACTUALLY REDUCED OUR MAINTENANCE, OUR ONGOING MAINTENANCE BUDGET, JUST SO THAT WE COULD BALANCE THE CLASSROOM NEEDS.
THIS IS A PRETTY SIGNIFICANT ISSUE.
WE HAVE HEARD, FROM A NUMBER OF OUR PARENTS AND, FROM FOLKS DURING THE CIP PROCESS LOOKING FOR RELIEF, FOR SOME SIGNIFICANT CAPITAL NEEDS.
THE REALITY IS, IS THAT MANY OF THE CAPITAL NEEDS THAT THEY BROUGHT FORWARD TO US COULD HAVE BEEN FIXED BY ONGOING MAINTENANCE AND US BEING, BETTER STEWARDS OF OUR FACILITIES.
WE DO HAVE AN IDEA, THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO APPROACH.
AND THAT IS TO CREATE, SOME MULTIDISCIPLINARY TEAMS OF ELECTRICIANS, CARPENTERS, PAINTERS, ENGINEERS AND SUCH, TO ADDRESS AND CLEAR, PENDING WORK ORDERS, AT SOME OF OUR MORE PERSISTENT SCHOOLS, AND FOR THESE TEAMS TO GO OUT TO SITES AND, WITH THE WITH THE INTENTION TO PLAN AND EXECUTE WORK.
THIS IS, AN EFFECTIVE STRATEGY OF PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE AND TO ADDRESS ONGOING MAINTENANCE NEEDS THAT A LOT OF OTHER SCHOOL DISTRICTS HAVE ADOPTED.
IT'S HIGH TIME THAT WE ADDRESS THAT.
AND WE'D LIKE TO COMMIT 20 TO, PERSONNEL TO TO THAT, TO THAT EFFORT, AND FEEL LIKE THAT WOULD, MAKE A SIGNIFICANT DENT IN SOME OF OUR ISSUES WE HAVE PROGRAMED IN AT THIS TIME, $7 MILLION.
NOW, I MENTIONED, JUST A MOMENT AGO THAT THIS IS REALLY A $179 MILLION ISSUE.
THIS IS REALLY SOMETHING THAT WE'LL NEED TO COME BACK AND ADDRESS FOR THE NEXT 10 TO 12 YEARS, EVERY YEAR, ADDING TO A MAINTENANCE FUND EVERY YEAR, TO BUILD UP SO THAT WE ARE KEEPING PACE WITH THE MAINTENANCE NEEDS OF OF ALL OF OUR SCHOOLS.
ONE OF THE CHALLENGES THAT WE HAVE IS THAT, IN THE DIVERSITY OF THE PORTFOLIO OF OUR BUILDINGS IS THAT WE HAVE, BUILDINGS AT VARIOUS STATES AND VARIOUS FACILITY CONDITIONS, A LOT OF WHICH IS TIED TO AGE, AND ALSO THE BUILDING CODES OF THE TIME THAT THE THE BUILDINGS WERE BUILT.
AND OUR NEWER BUILDINGS HAVE VERY DIFFERENT, NEEDS THAN OUR, OUR SOME OF OUR OLDER BUILDINGS AND, WE, WE NEED TO HAVE, A DIVERSE ENOUGH TOOLKIT TO ADDRESS BOTH OF THOSE THINGS.
AND, OUR, OUR PORTFOLIO OF BUILDINGS IS, IS AGING.
AND, TO MAINTAIN THAT IS GOING TO BE A SIGNIFICANT, BATTLE.
WE HAVE SOME OTHER, ANNUAL COSTS THAT ARE THAT ARE WORTH SOME, DISCUSSION AND WORTH SOME EVALUATION, FROM, TRANSPORTATION, TO, BUILDING SERVICES, STAFFING TO FACILITY COSTS.
ONE OF MY FAVORITE ONES, HAS TO DO WITH UTILITIES.
OUR ELECTRIC BILL IS NOT $6.1 MILLION.
IT IS MUCH, MUCH HIGHER THAN THAT.
WE ARE, SET TO REALIZE, ACTUALLY, A $4 MILLION INCREASE TO OUR ELECTRIC BILL.
THAT IS AN INCREASE OF $4 MILLION TO OUR ELECTRIC BILL.
AND THEN WE HAVE SOME ANTICIPATED COST TO ONE OF OUR ENERGY, SAVINGS CONTRACTS, IN THE AMOUNT OF $2 MILLION THAT WE ARE EXPECTING, THIS YEAR AS WELL.
IT IS HARD FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE TO FATHOM, THE SIZE AND SCOPE OF MAINTAINING, ROUGHLY 230 CAMPUSES IN ADDITION TO OUR SCHOOL BUILDINGS, WE ALSO HAVE BUILDINGS THAT WE ARE MAINTAINING FOR THINGS LIKE FOOD SERVICE, TECHNOLOGY,
[01:00:01]
EVERYTHING FROM PRINTING TO MATERIALS DISTRIBUTION AND EVEN THE BUILDING THAT WE'RE IN RIGHT NOW.AND WITH THAT WIDE PORTFOLIO, WE PAY AN ELECTRIC BILL JUST LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE, AND IT IS MILLIONS OF SQUARE FEET A YEAR.
AND SO WHEN WE HAVE AN INCREASE OR A PREMIUM INCREASE, AND I THINK IT WAS, I'M TRYING TO GET THE PERCENTAGE HERE 8.5% INCREASE TO OUR UTILITY COSTS.
THAT IS REPRESENTATIVE OF $4 MILLION JUST IN INCREASED COSTS TO, UTILITIES, A COUPLE OF, OTHER BIG THINGS THAT WE ARE LOOKING AT, YOU MAY SEE SYSTEMWIDE SAFETY APPEAR, IN A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT PLACES IN OUR BUDGET.
THE NEXT, BUDGET WORK SESSION, WE'LL TALK ABOUT DISCRETIONARY EXPENDITURES, WHERE WE TALK ABOUT ADDING SOME SECURITY ASSISTANCE TO SOME OF OUR SCHOOLS, BUT WE ARE ALSO INVESTING IN, HOW WE MIGHT PROVIDE, ADDITIONAL TRAINING AND, IMPROVEMENTS TO, SOME OF OUR, SYSTEMS AND STRUCTURES REGARDING SAFETY.
THIS IS A HIGH PRIORITY FOR THE BOARD AND SOMETHING THAT MATTERS TO US A GREAT DEAL.
SIMILARLY, MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE IN ADHERENCE AND COMPLIANCE TO THE ACTUAL NUMBER OF COSTS THAT ARE TIED TO OUR, ADA COMPLIANCE, THAT'S THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT AND MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE FULFILLING, THE ACTUAL COSTS OF DOING BUSINESS, NOT, JUST WHAT THE BUDGETED COST OF DOING BUSINESS MIGHT BE.
I WILL SAY HOW IMPORTANT THIS IS, BECAUSE THIS IS A PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT FISCAL VEGETABLE.
IF WE BUDGET FOR AN ADA, LINE AND WE EXCEED THAT ADA LINE, THAT IS NOT ACTUALLY ACCEPTABLE BY LAW.
SO, WHEN WE HAVE AN, AN ADA EXPENSE THAT EXCEEDS OUR BUDGET, WE ARE STILL EXPEND EXPECTED TO FULFILL THAT.
SO IT IS IN OUR BEST INTEREST TO COMMUNICATE WHAT OUR ACTUAL NEEDS ARE IN TERMS OF ADA COSTS AND OUR ACTUAL NEEDS IN TERMS OF, SOME OF THE OTHER, COMPONENTS THAT ARE THAT ARE LISTED HERE AS WELL.
YOU MAY OR MAY NOT BE AWARE, BUT, WE WE DO, HAVE TO WORK WITH FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS, ESPECIALLY FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS, THAT, THAT ARE MANAGING OUR FUNDS AS WELL.
AND WE, WE DO HAVE FEES THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THAT.
AND THOSE ARE DELINEATED, OF COURSE, IN OUR, IN OUR MACRO BUDGET ON TABLE ONE, A AS WELL.
WE, WE ALSO HAVE SOME REPORTING EXPECTATIONS.
AS MISS BACKI POINTED OUT, JUST A FEW MINUTES AGO, THE THE EXPECTATIONS ARE QUITE EXTENSIVE FOR BLUEPRINT AS WELL AS FOR, OUR STATE AND FEDERAL GOVERNMENTS.
SO WHEN WE HAVE GRANT MANAGEMENT AND THINGS THAT WE NEED TO DO, WE, WE DO REQUIRE A LOT OF HANDS, AND A LOT OF EFFORT TO MAKE SURE THAT, THAT PAPERWORK IS CORRECT.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WAS A LITTLE BIT OF A SURPRISE TO ME AS SOMEBODY NEW TO, M.C.P.S IS, HOW LITTLE SUPPORT WE HAD FOR GRANTS AND, AND WHAT WE WERE DOING TO, LEVERAGE ADDITIONAL MONEYS OUTSIDE OF OUR, OUR CURRENT REVENUE MIX.
SO ADDING, TWO ADDITIONAL SUPPORT POSITIONS FOR GRANTS IS, IS A GREAT WAY FOR US TO LEVERAGE OTHER, REVENUE SOURCES IN THE FUTURE.
AND WE SEE THIS AS, AS A, AS A PRETTY COMPELLING ASK AND POTENTIALLY SOMETHING THAT COULD PAY FOR ITSELF.
ACTUALLY, IT'S OUR EXPECTATION THAT IT PAY FOR ITSELF, EVEN THOUGH IT'S, IT'S LISTED AS A DEBIT ON THIS PARTICULAR, COMPONENT.
WE'VE GOTTEN INTO, SOME OF THE OTHER FISCAL VEGETABLES THAT WE, WE HAVE TO EAT.
ONE OF THE BIGGER ONES HERE IS, CHROMEBOOK REPAIR.
THIS IS NOT A $4 MILLION INCREASE IN, CHROMEBOOK REPAIR, BUT RATHER A REFLECTION OF WHAT WE ACTUALLY SPENT.
SO, THIS IS THE PROGRAMED, PROJECTED COST.
AND AGAIN, WE ARE NO LONGER A 1 TO 1 DISTRICT AND M.C.P.S, BECAUSE WE HAVE NOT KEPT PACE WITH OUR REPAIR AND REPLACEMENT, BUDGET.
AND AS A CONSEQUENCE OF THAT, YOU KNOW, WE WE DO HAVE SOME LIMITATIONS.
ONE OF THE QUESTIONS THAT I, ENJOYED GETTING FROM, SOME FOLKS IN THE COMMUNITY IS, WHY CAN'T YOU JUST HAVE A VIRTUAL DAY WHEN IT SNOWS? AND THE REALITY IS TWOFOLD.
ONE, THE STATE'S EXPECTATIONS FOR VIRTUAL DAYS HAS CHANGED.
AND THERE ARE SOME RESTRICTIONS AND LIMITATIONS.
AND THEN THE SECOND REASON IS NOT EVERY STUDENT HAS A COMPUTER OR ACCESS TO COMPUTER.
AND SO WE DO HAVE SOME LIMITATIONS IN THAT SPACE.
THIS IS ONE OF THOSE COMPONENTS THAT IN TODAY'S DAY AND AGE, IT IS A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
[01:05:04]
FOR OUR CHILDREN TO HAVE ACCESS TO COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY.IT GIVES OUR KIDS A LEG UP AND AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THEIR LEARNING ENVIRONMENT.
BUT IT IS AN ASSET, AND IT IS AN ASSET THAT GETS RETIRED AFTER 4 TO 5 YEARS OF SERVICE.
AND WE NEED TO KEEP UP WITH MAINTENANCE AND REPLACEMENT CYCLES AND, IF WE DON'T, THEN WE ARE ONLY PERPETUATING INEQUITIES, IN OUR ACADEMIC PROGRAM.
SO, THIS IS, ONE OF THOSE COMPONENTS THAT IS A REFLECTION OF THE TRUE COSTS AND NOT, NECESSARILY SOMETHING THAT IS, AN EXTENSION BEYOND WHAT WE ARE CURRENTLY DOING.
SIMILARLY, TUITION REIMBURSEMENT IS ONE OF THOSE THINGS, PRESENTLY, RIGHT NOW, WE DO HAVE NEGOTIATED AGREEMENTS WITH OUR ASSOCIATIONS THAT PROVIDE TUITION REIMBURSEMENT.
WE ARE SHORT, AND WE HAVE NOT BUDGETED ACCURATE FOR THE THINGS THAT ARE IN CONTRACTUAL AGREEMENTS.
AND WE DO NEED TO DO A BETTER JOB OF THAT.
SO, THOSE ARE THOSE ARE DEFINITELY THINGS TO HIGHLIGHT.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I PICKED UP IN HAVING SOME CONVERSATIONS WITH, OUR COMMUNITY, DURING MY ENTRY, WAS THE LACK OF SUPPORT THAT WE ARE REALLY ENGAGING IN, IN TERMS OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND AREAS THAT WE REALLY DO NEED TO INVEST IN TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE'S ADEQUATE INTERPRETATION, AND THAT, THERE IS, SUPPORT AND RECOGNITION FOR OUR STAFF AND THE WORK THAT THEY ARE DOING.
AND, WE FALL SHORT IN MANY OF THESE AREAS AND ENHANCING OUR INTERPRETATION AND ENHANCING, THIS SPACE, WITH, A FOCUS ON COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT WOULD BE A REAL UPTICK FOR M.C.P.S.
SO I'M, I'M CLOSING OUT HERE WITH, JUST A COUPLE OF ITEMS THAT I WANT TO DRAW YOUR ATTENTION TO.
AND, AND ONE OF, THE, THE BIGGER ONES HAS TO DO WITH STAFFING.
WE ARE PROJECTING TO BE RELATIVELY FLAT IN TERMS OF OUR, ENROLLMENT PROJECTION FOR NEXT YEAR.
WE ARE ANTICIPATING A LITTLE BIT OF A DECLINE IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AND, SOME INCREASES IN MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL.
THE NET IMPACT IS, 33.5 POSITIONS.
IN TERMS OF CLASSROOM POSITIONS, THE WAY THAT THAT FALLS, IN TERMS OF, HOW HOW THOSE, HOW THAT, ENROLLMENT, LAYS IN TERMS OF, BY SCHOOL, THE BIGGEST, STAFFING ADJUSTMENT REALLY HAS TO DO WITH SPECIAL EDUCATION AND MEETING OUR GUIDELINES, FOR, SPECIAL EDUCATION.
THIS IS AN AREA THAT REALLY DOES NEED A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF ATTENTION AND, DOES NEED A FOCUS.
AND IT IS SOMETHING THAT EVERY MEETING WHERE I ATTEND WITH PARENTS GETS BROUGHT UP, BECAUSE WE NEED TO BE PROVIDING SERVICES THAT ARE BETTER THAN WHAT WE HAVE BEEN DOING IN THE PAST.
OUR TEACHERS AND OUR PARENT EDUCATORS ARE WORKING VERY HARD.
BUT WE ARE FALLING SHORT IN A MEETING, OUR OWN STAFFING GUIDELINES.
AND SO WHAT DOES THIS LOOK LIKE? THE THIS LOOKS LIKE 188 TEACHER POSITIONS AND 500 PARA EDUCATORS OF THE 500 PARA EDUCATOR POSITIONS, WE ALREADY HAVE 366 OF WHICH, THAT ARE ALREADY PART TIME POSITIONS OR, TEMPORARY PART TIME POSITIONS THAT WE WOULD MAKE BENEFITED POSITIONS.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THE BOARD HAS ALREADY ACUTELY OBSERVED IS THAT THIS IS A HIGH TURNOVER POSITION, AND IT'S A HIGH TURNOVER POSITION FOR A COUPLE OF REASONS.
IT'S A HIGH TURNOVER POSITION BECAUSE THE WAGES ARE NOT DIFFERENTIATED.
AND SEVERAL OF THESE POSITIONS ARE NOT BENEFITED, 366 OF THEM, TO BE PRECISE.
SO RETAINING THIS WORKFORCE AND SUPPORTING THIS WORKFORCE THAT ARE IN SOME PRETTY TOUGH, SITUATIONS IS A TOP PRIORITY FOR US.
AND MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE, WHAT WE NEED.
ADDITIONALLY, AND, AND I'LL BUTTON THIS UP PRETTY QUICKLY, OUR FASTEST GROWING STUDENT POPULATION ARE OUR EMERGENT MULTILINGUAL LEARNERS.
MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE ADEQUATE SUPPORT AND MEETING OUR CURRENT STAFFING GUIDELINES WILL HAVE AN IMPACT.
WE SEEM TO BE PLAYING CATCH UP WITH THIS GROUP OF STUDENTS IN TERMS OF MEETING THEIR NEEDS, WHEN REALLY WE JUST NEED TO BE PROACTIVE AND FORECAST A LITTLE BIT BETTER ABOUT, WHAT THE STUDENT POPULATION IS.
ALL OF THAT TO SAY THAT THIS DOES NOT REFLECT AN ENHANCEMENT TO CLASS SIZE, IT DOES NOT REFLECT AN IMPROVEMENT TO CLASS RATIOS
[01:10:01]
THAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN, THAT NEEDS TO BE A PART OF OUR FUTURE, THAT NEEDS TO BE A PART OF OUR PLANNING.OUR BUDGET REQUEST IS VERY ROBUST AS IT IS RIGHT NOW.
THIS WILL BY FAR BE ONE OF THE MOST EXPENSIVE INITIATIVES THAT WE CONSIDER IN THE FUTURE, BUT IT NEEDS TO BE A PART OF OUR FUTURE PLANNING.
BUT BEFORE WE CAN EVEN GET TO IMPROVING OUR CLASS RATIOS, WE ACTUALLY HAVE TO GET TO OUR CLASS RATIOS.
AND THIS IS A REFLECTION OF GETTING TO OUR CLASS RATIOS AND ACTUALLY STAFFING TO THE STANDARDS THAT WE CURRENTLY EXPECT.
CLOSING THIS OUT A LITTLE BIT, I, WE ALREADY KNOW THAT WE NEED TO ADJUST OUR, OUR FUNDS FOR MATERIALS AND SUPPLIES THAT COULD ALLOCATED TO SCHOOLS, MAKING SOME ADJUSTMENTS FOR THINGS LIKE PAYING FOR SCHOOL SPORTS OFFICIALS AND MAINTAINING OUR, ATHLETIC FIELDS AND PROVIDING TRANSPORTATION.
THESE ARE REALLY JUST REFLECTIONS OF THE TRUE COSTS OF DOING THINGS AND MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE BUDGETING WITH, VERY TRANSPARENT LENS, TO TO ACTUALLY HAVE A NUMBER IN THE BUDGET THAT REFLECTS WHAT WE ACTUALLY SPENT.
TO ME, THAT IS PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT.
YOU'LL SEE ALSO A REDUCTION, HERE, THIS IS A REFLECTION OF, THE REDUCTION IN FEDERAL FUNDS.
YOU MAY HAVE, YOU MAY RECALL THAT, WE MENTIONED EARLIER WHEN WE WERE TALKING ABOUT REVENUE, THAT WE WERE PROJECTING A $5 MILLION REDUCTION IN FEDERAL REVENUE.
THIS IS THAT $5 MILLION REDUCTION IN FEDERAL REVENUE.
AND, AND WHERE THIS IS ALIGNED IN TERMS OF, THAT SPACE AND HOW THOSE FUNDS HAVE TO BE COMMITTED.
SO WHAT ON EARTH DO WE DO IN THAT SPACE? WELL, WE HAVE A NUMBER OF CHOICES.
WE BACKFILL WITH LOCAL FUNDS OR, WE ALIGN OUR PROGRAMING, TO, TO MEET, WHAT THE PROJECTION IS.
SO, CLOSING OUT, THE LAST COUPLE OF COMPONENTS HERE, HAVE TO DO WITH TEACHING AND LEARNING.
ONE OF OUR BIGGEST INVESTMENTS LAST YEAR WAS THE K ELA CURRICULUM, AND, AND, LAUNCHING OUR EARLY, OUR, EXCUSE ME, OUR ELEMENTARY, LITERACY, IMPROVEMENTS UTILIZING THE SCIENCE OF READING.
EXCEPT THAT WE DID MISS OUT ON A COUPLE OF THINGS.
WE DID NOT PROVIDE PRINT MATERIALS TO ALL OF OUR EDUCATORS.
WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT ALL OF OUR EDUCATORS HAVE THE PRINT MATERIALS THAT THEY NEED.
WE ARE ALSO LOOKING AT SECONDARY LITERACY AND, SOME STEM CURRICULUM.
AND IN THIS BUDGET, IT'S TIME FOR THOSE THINGS.
SO TO RECAP AND TO, BRIEFLY TALK, A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT WE CAN EXPECT AND SOME OF THESE NON-DISCRETIONARY REQUIREMENTS IS, THAT, THAT THESE ARE THE THINGS THAT ARE TIED TO LAW POLICIES, REGULATIONS, GUIDELINES AND CONTRACTS.
THE VAST MAJORITY OF OUR BUDGET REQUESTS ARE TO REPRESENT THE TRUE COST OF DOING BUSINESS AND, TO FILL SOME OF THE HOLES THAT WE HAVE, AND TO ADDRESS OUR FISCAL POSITI MANY OF THE THINGS THAT YOU WILL SEE IN THIS BUDGET PROPOSAL ARE REALLY JUST THE BEGINNING OF REALLY LONG TERM, MULTI-YEAR INVESTMENTS.
BUT THAT IS REALLY WHAT WE NEED TO DO IS WE NEED TO THINK, NOT JUST IN ONE YEAR.
GRANTED, THE BOARD CAN'T HOLD FUTURE BOARDS ACCOUNTABLE TO TO FUTURE BUDGET DECISIONS.
THAT THAT'S NOT HOW THIS WORKS, BUT, BUT YOU CAN, PLAN AHEAD AND, AND EVEN THOUGH YOU CAN'T HOLD FUTURE BOARDS ACCOUNTABLE, YOU YOU ABSOLUTELY, DOES NOT ABSOLVE US OF THE RESPONSIBILITY TO PLAN AHEAD.
AND SO, WHAT WE ARE TARGETING, FOR THIS YEAR IS REALLY TO, MAKE SOME OF THESE INITIAL INVESTMENTS THAT WILL PUT US BACK ON THE PATH TO FISCAL SOLVENCY AND, TO GIVE US A LITTLE BIT MORE FISCAL DISCIPLINE, BUT ALSO, FOR US TO PLAN AND, AND TO DESIGN AROUND HOW WE CAN STRUCTURE THINGS A LITTLE BIT BETTER AND A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENTLY IN THE FUTURE.
STEM MANY, CHAPTERS COVER HERE.
SO WE PROBABLY WILL GO SEVERAL ROUNDS OF QUESTIONS.
AND EACH ROUND, LET'S KEEP TO TWO QUESTIONS EACH BOARD MEMBER FIRST, THEN WE'LL COME BACK.
I, WE HAVE TIME FOR QUESTIONS.
I WOULD LIKE YOU TO BE ABLE TO ASK YOUR QUESTION.
I'M GOING TO START WITH MR. SERRANO.
I SEE IN OUR KIND OF IN OUR PROJECTED REVENUE, WE HAVE A, AN INCREASE FROM $1.1 MILLION IN, STATE GRANTS TO $1.4 MILLION.
AND THEN WE ALSO LIKE GOING BACK TO TO ONE OF THE EARLIER SLIDES WE HAD,
[01:15:01]
TO TWO MORE FULL TIME POSITIONS DEDICATED TO, TO GRANT WORK.IS THIS LIKE, KIND OF THAT, YOU KNOW, LIKE PAYING FOR ITSELF THAT WE EXPECT TO SEE WITHIN THE PROJECTED IN THE REVENUE AND THEN ALSO WITHIN OUR FULL TIME EXPENSES.
AND, AND I'LL, LET MISS MCGUIRE OPINE ON, ON SOME OF THIS AS WELL.
EVEN THOUGH WE WOULD EXPECT FOR GRANT POSITIONS TO, TO PAY FOR THEMSELVES, SO TO SPEAK, IN TERMS OF ADDITIONAL REVENUES THAT THEY COULD BRING IN, WE STILL, FROM AN ACCOUNTING STANDPOINT, HAVE TO REPRESENT THE DEBIT.
AND, AND SO REALLY WHAT THIS THIS SHOULD BE AS A BUDGET IS TO REPRESENT A NET POSITION OF EXPECTED REVENUES COMING IN AND EXPECTED EXPENDITURES GOING OUT.
AND, THE NUMBER AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE SHOULD ALWAYS BE ZERO IN TERMS OF, OF HOW WE ARE PLANNING FOR THAT.
AND EVEN THOUGH ADDITIONAL GRANT POSITIONS, MIGHT BRING IN ADDITIONAL AND UNANTICIPATED REVENUES, WE DON'T HAVE THAT REALIZED, AS PART OF OUR FINANCIAL PLAN THAT WE PROPOSED, BECAUSE WE MAY BE UNAWARE OF WHAT THOSE POTENTIAL REVENUES COULD BE.
YES. JUST TO CONFIRM THE THE REVENUE CHANGE THAT YOU'RE, HIGHLIGHTING, MR. SURANA, THOSE RELATES TO THOSE RELATE TO ACTUAL CHANGES IN STATE GRANT FUNDING THAT WE'RE AWARE OF AT THIS TIME.
THESE ARE PROJECTIONS, BUT THEY'RE PROJECTIONS BASED ON, ON SORT OF ACTUAL EVENTS.
OUR OUR HOPE CERTAINLY IS TO INCREASE, AS WE WERE SAYING, THROUGH OUR EFFORTS TO, TO INCREASE OUR, SECURING OF GRANTS, PURSUING GRANTS.
BUT ALSO SOME OF THIS IS TO, TO MANAGE THE GRANTS THAT WE HAVE AND ALSO TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL SUPPORT TO OUR SCHOOLS IN THEIR FISCAL WORK AS WELL.
SO IT'S A MULTIPLE IT'S MULTIPLE LAYERS OF, OF GRANT MANAGEMENT.
AND THAT IS OF COURSE UNTIL OUR VERY MOVING TARGET MOVES, WHICH COULD BE AS SOON AS THIS WEEK, WITH A STATE BUDGET, PROPOSAL FROM THE GOVERNOR, THESE NUMBERS COULD SHIFT.
AND, THAT IS THE FUN IN THE BUDGET SEASON IS THAT EVERYTHING IS REALLY SUBJECT TO CHANGE.
OKAY, SO, SO JUST JUST TO KIND OF CONFIRM.
SO THE NUMBER THAT WE SEE HERE IN THE PROJECTED REVENUE IS WHAT WE KIND OF BASICALLY MORE OR LESS KNOW, RIGHT NOW IN TERMS OF WHAT WE'RE SEEING IN TERMS OF THE GRANTS AND THEN THE NUMBER THAT WE HAVE THERE THAT WE EXPECT TO PAY FOR ITSELF IS, YOU KNOW, UNKNOWN AS OF YET.
SO FROM A CLASSROOM PERSPECTIVE, SEEING THIS SPECIAL EDUCATOR, STAFFING INCREASE IS REALLY EXCITING.
IT WOULD BE A HUGE RELIEF TO OUR SCHOOLS.
BUT WE AS A COMMUNITY, AS A NATION, WE HEAR ALL THE TIME ABOUT, YOU KNOW, OUR EDUCATOR SHORTAGE, OUR SPECIAL EDUCATOR SHORTAGE.
DO YOU BELIEVE THAT WE WILL BE ABLE TO FILL ALL OF THESE ALLOCATED POSITIONS? AND IF SO, GIVE US A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT HOW.
YEAH, THAT CERTAINLY IS THE AIM.
AND I WOULD SAY THAT THE SOONER THAT WE HAVE, RELATIVE CERTAINTY ON WHAT WE ARE EXPECTING TO, TO HAVE, THE BETTER THAT OPPORTUNITY BECOMES.
I WILL SAY THAT WITH, HOW WE COMPENSATE OUR STAFF, WE DO RECRUIT, AND, AND THIS IS NOT GREAT FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION.
THIS IS NOT GREAT FOR, THE, THE, THE REGION OR EVEN THE STATE OF MARYLAND, BUT IT IS GOOD FOR US, THAT THAT WE DO, RECEIVE A LOT OF OUR EMPLOYEES FROM OTHER DISTRICTS.
BECAUSE WE ARE AN ATTRACTIVE PLACE TO WORK.
AND, WE ARE A PREFERRED PLACE TO BE.
SO WE CERTAINLY HAVE HIGH HOPES AND EXPECTATIONS.
WHAT I DON'T WANT TO DO IS I DON'T WANT US TO EVER BE IN THE POSITION TO WHERE WE FIND SOMEBODY, AND WE ARE NOT MEETING A NEED, BUT WE CAN'T HIRE THEM BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE THE POSITION ALLOCATION AVAILABLE.
AND THAT IS REALLY IN MANY WAYS, WE HAVE FOUND OURSELVES IN THAT POSITION EVEN THIS YEAR, WHERE WE DO HAVE A NEED, THAT NEED HAS BEEN ARTICULATED, BUT BECAUSE OF A BUDGET LIMITATION, WE HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO SECURE, PERSONNEL IN THE RIGHT PLACES AT THE RIGHT TIMES BECAUSE WE HAVEN'T HAD THE POSITION ALLOCATION AVAILABLE.
WE DO NEED TO DO A BETTER JOB OF FORECASTING OUR NEEDS AND, GETTING OUR STAFFING A LITTLE BIT MORE CONSISTENT.
WHAT I REALLY WOULD HOPE, THAT WE COULD ACCOMPLISH THIS YEAR IS GET UP TO THAT LEVEL SET SO THAT ANY FUTURE CHANGES THAT WE MAKE TO CLASS RATIOS SEEM A LITTLE LESS DRAMATIC.
AND, DON'T LOOK LIKE WE'RE, ACTIVELY RECRUITING MASSIVE CLASSES OF EMPLOYEE GROUPS AT ONE PARTICULAR TIME THAT WE REALLY FIND OURSELVES UP TO LEVEL, AND THEN WE CAN BUILD FROM THERE.
I'VE SPEAKING OF THAT, KIND OF, YOU KNOW, FORECASTING A LITTLE BIT.
[01:20:02]
SO CURRENTLY THERE ARE ZERO CLAY MATERIALS THAT ARE IN OTHER LANGUAGES, WHETHER THAT'S CLASSROOM MATERIALS OR THE SENT HOME AT HOME MATERIALS, UNLESS THEY'RE LIKE M.C.P.S OR EDUCATOR CREATED, AS PART OF THE BUDGET, LIKE US MAKING THAT ASK OF CLAY TO, YOU KNOW, OF AMPLIFY TO PRODUCE THOSE MATERIALS OR IS PART OF THAT LIKE IF WE'RE ASKING OUR EDUCATORS OR PART OF OUR STAFF TO DO THAT, RIGHT. THERE'S A COST TO THAT.IS IS THAT INCLUDED, OR COULD WE FIND OUT WHAT THAT COST MIGHT BE? I'D LOVE TO GET BACK TO YOU ON THAT. GREAT.
I DO KNOW THAT WHAT WE HAVE PROGRAMED IN IS MAKING SURE THAT ALL OF THE EDUCATORS HAVE THE, THE PRINT MATERIALS, THAT THAT'S THE BIGGEST COMPONENT OF THIS AS TO WHETHER OR NOT THEY'RE IN OTHER LANGUAGES OR THEIR STUDENT MATERIALS AND OTHER LANGUAGE.
I HAVE TO GET BACK TO YOU ON. OKAY. RELATEDLY, WHEN WE, ALLOCATE FOR THESE MATERIALS, OFTENTIMES WE DON'T FORECAST WELL FOR NEW STUDENTS THAT WE GET.
I CAN SPEAK FROM MY OWN PERSPECTIVE.
I'VE DEFINITELY BEEN IN THE POSITION OF RUNNING AROUND THE SCHOOL SAYING, DOES ANYONE HAVE A UNIT THREE BOOK AND THIRDLY, LIKE AND ASKING FRIENDS AT OTHER SCHOOLS, IT'S JUST ONE MORE THING TO DO, RIGHT? SO IF WE'RE ABLE TO FORECAST THAT, WELL, I THINK THAT WOULD BE REALLY BENEFICIAL FOR OUR CLASSROOMS TO THANK YOU.
WANTED TO GO BACK TO THE BIG TICKET ITEMS. THE, BENEFITS, THE, FINANCIAL CORRECTION HEALTH BENEFITS PLAN AND THE, THE SALARY LAPSE.
WELL, SO JUST FOR THE VIEWING PUBLIC, WE CAN'T ASSUME THAT EVERYONE'S BEEN KEEPING UP WITH, BUDGET PALOOZA.
SO HOW WOULD YOU EXPLAIN TO THE VIEWING PUBLIC HOW WE GOT INTO THE HEALTH BENEFITS, THE NEED FOR A CORRECTION, AGAIN, REALLY HIGH LEVEL SO THAT, ANYONE CAN UNDERSTAND, WE'LL START WITH HEALTH BENEFITS, FOR SURE.
WE ARE SELF-INSURED, MEANING THAT WE COVER, THE COST OF DOING BUSINESS, SO TO SPEAK, FOR HOW WE ADMINISTER OUR HEALTH INSURANCE PLAN.
THAT IS NOT UNCOMMON FOR LARGE ORGANIZATIONS TO BE SELF-INSURED.
AND AS A RESULT, WE ARE THE THE FINANCIAL RESPONSIBLE PARTY FOR COVERING THE COST OF THE BENEFIT THAT WE OFFER TO OUR EMPLOYEES, THE WAY THAT OUR EMPLOYEE BENEFIT, FOR HEALTH CARE IS ESTABLISHED IS THAT IT HAS SOME BENEFITS THAT HAVE SOME COST THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THEM, THAT ARE HIGHER IN TERMS OF THEIR UTILIZATION THAN WHAT WE HAVE, BUDGETED FOR.
SO, FOR EXAMPLE, IF, WE THINK THAT, 10% OF OUR EMPLOYEES ARE GOING TO UTILIZE A MEDICATION THAT COSTS $100, AND REALLY, 20% OF OUR EMPLOYEES UTILIZE THIS MEDICATION THAT COSTS $100.
SO THERE'S A COUPLE OF WAYS THAT WE CAN RESPOND TO THAT.
WE CAN ADJUST HOW WE HAVE THE PLAN STRUCTURED, WHICH WILL LIKELY NEED TO DO THAT.
AND WE CAN ALSO ADJUST WHAT WE INVEST AS THE EMPLOYERS INTO THAT PLAN, SO THAT WE CAN KEEP THE COSTS LOW FOR EMPLOYEES.
THIS REPRESENTS REALLY A COMBINATION OF THOSE TWO THINGS, THE NEED FOR US TO HAVE A PLAN THAT CAN SUSTAIN ITSELF OVER TIME AND DOESN'T EXCEED THE COSTS OF DOING BUSINESS, AND THEN ALSO BACKFILLING THE AREAS THAT WE WE DID NOT, PLAN FOR IN BUDGET CORRECTLY.
SO A LOT OF THIS IS FINANCIAL FORECASTING.
A LOT OF THIS IS ALSO, TRYING TO ANTICIPATE, MEDICAL COSTS RELATIVE TO THE EXPERIENCE THAT OUR, EMPLOYEES HAVE IN TERMS OF HOW MUCH UTILIZATION THEY HAVE AND, HOW WE FIND THAT RIGHT INTERSECTION OF PROVIDING GREAT HEALTH BENEFITS TO OUR EMPLOYEES AT A COST THAT WE CAN AFFORD AND THAT THEY CAN AFFORD.
SO OUR PROJECTIONS HAVE BEEN OFF FOR THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS, AND WE FIND OURSELVES IN, AND WE HAVEN'T ADJUSTED THE PLAN OR OUR COST STRUCTURE TO ACCOMMODATE FOR THOSE CHANGES.
SO IF ANYTHING, WHERE WE'RE TRYING TO PLAY CATCH UP ON, WE SHOULD BE A LITTLE BIT MORE PROACTIVE.
AND THE TOTAL INVESTMENT IN HEALTH BENEFITS IS, I UNDERSTAND, $400 MILLION. YES.
THIS IS JUST WHAT WE'RE BUDGETING FOR THIS YEAR.
SO, THIS EXAMPLE AND THE EXAMPLE YOU GAVE ABOUT UTILITIES REMINDED ME THIS IS JUST THE MONEY WE'RE ADDING THIS YEAR.
THERE IS THE BUDGET AND THIS IS WHAT WE'RE WE NEED
[01:25:01]
MORE TO KEEP, MAINTAINING A HIGH QUALITY SCHOOL DISTRICT.SO WHERE CAN THE PUBLIC FIND WHERE IS THAT $400 MILLION FOR HEALTH BENEFITS? WHERE IS THAT MILLIONS OF DOLLARS THAT WE SPENT IN UTILITIES THAT WE NOW HAVE A $4 MILLION INCREASE THIS YEAR.
SO WE ACTUALLY CAN SHARE A COUPLE OF THOSE THINGS.
I KNOW IN PARTICULAR WITH, UTILITIES, IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN, IT'S ON OUR MACRO SHEET THAT WE JUST RELEASED AND WE HAVE AN EXHIBIT, THAT DETAILS SOME OF THOSE COSTS AND OUTLINES, SOME OF THAT COMPONENT.
BUT I MAY ALSO CALL ON PROBABLY YOU WANT TO COME UP AND, AND POINT OUT IN OUR, IN OUR BUDGET DOCUMENTS WHERE WE COULD FIND THAT I HAD FORGOTTEN HOW BIG THAT JUST 400 MILLION THAT IT'S AN 844.
WHAT WE ACTUALLY PAY FOR HEALTH AND NOT THE INCREASE IS $400 MILLION.
WE'RE ADDING 40 MILLION THIS YEAR.
SO IT JUST REMINDED ME THESE THERE ARE HUGE NUMBERS IN THIS LARGE BUDGET.
AGAIN, JUST TO HELP PEOPLE UNDERSTAND PEOPLE SAY YOU HAVE $3 BILLION, THAT'S ENOUGH MONEY.
WHY ARE YOU ASKING FOR MORE? KNOW THESE THINGS.
I JUST WANT THE PUBLIC TO UNDERSTAND THE REAL COSTS OF RUNNING A HIGH QUALITY SCHOOL DISTRICT OF THIS SIZE TODAY.
AND IT'S REFLECTIVE OF, THE CARRYING COSTS FOR 25,000 FULL TIME EMPLOYEES.
AND SO IT IS A COMPONENT THAT, AFTER THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT, IT'S NOT REALLY A CHOICE FOR US TO OFFER HEALTH BENEFITS, AS A, AS A MECHANISM, FOR, FOR RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION.
WE, WE HAVE A BENEFITS PACKAGE THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO THINK IS VERY COMPETITIVE, AND ATTRACTS, EMPLOYEES AS WELL.
SO IT FEEDS INTO THAT RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION COMPONENT AS WELL.
MR. THOMPSON IS GOING TO SEE IF WE CAN PULL UP SOME OF THOSE NUMBERS RIGHT NOW.
THOSE ARE NUMBERS THAT TYPICALLY ARE PUBLISHED IN OUR BUDGET BOOK EVERY YEAR.
IN TERMS OF THAT, WE HAVE A WE HAVE A TABLE OF ALL OF THE BENEFIT CONTRIBUTIONS, BOTH BASE AND INCREASE.
I DO REGRET THAT THAT HAS NOT YET BEEN PRINTED.
HOWEVER, AS YOU KNOW, MANY OF OUR MATERIALS, IN FACT, THE REST OF THE MATERIALS WILL BE AVAILABLE BY THE END OF THE MONTH.
AND SO IT WILL BE AVAILABLE, AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO UPDATE THAT IF WE CAN CIRCLE BACK SO THAT, THE PUBLIC CAN KNOW WHERE TO FIND THAT INFORMATION.
IDEALLY, IF YOU CAN HAVE THAT BEFORE OUR NEXT BUDGET WORKSHOP.
YEAH. WORK SESSION. THAT WOULD BE GREAT.
I'LL WAIT FOR THE NEXT ROUND. SURE.
THANK YOU FOR EXPLAINING SALARY LAPSE.
I THINK THAT WAS VERY BENEFICIAL.
AND, NO, NO, NO, NO, NOT THAT PREVIOUSLY.
PREVIOUSLY, BEFORE BEFORE YOUR COMMENTS, I THINK THAT WAS VERY BENEFICIAL TO WHY.
BECAUSE WE HAD FILL OR OUR POSITIONS.
NOW WE, WE DON'T HAVE, A CUSHION NECESSARILY.
I WANTED TO, JUST MAKE SURE THAT, TO THANK YOU FOR MAKING, MAINTENANCE, ONE OF THE FOCUSES OF THIS BUDGET, BECAUSE I THINK IN ANY COMMUNITY MEETING THAT WE GO TO, ANY PTA, ANY SOME OF THE SCHOOLS THAT WE, EVEN OUR KIDS GO TO, MAINTENANCE HAS ALWAYS BEEN AN ISSUE.
AND YOUR BUDGET. RIGHT, WHICH IS COMBINED. RIGHT.
WHICH IS COMBINED BOTH PAY AS YOU GO INTO FACILITY.
TASK FORCE TEAMS ON TRYING TO UNDERSTAND, THE FACILITY TASK FOR TEAM.
SO YOU'RE GOING TO BE ADDING 22 POSITIONS TO THAT DOCTOR TAYLOR.
AND AND THEN THEY'RE GOING TO BE WORKING AS A COHORT GROUP OF THE HELP ME HVAC.
SO THIS THIS IS A GREAT QUESTION.
AND, AND PRETTY EXCITING BECAUSE THIS IS AN IDEA THAT WE'VE BORROWED FROM OTHER DISTRICTS THAT HAVE TRIED SOMETHING SIMILAR.
IMAGINE A TEAM THAT IS LOOKING AT, THE UNFULFILLED WORK ORDERS THAT ARE IN OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM, WHICH WE HAVE MANY THE REASON THAT THEY'RE UNFULFILLED IS NOT BECAUSE WE HAVE AN INEFFECTIVE OR, A LAZY WORKFORCE, BUT BECAUSE THERE'S SOME CAPACITY LIMITATIONS IN TERMS OF GETTING TO EVERYTHING.
AND THERE'S ALSO, THAT THAT EXPERTISE ISN'T ALWAYS IN THE BUILDING.
AND, OUR SOME OF OUR VERY HARD WORKING BUILDING SERVICE STAFF MAY NOT BE EXPERTS IN HVAC OR MAY NOT BE EXPERTS IN PLUMBING, OR MAY NOT BE EXPERTS IN ELECTRICAL, THAT WE HAVE A TEAM, THAT IS MULTIDISCIPLINARY, MEANING THAT THEY DO HAVE THAT EXPERTISE IN THOSE AREAS AND, THEY PLAN, ON HOW THEY WOULD GO ABOUT CLEARING WORK ORDERS AND GO SCHOOL BY SCHOOL TO CLEAR WORK ORDERS, AND TO, TO BRING A SCHOOL BACK UP TO, OUR EXPECTED,
[01:30:03]
LEVELS OF PERFORMANCE.IT'S I THINK THAT BECAUSE ONE OF THE THINGS WE HEAR ABOUT IS THESE WORK ORDERS GO INTO THIS ABYSS OF WE DON'T KNOW WHERE.
IT'S KIND OF LIKE THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS, AND SOME OF THEM ARE A YEAR OR TWO YEARS, AND THEY KEEP PUTTING IN FOR THE SAME WORK ORDER.
SO THIS IS GOING TO ALLEVIATE THAT.
AND THEN YOU'RE ADDING THREE POSITIONS FOR BUILDING SERVICES STAFFING, WHICH WHEN I HEARD YOU GIVE US A DESCRIPTION OF THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE NOT INCREASE IN 20 YEARS.
SO IT'S LITERALLY WE'RE ADDING NEW SCHOOLS.
WE'RE ADDING, YOU KNOW, BUT YET WE HAVE NOT ADDED ADEQUATE STAFFING TO BE ABLE TO REPLENISH THAT.
SO WE'VE BEEN DOING MORE WITH LESS IN A SENSE.
THAT'S A VERY ACCURATE DESCRIPTION.
AND SADLY, NOT ONLY HAVE WE NOT ADDED IN THAT SPACE, BUT IN, IN OFTEN, LEAN TIMES, IT'S ALSO BEEN AN AREA THAT WE'VE TURNED TO TO, TO FIND SOME EFFICIENCY.
THIS IS AN INCREDIBLY HARD WORKING GROUP OF FOLKS.
THEY ARE THE PEOPLE THAT GET DEPLOYED ON SNOW DAYS TO CLEAR PARKING LOTS AND TO CLEAR WALKWAYS.
AND OUR MOST RECENT SNOW EVENT IS A GREAT EXAMPLE OF HOW STRETCHED THIN, WE REALLY ARE IN TERMS OF, MAKING SURE THAT WE CAN HAVE ADEQUATE RESOURCES OUT THERE.
AND WE GET TO EVERY SCHOOL CAMPUS.
AND, AND IT IS NOT THE RESPONSIBILITY OF 1 OR 2 PEOPLE PER CAMPUS, BUT IT REALLY JUST NEEDS TO BE A TEAM, APPROACH. AND, AND HOW CAN WE LEVERAGE SOME, SOME CENTRALIZED EXPERTISE? EVERYTHING FROM, FROM KEYING BUILDINGS TO, PAINT TO ELECTRICAL AND CARPENTRY, ALL OF THOSE THINGS, NEED TO HAPPEN IN OUR, OUR OVER 200 CAMPUSES ON THE SCHOOL DAY.
STAFFING NEEDS SUPPORT. IF WE CAN GO TO THAT PAGE.
THE SPECIAL ED STAFFING IS LONG OVERDUE AS AS YOU KNOW, AND AS WE CAN SEE BY THE AMOUNT OF TEACHERS THAT YOU'RE PROJECTING THAT WE NEED TO JUST BE AT THE ADEQUATE CLASS RATIO, I THINK IS WHAT YOU SAID, NOT EVEN TO ADD, BUT JUST TO BE AT A PLACE WHERE WE CAN ACTUALLY JUST DO THE BASIC WORK FOR IT.
AND I ECHO, MR. ZIMMERMAN'S, YOU KNOW, POINT THAT THIS IS GREAT NEWS.
SO JUST TO BE CLEAR, WITH THE $500 PAIR EDUCATORS, 366 THAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE AS PART TIME AND SPECIAL ED WILL BE OFFERED TO, KIND OF LIKE OUR PRE-K WILL BE OFFERED TO BE FULL TIME, RIGHT? WHICH WILL LEAVE US TO RECRUIT ABOUT 144 ADDITIONAL, SPECIAL PAIR OF EDUCATORS.
AND WITH THAT, FINALLY, AFTER MANY YEARS OF ADVOCACY, WE'RE GOING TO SEE THAT THERE'S GOING TO BE A DIFFERENTIAL PAY WITH THOSE PARENT EDUCATORS.
YEAH, THOSE ARE GREAT OBSERVATIONS.
AND IT SEEMS LIKE A MONSTER NUMBER WHEN WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT, OH MY GOSH, HOW ARE THEY GOING TO FIND 680 POSITIONS? WE HIRE WELL OVER A THOUSAND PEOPLE A YEAR EVERY YEAR, FOR A VARIETY OF ROLES.
BUT IT IS NOTEWORTHY TO POINT OUT THAT THERE ARE INCUMBENTS IN 366 OF THOSE POSITIONS, AND ACTUALLY THAT 46.6 MILLION WOULD BE MORE IF THEY WERE BRAND NEW POSITIONS.
BE WE ARE ALREADY LEVERAGING THE PART TIME PAY THAT, THAT WE'VE ALREADY COMMITTED TO THOSE POSITIONS AS PART OF THAT BUDGET EQUATION.
SO THE, THE NET IS REDUCED A LITTLE BIT.
IT WOULD BE A, SUBSTANTIALLY HIGHER, DOLLAR FIGURE.
THIS REALLY IS, A WAY FOR US TO REDUCE SOME OF THE CHURN IN THAT SPACE, FINDING, 134 NEW POSITIONS AND 188 NEW TEACHER POSITIONS TO MISS ZIMMERMAN'S POINT.
ALTHOUGH THAT THAT IS CHALLENGING, WE ACTUALLY THINK THAT WILL DO QUITE WELL.
AND AND IT'S NOT OUTSIDE THE BOUNDS OF, OF OUR RECRUITMENT ABILITIES BASED ON WHAT WE HAVE TO DO EVERY YEAR.
IT'S LESS THAN A POSITION PER SCHOOL IN TERMS OF TEACHING POSITIONS, AND DEFINITELY IN TERMS OF OUR POSITIONS.
IT'S LESS THAN ONE PER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
IN TERMS OF THE VOLUME THAT WE HAVE, IT'S LONG OVERDUE.
AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GOING TO MAKE US MORE COMPETITIVE AS WELL AS A SYSTEM BECAUSE WE HAVE A LOSING, INCREDIBLE PART TIME PARENT EDUCATORS TO OTHER SYSTEMS THAT DO HAVE THE FULL TIME OPTION FOR THEM.
AND MANY OF THEM ARE BILINGUAL OR TRILINGUAL.
SO THIS IS REALLY, I THINK, A GAME CHANGER.
SO, THANK YOU TO YOU AND THE STAFF AND THE EML STAFFING.
JUST TO BE CLEAR, EVEN THOUGH WE'RE ADDING 47 NEW TEACHERS, THE RATIO.
SO THE RATIO OF CLASSROOM SIZE
[01:35:04]
RIGHT NOW IS LIKE 141, I THINK.RIGHT. THIS IS NOT AN IMPROVEMENT.
AND THIS IS JUST TO MAKE LEVEL.
SO EVEN THOUGH WE'RE SEEING SOME OF THESE AND WE'RE SAYING, OH, THEY'RE ADDING NEW TEACHERS, ADDING NEW STAFF, THIS IS JUST REALLY ADDING TO THE POINT WHERE IS ADEQUATE SUPPORT IN THE CLASSROOM.
SO I HAD AN INTERESTING CONVERSATION, WITH A COUPLE PARENTS RECENTLY WHO SAID, OH MY GOSH, YOU'RE ADDING TEACHERS, BUT YOU'RE DECLINING IN ENROLLMENT.
HOW ON EARTH IS THAT HAPPENING? AND I SAID, YOU KNOW, THAT THAT WOULD BE A CHALLENGE FOR SURE FOR ME TO UNDERSTAND IF I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND HOW OUR STUDENT POPULATION IS CHANGING, TOO, BECAUSE WHAT WE'VE NOTICED OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS IS THAT OUR STUDENT DISABILITY, STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES POPULATION HAS INCREASED.
OUR EMERGENT MULTILINGUAL, STUDENT POPULATION HAS INCREASED.
AND EVEN THOUGH OUR STUDENT POPULATION HAS BEEN RELATIVELY FLAT OR HAS EVEN DECLINED IN SOME AREAS, IT DOES NOT ACCOUNT FOR THE FACT THAT WE HAVE STUDENTS WITH DIVERSE LEARNING NEEDS THAT NEED TO BE ACCOUNTED FOR, AND WE ACCOUNT FOR THAT IN A IN A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT WAY THAN JUST GENERAL ED STAFFING.
THE OTHER QUESTION THAT I HAVE IN THIS SCENARIO HERE IS, WHEN YOU ARE ON THE ROAD AND IN SOME OF THE COMMUNITY MEETINGS, I WANTED TO LISTEN TO THE PARENTS AND DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE COUNTY.
THE BROADER ISSUE OF SUPPORT SERVICES FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION, OR FOR CHILDREN WHO HAD AN IEP OR 5 OR 4 PLAN WITH SPEECH THERAPY AND OTHERS THAT, SEEMS THAT WE'RE HAVING A REALLY HARD TIME BEING ABLE TO COMPLY.
AND EVEN IN THOSE SCHOOLS WHERE WE KNOW WE HAVE CHILDREN WITH SEVERE DISABILITIES, WE'RE HAVING A HARD TIME COMPLYING.
WHAT IS THE SCENARIO IN THIS PICTURE TO BE ABLE TO SUPPORT THOSE POSITIONS? YEAH, THEY'RE INCLUDED FOR SURE.
IN THAT 188, EDUCATOR POSITIONS.
BUT IN ADDITION, BEYOND THAT, THERE ARE SOME CLEVER THINGS THAT WE CAN DO.
HAD A GREAT CONVERSATION WITH THE BOARD PRESIDENT ACTUALLY THIS MORNING ABOUT THIS EXACT TOPIC.
AND, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT RESURFACES IN OUR COMMUNITY, TIME AND TIME AGAIN, WHEN WE DON'T HAVE A SPEECH PATHOLOGIST OR SOMEONE TO PROVIDE SPEECH SERVICES, IT DOES NOT ABSOLVE US OF THE RESPONSIBILITY TO STILL PROVIDE IT.
SO WHAT WE HAVE TYPICALLY HAD TO DO IS, IS CONTRACT THAT SERVICE, WITH A THIRD PARTY PROVIDER THAT IS MORE EXPENSIVE THAN US PROVIDING THAT WITH STAFFING.
SO WE NEED TO COME UP WITH AN APPROACH, THAT HONORS THE ROLE OF OUR SPEECH PATHOLOGIST, THAT, ALLOWS THEM TO FOCUS ON THAT WORK WITH, WITHOUT ANCILLARY RESPONSIBILITIES, WITH, REALLY TRYING TO FIND WAYS TO MAKE THAT AN ATTRACTIVE POSITION.
IT IS A IT IS A NATIONAL SHORTAGE.
EVERY TIME THAT I HAVE APPEARED BEFORE COUNTY COUNCIL, I HAVE, BEGGED SIDNEY KATZ FOR HIS WIFE TO COME OUT OF RETIREMENT BECAUSE SHE WAS A SPEECH PATHOLOGIST, BECAUSE WE COULD USE ALL THE SPEECH PATHOLOGIST THAT WE CAN GET.
I THINK AT SOME POINT I WILL WEAR HER DOWN AND WE'LL GET ONE MORE.
BUT THE REALITY IS, IS THAT THIS IS A HIGH NEEDS AREA.
IT'S GOING TO CONTINUE TO BE A HIGH NEEDS AREA.
SO WE REALLY NEED TO APPROACH THIS FROM TWO DIFFERENT LENSES.
HOW DO WE KEEP THE SPEECH PATHOLOGIST THAT ARE ALREADY IN OUR SYSTEM AND AND SUPPORT THEM SO THAT THEY WANT TO STAY WITH US AND TO HOW DO WE RECRUIT AND CREATE THE CONDITIONS FOR THAT TO BE, A POSITION WITHIN M.C.P.S THAT'S FULFILLED.
THIS BUDGET IS VERY CLEAR AS FAR AS IT GOES.
MY QUESTION IS, BUDGETS SORT OF REFLECT OUR VALUES AND WHAT'S IMPORTANT TO US.
AND WHEN I LOOK AT THIS BUDGET, I'M REMINDED THAT WE CONTINUE TO HAVE DATA THAT IS PREDICTABLE BY RACE.
I SEE THIS STRUGGLING CATEGORIES IN THIS BUDGET.
BUT WHAT I DON'T SEE IS INTENTIONAL, INTENTIONAL ACTIVITIES THAT ARE GOING TO TO ADDRESS THE, GAPS THAT WE ARE SEEING WITH AFRICAN-AMERICAN STUDENTS.
AND THAT'S GOING TO BE A QUESTION I'M GOING TO ASK IN EVERY SECTION WE COVER, BECAUSE I DON'T SEE THAT.
AND I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHAT IS INTENTIONAL IN THIS BUDGET.
IT'S GOING TO ADDRESS THAT ISSUE.
AND, I WILL EXPOUND ON THIS AGAIN WHEN WE MEET AGAIN TO TALK ABOUT DISCRETIONARY EXPENDITURES.
AND THAT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT WE CALL OUT, SPECIFICALLY, THOUGH, WE CALL OUT A GREAT MANY THINGS, WITH GREAT SPECIFICITY.
I WILL SAY THAT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT SHOULD TROUBLE US,
[01:40:02]
AND SOMETHING THAT TROUBLES ME IS THE DISPROPORTION IDENTIFICATION OF STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES FOR OUR BLACK STUDENTS, THE DISPROPORTIONATE IDENTIFICATION OF STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES FOR HISPANIC STUDENTS, AND MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE NOT ONLY PROVIDING GREAT SERVICES TO STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES, BUT THAT WE'RE ALSO MAKING SURE THAT OUR IDENTIFIED COLLECTION OF STUDENTS IS APPROPRIATE AND THAT WE'RE PROVIDING ADEQUATE SUPPORTS, IN OUR NON-DISCRETIONARY REQUIREMENTS, BEYOND PROVIDING INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS AND PROVIDING, SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE, ENUMERATED AND MAKING SURE THAT THERE ARE ENHANCED OPPORTUNITIES FOR MATERIALS AND SUPPLIES.THIS BUDGET DOES NOT DO A WHOLE LOT TO ADVANCE M.C.P.S OR TO INNOVATE M.C.P.S.
BUT WHAT IT DOES DO IS IT HELPS TO STABILIZE WHAT WE SAY THAT WE SHOULD BE DOING.
AND SO THIS IS, A BUDGET THAT IS VERY MUCH TRYING TO PUT THE TRAIN BACK ON THE TRACKS AND TO GIVE US SOME STABILITY SO THAT WE CAN CREATE THE CONDITIONS FOR INNOVATION AND IMPROVEMENT.
I ABSOLUTELY HEAR YOU THAT WE SHOULD CALL OUT SPECIFIC THINGS THAT TROUBLE US.
I AM DELIGHTED THAT WE ARE ADDRESSING EXACTLY, YOUR CONCERN IN A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT WAYS, EVEN THOUGH IT MAY NOT BE SPELLED OUT IN WORDS.
OKAY, I UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE SAYING.
AND CLEARLY DISPROPORTIONALITY IS A RESULT OF OVERREPRESENTATION IN SPECIAL EDUCATION.
BUT WE HAVE A NUMBER OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN STUDENTS IN GENERAL EDUCATION, AND THE GAP IS STILL THERE.
THAT'S WHAT I'M TRYING TO UNDERSTAND.
I KNOW THOSE IN THE FREE AND REDUCED LUNCH PRICE CATEGORY, THOSE IN SPECIAL ED, BUT I'M NOT SEEING INTENTION IN THE BUDGET FOR THOSE GENERAL EDUCATION STUDENTS.
AND THE GAP IS STILL PERSISTENT.
SO A COUPLE OF THINGS IN TODAY'S TOPIC.
AND AND I'LL GIVE A LITTLE BIT OF A PREVIEW ON WHAT TO EXPECT IN YOUR NEXT BUDGET WORK SESSION. TWO ONE OF THE GAPS THAT WE AIM TO FILL IS TO TO MAKE SURE THAT SCHOOLS HAVE ADEQUATE MATERIALS AND SUPPLIES.
IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT WE'VE BEEN PARTICULARLY ATTENTIVE TO.
WE HAVEN'T DONE A GREAT JOB WITH THAT.
AND IT IS DEFINITELY AN ISSUE, MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE EDUCATORS IN THE CLASSROOM AND THAT WE DON'T LOSE THEM.
THAT IS ACTUALLY A CRITICAL STRATEGY FOR US TO BE SUCCESSFUL.
IF WE HAVE HIGH EDUCATOR CHURN, IT IS GOING TO HAVE A NEGATIVE IMPACT ON GENERAL EDUCATION.
IF WE DON'T HAVE ADEQUATE MATERIALS AND SUPPLIES, IS GOING TO HAVE A NEGATIVE IMPACT ON, WHAT HAPPENS, IN THE CLASSROOM FOR GENERAL EDUCATION AS WELL.
THIS IS A LOT AS BEST AS I CAN DESCRIBE IT IS TO CREATE THE CONDITIONS FOR THOSE TO BE LESS OF A VARIABLE MOVING FORWARD.
I THINK THAT WE NEED TO INVEST IN A COUPLE OF AREAS THAT WE HAVEN'T INVESTED IN THE PAST, IN PARTICULAR.
AND THIS IS THE PREVIEW TO THE NEXT BUDGET WORK SESSION INTO HOW WE CREATE A LEVEL PLAYING FIELD.
FOR SCHOOL RESOURCES AND, AND WHAT THE PRINCIPAL HAS AVAILABLE TO THEM.
ONE SCHOOL WITH AN OVERACTIVE PTA THAT PROVIDES A LOT OF ADDITIONAL SUPPORT SHOULDN'T BE, A CONCERN OF SOMEBODY WHO HAS A SCHOOL THAT DOESN'T HAVE THOSE FINANCIAL RESOURCES WITHOUT US CREATING A MECHANISM TO LEVEL THAT PLAYING FIELD.
WE HAVE BEEN VERY SUCCESSFUL IN A NUMBER OF SITUATIONS, PROVIDING SOME, INDUSTRY CERTIFICATIONS AND, SOME GED SUPPORT FOR STUDENTS AT NIGHT THROUGH OUR PROGRAM.
BUT WE FEEL LIKE THAT SHOULDN'T BE LIMITED TO ONE GROUP OF STUDENTS, OUR EML STUDENTS.
WE FEEL LIKE WE CAN EXPAND THAT TO A LOT OF STUDENTS WHO NEED THAT ADDITIONAL SUPPORT.
AND WE SEE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THAT AS WELL.
SO I CAN'T WAIT TO TALK ABOUT THAT.
IN ADDITION AND THAT ABSOLUTELY.
AND BOTH OF THOSE SCENARIOS ENCOMPASSES BLACK STUDENTS AND OTHER STUDENTS WHO HAVE NOT FOUND SUCCESS IN THE GENERAL EDUCATION ENVIRONMENT.
YOU KNOW, I'M NOT TRYING TO TAKE AWAY FROM ANY OTHER CATEGORY.
AND I DO BELIEVE THAT SPECIAL EDUCATION REQUIRES SPECIAL ATTENTION AT THIS TIME.
BUT I ALSO THINK THAT PARENT EDUCATORS ARE NEEDED IN THE GENERAL EDUCATION SETTING, AND THAT WOULD GO A LONG WAYS TOWARDS HELPING, IMPROVE THE OPPORTUNITY GAP.
SO I WILL LIKELY HAVE TO FOLLOW UP AFTERWARDS, BUT I DO WANT TO KIND OF PIGGYBACK
[01:45:01]
ON WHAT MISS WOLFF SAID, ABOUT OUR LATINO STUDENTS, BECAUSE OFTENTIMES IT SEEMS THEY GET PUT INTO THIS.AND WE THINK ALL LATINO STUDENTS ARE EML, RIGHT? EMERGING MULTILINGUAL LEARNERS. AND THAT IS JUST NOT TRUE.
AND NOT ALL OF OUR EMERGING MULTILINGUAL LEARNERS ARE LATINO. RIGHT.
DON'T SEE I THINK WHAT SHE PHRASE IS INTENTIONAL ACTIVITY, WHICH I LIKE, GEARED TOWARDS OUR STUDENTS WHO ARE IN GENERAL EDUCATION.
WE SEE THAT EVEN WHEN YOU CONTROL FOR SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS AND VARIOUS OTHER VARIABLES THAT OUR LATINO STUDENTS ARE NOT MEETING PROFICIENCY SCORES, SOMETIMES THOSE PROFICIENCY SCORES ARE IN THE SINGLE DIGIT NUMBERS.
AND ESPECIALLY FOR OUR YOUNGER LEARNERS, I'M EXTREMELY CONCERNED BECAUSE THAT PILES ON AS THEY GET OLDER.
AND SO I HEAR WHAT YOU'RE SAYING ABOUT MAINTAINING STAFF AND THE SUPPLIES, INCREASES, WHICH I THINK ARE GREAT.
AND DOES IT REALLY AFFECT OUR YOUNGEST LEARNERS? BUT IS THERE ANYWHERE IN HERE WHERE WE'RE LOOKING AT HIGH INTENSITY TUTORING OR, YOU KNOW, WE SEE THESE MODELS IN DC? I THINK BALTIMORE JUST GOT A BUNCH OF GRANTS THAT SEEMS VERY SIMILAR TO THE DC MODEL.
I KNOW, I KNOW, WE'RE WE'RE SCRAPING FOR PENNIES HERE, BUT AM I MISSING SOMETHING? IS THAT HERE SOMEWHERE? AND I DON'T SEE IT, OR IS THAT SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE TO PUT ON THE WISH LIST? IT'S NOT REFLECTED IN THIS BUDGET.
THAT THAT IS, THAT IS NOT IDENTIFIED.
AND AND CANDIDLY, I THINK YOU'RE YOU AND MRS. WOLFF ARE REALLY APPROACHING THIS FROM THE RIGHT LENS, WHICH IS I'M A PARENT AT HOME.
HOW DO I SEE IN THIS BUDGET THE IMPACT, TO MY CHILD'S EXPERIENCE.
AND, AND YOU'RE GOING TO SEE AN IMPACT IN A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT WAYS.
AND IT MAY NOT NECESSARILY BE LIKE, THIS IS WHAT WE'RE DOING FOR BLACK STUDENTS OR THIS IS WHAT WE'RE DOING FOR LATINO STUDENTS, OR THIS IS WHAT WE'RE DOING FOR ASIAN STUDENTS.
BUT WHAT I HOPE, YOU CAN SEE IS A NOTICEABLE AND INTENTIONAL, INVESTMENT IN MAKING SURE THAT LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS ARE IMPROVED, THAT EXPECTATIONS ARE CLEAR AND FOLLOWED UP ON, WHICH IS ACTUALLY NOT A BUDGET ITEM, BUT CRITICAL TO OUR PATH MOVING FORWARD.
THAT THERE IS NOT RANDOM SHORTAGES OF MATERIALS AND SUPPLIES BECAUSE OF A BUDGET LINE THAT REFLECTS ONE WAY, BUT OUR ACTUAL NEEDS REFLECTING SOMETHING ELSE, AND THAT THERE IS A QUALIFIED EDUCATOR IN FRONT OF THE CLASSROOM.
THAT DOESN'T CHANGE EVERY YEAR.
SO FOR US, THOSE ARE THE CRITICAL PIECES THAT WE SEE AS PART OF THE STRATEGY TO TO MAINTAIN THAT CONTINUITY.
I WOULD SAY THAT OUR, OUR GENERAL EDUCATION INVESTMENT IS NOT AS REFLECTIVE OF THE CHANGES IN THE BUDGET AS MUCH AS IT IS.
HOW WE SURE UP TO THE THINGS THAT ARE ALREADY EXISTING IN THE BUDGET, BUT NO TUTORING IS NOT SOMETHING THAT WE'VE ADDED IN.
WE WE DID HAVE THE BLESSING THROUGH, ESSER FUNDS, POST PANDEMIC AND TOWARDS THE END OF THE PANDEMIC, THAT AUGMENTED A LOT OF ADDITIONAL SUPPORT THAT WE, WE JUST DON'T HAVE.
AND, SO UNLESS WE BUILD AT THE BASE THE BASE BUDGET, IT'S NOT GOING TO BE IN THERE BECAUSE IT SEEMS LIKE SOME SCHOOLS MIGHT HAVE VARIOUS PROGRAMS OR COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS.
PERHAPS THOSE SCHOOLS ARE TITLE ONE SCHOOLS OR COMMUNITY SCHOOLS OR FOCUS SCHOOLS. RIGHT.
THERE'S VARIOUS LEVELS OF SUPPORT THAT COME WITH THAT.
BUT WE ALSO KNOW THAT ACROSS THE BOARD, A LOT OF OUR SCHOOLS HAVE INCREASING PHARMS RATES.
AND, YOU KNOW, WE TALKED ABOUT SPECIAL EDUCATION.
AND SO I'M JUST, YOU KNOW, THOSE STUDENTS NEED ASSISTANCE ALSO.
AND A LOT OF TIMES THEY GET OVERLOOKED, WHICH THEN CAN PERPETUATE THIS FALLING BEHIND ONE OF OUR HOPES.
AND, THIS IS REALLY MORE OF A TOPIC FOR, FOR NEXT TIME.
IT IS TO RELOOK AT, THE, THE PRINCIPALS ALLOCATION FOR EACH INDIVIDUAL SCHOOL AND HOW WE DIFFERENTIATE THAT TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL SUPPORT.
COULD A PRINCIPAL USE, SOME OF THOSE RESOURCES TO, TO AUGMENT WITH SOME TUTORING? ABSOLUTELY.
DO THEY HAVE THE DISCRETION TO USE THAT FOR, ADDITIONAL OTHER SUPPORT SERVICES? ABSOLUTELY.
I THINK THAT THAT'S OUR INTENTION IS, TO TO UPDATE WHERE THEY ARE IN TERMS OF THEIR FINANCIAL STANDING.
IT'S ARGUABLY SOME OF THE BEST MONEY SPENT IN THE BUDGET IS WHAT WE PROVIDE TO THE SCHOOLS FOR THEIR USE.
AS LONG AS WE PAINT, THE GUIDELINES FOR, FOR THEM AND GIVE THEM SOME STRUCTURE AND SOME SUPPORT ON HOW THEY MIGHT UTILIZE THAT FOR THE BEST RETURN ON INVESTMENT.
AND MY SECOND QUESTION FOR THIS ROUND RELATES TO EXHIBIT 22, WHICH IS THE DIVISION OF TRANSPORTATION.
I SEE HERE THAT THERE IS A LINE FOR ELECTRIC BUSSES AT $1.285 MILLION, AND IT SAYS FUNDS ARE ADDED FOR RATE INCREASES ON THE LEASES FOR 236 ELECTRIC BUSSES CURRENTLY IN THE FLEET, PLUS THE LEASE OF ADDITIONAL
[01:50:01]
ELECTRIC BUSSES IN FISCAL YEAR 2026.AND THEN I ALSO SEE A SERVICE VEHICLE REPAIRS $482,000.
SO MY QUESTION IS WHETHER THE SERVICE VEHICLE REPAIRS ARE BUSSES OR OTHER MCPS VEHICLES.
AND THEN WITH THE ELECTRIC BUSSES, IS THIS A NEW INCREASE FROM THE PRIOR? CAN YOU JUST EXPLAIN A LITTLE BIT SO WE ALL UNDERSTAND WHAT'S GOING ON THERE? I'LL I'LL LET SOMEBODY ELSE OPINE ON THE SERVICE VEHICLES.
I DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER TO THAT, BUT MOST OF OUR CONTRACTS, ESPECIALLY THE ONES THAT ARE MULTI-YEAR CONTRACTS, DO HAVE SOME INFLATIONARY VALUE, THAT'S BAKED INTO MULTIYEAR COMMITMENTS.
AND THIS IS CERTAINLY REFLECTIVE OF THAT.
BUT IF THERE'S ANYTHING ELSE ANYONE ELSE WANTS TO ADD.
SO WE ANTICIPATED BASED ON THE CONTRACT THAT WE HAD, THAT IN THIS YEAR, THE RATE WOULD THEN INCREASE.
AND THE PARDON MY LANGUAGE FOR ANYONE WHO MAY FEEL OFFENDED, THE PRIOR BAD PERFORMANCE DOES NOT CHANGE ANY OF THIS.
CORRECT? OKAY. CORRECT MISS STEWART.
OH, I'M SORRY, I DO HAVE SOMETHING TO ADD.
THAT SECOND LINE IS, FOR FOR OUR NON BUS FLEET.
WE WILL HAVE A SECOND ROUND THOUGH, RIGHT? YES.
SO MY FIRST QUESTION IS, HAS TO DO WITH SPECIAL EDUCATION AND, I NOTICE ON I THINK IT WAS ITEM NINE, WHERE YOU LISTED THE EXTRA, SUPPORT FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION.
BUT IN THE SECOND PART OF THIS ITEM, THERE'S THE SPECIAL SCHOOLS LISTED, AND THERE'S A PROJECT. DID, LESS ENROLLMENT AT OUR SPECIAL SCHOOLS? JUST BASED ON WHAT I'VE HEARD, I HEAR FROM THE PUBLIC, I HAVE A HARD TIME UNDERSTANDING THE INCREDIBLE NEED THAT WE HAVE, THAT WE ARE PROJECTING LESS ENROLLMENT.
AND OUR FOUR SPECIAL SCHOOLS LISTED HERE.
CAN I GET SOME EXPLANATION ON THAT? SO, MISS PUGH, IS COMING UP TO THE TABLE TO SPEAK MORE SPECIFICALLY TO THAT.
BUT AGAIN, AS, WHAT YOU'RE SEEING HERE IS JUST, CHANGES IN THE PROJECTED ENROLLMENT, AS, AS WE GO THROUGH THOSE PROJECTIONS, AND IT'S NOT UNCOMMON FOR US TO HAVE A COHORT OF KIDS THAT MATRICULATE IN AND OUT AND, TRYING TO ADJUST FOR THAT.
THAT'S NOT TO SAY THAT THERE AREN'T PROJECTED IDENTIFICATIONS AND NEW STUDENTS THAT GET ENROLLED THAT THAT ROUTINELY HAPPENS, BUT WHAT THIS, I THINK IN GENERAL, AND I COULD BE MISTAKEN HERE, IS ALSO TRYING TO REFLECT A NET NUMBER.
SO YOU MAY ALSO HAVE A COHORT OF STUDENTS THAT IS LEAVING THAT SCHOOL OR MATRICULATING TO ANOTHER SCHOOL AS A CONSEQUENCE OF THAT.
THAT'S NOT IT'S NOT A REGULAR THAT'S THAT'S PRETTY NORMAL.
IT'S BASED ON THE KNOWN STUDENTS THAT WE HAVE THAT ARE IDENTIFIED THAT WOULD BE EITHER LEAVING THAT SCHOOL OR COMING INTO THAT SCHOOL JUST ON A REGULAR BASIS.
THROUGHOUT THE SCHOOL YEAR, STUDENTS ARE MOVING IN AND OUT OF THOSE SCHOOLS ROUTINELY, AND UNIDENTIFIED STUDENTS COME IN, GET IDENTIFIED, AND THEN MAYBE, MOVE TO THAT AS WELL.
IT'S A PRETTY COMPLICATED FORMULA THAT I WISH JULIE HALL WERE HERE TO EXPLAIN TO YOU, BUT, THAT'S BASICALLY WHAT IT IS, IS THAT IT'S AN ONGOING ENROLLMENT.
WHAT YOU'RE SEEING HERE IS PROJECTED BASED ON THE KNOWN.
SO THE QUESTION THAT BRINGS UP IS ARE WE IDENTIFYING PROPERLY? SO, AND I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S EVEN A STAFF ISSUE THAT'S RELATED.
THAT'S IN THIS BUDGET LIKE STAFF TO IDENTIFY.
IT'S NOT REALLY A BUDGET QUESTION.
ALTHOUGH, I WILL SAY THAT THERE'S ALWAYS ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT.
AND IT CERTAINLY IS A CHALLENGE THAT I THINK THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT.
I THINK THINKING MORE GLOBALLY AND THINKING BIGGER PICTURE ABOUT SPECIAL EDUCATION, THAT WE REALLY NEED TO TAKE A STEP BACK AND LOOK AT SPECIAL EDUCATION IN GENERAL, FROM THE 30,000FT VIEW ABOUT WHAT CAN BE IMPROVED OVERALL.
AND REALLY, HOW DO WE WANT TO EVOLVE OUR SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES TO PROVIDE BETTER SERVICES JUST IN GENERAL? I DON'T DISMISS OR EVEN REJECT THE NOTION THAT THAT THERE ARE INDIVIDUAL CIRCUMSTANCES THAT BLOW OUR MINDS AND MORE LIKE HOW ON EARTH AND, WHAT WHAT WHY DID WE END UP WHERE WE ENDED UP WITH A SPECIFIC SITUATION? BUT IT IS SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE TO LOOK AT.
IT IS SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION, BUT WE ALSO NEED TO TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION THE ENTIRE CONTINUUM OF SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES, NOT JUST THE IDENTIFICATION PIECE.
THERE'S A LOT OF AREAS THAT NEED TO BE IMPROVED, AND THAT'S BEEN
[01:55:01]
POINTED OUT TO US ON A ON A PRETTY REGULAR BASIS.SO MY SECOND QUESTION, WAS FROM EXHIBIT 21.
THE TAXI SERVICES FOR THE MCKENZIE, THE MCKINNEY-VENTO PROGRAM OF ALMOST $1 MILLION, THIS, WELL, I'LL LET YOU EXPLAIN, WHAT THAT PROGRAM IS FOR THE PUBLIC.
OUR MCKINNEY-VENTO STUDENTS ARE THE STUDENTS WHO ARE TEMPORARILY OR PERMANENTLY DISPLACED FROM HOUSING.
AND, THERE ARE SOME, FEDERAL RULES AND REGULATIONS, THAT GOVERN, TRANSPORTATION AS WELL AS SOME OTHER SUPPORT NEEDS THAT WE PROVIDE, TO SOME OF OUR, OUR STUDENTS THAT ARE HOMELESS AND NEED, SUPPORT.
ONE OF THOSE THINGS IS MAKING SURE THAT THEY THAT WE PROVIDE CONTINUITY OF SERVICES.
SO IF A STUDENT IS TEMPORARILY OR PERMANENTLY DISPLACED FROM THEIR, THEIR HOUSING SITUATION, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN, STILL PROVIDE SERVICES AT THE SCHOOL THAT THE CHILD IS FAMILIAR WITH AND THAT IS CONSIDERED THEIR HOME SCHOOL.
AND, FROM THEIR HOME SCHOOL, THAT SOMETIMES MEANS THAT WE HAVE TO TRANSPORT LONG DISTANCES.
AND IT'S AN IT'S AN IRREGULAR TRANSPORTATION PATTERN, BASED ON WHAT THEY NEED, EITHER IN A SHORT OR A LONG TERM SITUATION.
WE DO UTILIZE TAXI SERVICES FOR THAT, IN ADDITION TO OTHER TRANSPORTATION, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE GET KIDS TO AND FROM SCHOOL.
AND EVEN THOUGH THEY MAY BE MANY, MANY MILES AWAY FROM, WHERE THEIR HOME SCHOOL MAY BE, ON THAT TEMPORARY BASIS, AND AS A RESULT OF THAT, THIS IS ONE OF THOSE ITEMS THAT IS A REFLECTION OF WHAT WE ACTUALLY SPEND.
NOT, NOT NECESSARILY AN INCREASE PER SE, BUT, BUT A REFLECTION OF WHAT THE DOLLARS THAT ARE TYPICALLY COMMITTED IN THAT AREA.
SO THAT WAS THE NEXT PART OF MY QUESTION.
ARE YOU PROJECTING A PARTICULAR NUMBER OF INCREASE OR A PERCENTAGE INCREASE? NOT A SHARP INCREASE, NO, BUT BUT BUT PART OF OUR RESPONSIBILITY IN THIS BUDGET, AND WHAT I HOPE IT COMES ACROSS IS THAT, WE HAVE BEEN WE HAVE BEEN MARRIED TO BUDGET LINES THAT ARE NOT A TRUE REFLECTION OF THE THE NEED AND ARE NOT A TRUE REFLECTION OF THE EXPENDITURE.
AND WE ARE HOPING TO CORRECT THAT IN THIS BUDGET BY TELLING YOU THAT THIS IS WHAT WE ACTUALLY SPEND IN THIS AREA, AND THERE'S A REASON FOR IT.
AND AND LARGELY DUE TO THE FACT THAT WE DO HAVE AN INCREASE IN PHARMS RATE.
SO WE DO HAVE AN INCREASE IN NEEDS ACROSS THE COUNTY, AND THAT WE NEED TO START ACCOUNTING FOR THAT IN A MEANINGFUL WAY.
WELL, I HAVE HEARD THAT THERE WAS A 70% INCREASE IN UNHOUSED, PEOPLE IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
SO WE WE ARE A REFLECTION OF THE COUNTY.
RIGHT? SO IF THERE ARE MORE PEOPLE LOSING THEIR HOMES, BEING EVICTED, UNHOUSED, WE WILL SEE THAT IN OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM.
SO I THINK IT IS, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO BE READY FOR THAT EVENTUALITY AND ALSO WORK HARD WITH OUR COUNTY PARTNERS TO KEEP KIDS IN THEIR HOMES.
SO THEN WE WOULDN'T HAVE THIS PROBLEM AND MOBILITY IS A HUGE FACTOR IN ACADEMIC SUCCESS, ETC..
SO IT'S NOT EXACTLY, BUDGET QUESTION, BUT I JUST WANTED TO DRILL DOWN ON THAT A LITTLE BIT TO SEE, IF WE WERE PREPARING FOR THAT.
AND I DO SEE THIS LINE ITEM, SO THAT HELPS.
IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT WE CAN, IGNORE EITHER.
WE WE WILL HAVE TO ADDRESS THIS, BY, BY LAW AND ALSO BY OUR, OUR MORALS AND ETHICS TO ADDRESS THIS NEED.
I, IN TERMS OF DRILLING DOWN ON SOME DATA AND NUMBERS, I HAVE, SOME NUMBERS I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE.
ONE IS ABOUT THE SPECIAL EDUCATION STAFFING, ABOUT, 688 POSITIONS AND $46 MILLION.
MICHAEL, IS THIS $46 MILLION SALARY AND, SALARY AND BENEFIT ALTOGETHER, OR JUST SALARY? IT'S BOTH SALARIES AND BENEFITS.
SO I, I, I DO A LITTLE BIT OF MATH.
REGARDLESS POSITION A LEVEL THAT'S ABOUT $67,000 PER POSITION.
NOW, MY QUESTION IS, DOCTOR TAYLOR MENTIONED THAT, YOU HAVE ALREADY ACCOUNTED FOR THE TPT MONEY THAT WE BUDGETED BEFORE.
SO I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHAT THAT NUMBER IS.
NUMBER TWO, DRILLING DOWN ON EXHIBITION NUMBER TEN, EXHIBIT TEN, ABOUT SUBSTITUTE BUS DRIVERS AND ATTENDANCE.
SO, I UNDERSTAND WE HAVE 1300 BUS ROUTES, RIGHT?
[02:00:04]
WE GO AROUND THE GLOBE FOR A TIME, FOUR AND A HALF TIMES EACH DAY.BUT I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW, BECAUSE IT'S A $1.5 MILLION INCREASE FOR SUBSTITUTE BUS DRIVERS.
BUT TELL ME HOW MANY POSITIONS YOU'RE LOOKING FOR, IN THAT CATEGORY. OKAY.
AND THEN, IN TERMS OF, NUMBER 14, EXHIBIT NUMBER 14 ABOUT CONTRACTUAL NURSE SERVICES, ABOUT $2.5 MILLION INCREASE IN THAT, CATEGORIES.
CAN WE HAVE ANY REIMBURSEMENT IN TERMS OF ITINERARY NURSE FROM THE STATE THROUGH THE MEDICAID K PROGRAMS? SO I WONDER WHETHER THIS NUMBER HAS TO TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION OF ANY REIMBURSEMENT WHEN I POTENTIALLY HAVE SOME OF THOSE EXPENSES WOULD QUALIFY FOR MEDICAID REIMBURSEMENT, NOT ALL OF THEM.
AND WE'LL GET YOU AN ANSWER AS TO WHETHER OR NOT THIS THAT'S REFLECTIVE OF THAT OR NOT.
BUT BUT SOME DO QUALIFY FOR MEDICAID REIMBURSEMENT.
CONTINUE TO DRILL DOWN ON THE NUMBERS, FOR THE EXTENDED SCHOOL YEAR PROGRAM.
IS THERE A THIS IS NOT A NEW PROGRAM.
WE DO THE PROGRAM HAVE BEEN NUMBER OF YEARS.
I SEE A BIG JUMP IN THE NUMBER FOR THIS YEAR.
IS IT BECAUSE WE HAVE MORE TITLE ONE SCHOOLS? BUT I THOUGHT WE DON'T HAVE MORE TITLE.
AND SO, HELP ME, THIS WAS PREVIOUSLY GRANT SUPPORTED AND NO LONGER GRANT SUPPORTED.
SO OUR ESSER MONEY HAS DRIED UP.
AND THIS IS PART OF THAT FISCAL CLIFF. YOU CAN HEAR MY.
OKAY, LAST DUELING DOWN ON THE NUMBERS.
I SEE THAT WE ARE HIRING MORE PEOPLE TO, WORK ON OUR BUILDINGS, AND THEY ARE ALL GOOD.
NOW, ONE QUESTION I ALWAYS WONDER IS OUR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.
WE HEAR FROM STUDENTS ALL THE TIME.
ACTUALLY, I THINK WOOTON HIGH SCHOOL SENT US A VIDEO CLIP OF, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THOSE CONDITIONS OF OUR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.
I, I UNDERSTAND NOW, RIGHT NOW, WE, WE CAN'T TRACK IT OUT TO BE SERVICED AND FIXED.
HAVE WE EVER DONE A FINANCIAL FORECAST OR PROJECTION TO SEE ARE WE GETTING MORE BY CONTRACT IT NOW, OR CREATING SOME POSITIONS WITHIN OUR SYSTEM AND WHICH WAY IT WILL GET US BETTER? RETURN OF INVESTMENT? I HOPE I CAN DO A GOOD JOB OF ANSWERING THAT QUESTION BECAUSE, MUSICAL INSTRUMENT REPLACEMENT IS DEFINITELY ONE OF THOSE THINGS THAT TENDS TO SUFFER FROM YEAR TO YEAR, BECAUSE THE COST OF REPAIR AND REPLACEMENT TENDS TO GO UP PRETTY, PRETTY SIGNIFICANTLY EACH YEAR.
THAT TYPICALLY DOES REQUIRE A LOT OF EXPERTISE AND, A WORK SPACE, THAT, THAT WE DON'T CURRENTLY HAVE.
THAT BEING SAID, IT'S NOT TO SAY THAT WE COULDN'T DO THAT COMPARISON.
IT IT'S PROBABLY WORTH TAKING A LOOK AT.
THE VOLUME IS SIGNIFICANT AND THE NEEDS FOR, ORCHESTRA VERSUS THE NEEDS FOR BRASS AND A BAND.
AND THAT'S DEFINITELY A FUND THAT IS WORTHY OF ADDITIONAL INVESTMENT.
AND LOOK AT IN THE FUTURE IN TERMS OF JUST EVEN SUPPORTING IT IN GENERAL, REGARDLESS OF US EVEN LOOKING AT THE COMPARISON OF IN-HOUSE VERSUS CONTRACTUAL SERVICES, JUST BECAUSE THAT THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE AN ASSET, THOSE ASSETS DO TAKE A BEATING GOING ON THE BUS, GOING HOME, COMING BACK.
THEY, THEY REALLY, THE USEFUL LIFE OF THE INSTRUMENTS REALLY IS DIMINISHED.
IN PARTICULAR, SOME OF OUR BIGGER INSTRUMENTS TAKE AN EVEN MORE SIGNIFICANT BEATING.
SO MAKING SURE THAT THAT'S PROPERLY INVESTED IN IS SOMETIMES A LIMITATION IF YOU ANSWERED IT.
AND I'LL JUST ADD THAT WE HAVE MULTIPLE CONTRACTS WITH MULTIPLE INSTRUMENT REPAIR LOCATIONS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY TO BE ABLE TO ACCOMMODATE WHAT IS NEEDED.
THERE ARE ONLY SO MANY PIANO TUNING PLACES THAT CAN ACCEPT AND DO THE SPECIALIZED WORK THAT'S NEEDED.
SO TO YOUR POINT, IT'S MULTIPLE INSTRUMENTS, MULTIPLE SPECIALTIES IS THAT WE'RE CONTRACTING WITH OUR LOCAL BUSINESSES TO SUPPORT IN THE MODEL THAT WE CURRENTLY.
I UNDERSTAND THAT, BUT I, I ALSO KNOW THAT, THE HIGHEST NUMBERS OF OUR INSTRUMENTS IS PROBABLY VIOLA.
YOU KNOW, THERE THERE ARE NUMBER YOU CAN YOU CAN SAY THAT THESE ARE THE 90% OF OUR WHAT WE USE AND WHAT WE HAVE IN THE SYSTEM.
[02:05:03]
SO I JUST PUT IT OUT THERE TO SEE IF YOU ANALYZE THE, THE NUMBERS AND SEE IF WHAT IS A BETTER WAY TO APPROACH IT.SO REAL QUICK WE HAVE AN UPDATE ON A COUPLE ITEMS I CAN GO THROUGH AND GIVE YOU SOME OF THE NUMBERS IN RESPONSE TO YOUR QUESTIONS, AND ALSO MISS SYLVESTER'S QUESTIONS. OKAY.
SO YOU ASKED ABOUT THE, DOLLAR AMOUNT FOR THE TPT POSITIONS, THE TEMPORARY PART TIME POSITIONS THAT WERE CONVERTING IN THOSE PARA EDUCATORS.
THERE'S $1.6 MILLION OF LOCAL FUNDS THAT WE WERE ABLE TO, REPURPOSE TOWARDS THE POSITIONS AND $1 MILLION OF GRANT FUNDS.
SO THAT'S $2.6 MILLION TOTAL OF THE GPT $2.
WE WILL HAVE TO GET BACK TO YOU ON THE BUS DRIVER SUBS.
THAT'S A LITTLE BIT OF A DIFFERENT CALCULATION.
WE'LL NEED TO GET BACK TO YOU ON THAT.
IN TERMS OF THE, UTILITIES FUNDS, THAT INCREASE THAT WE WERE TALKING ABOUT, OF $6 MILLION IS ON A BASE OF $52 MILLION.
SO OUR BASE UTILITY BILL, IN THIS CURRENT FISCAL YEAR IS $52 MILLION.
AND WE ANTICIPATE THAT GOING UP, NEXT YEAR BY THAT AMOUNT.
IN TERMS OF THE BENEFIT COSTS, THIS IS ONE WHERE, AGAIN, WE DO HAVE A DETAILED TABLE THAT WE WILL PRINT, BEFORE, BEFORE THE BOARD'S ACTION.
BUT I CAN TELL YOU THAT, YOU ARE CORRECT, MR. LESTER.
RIGHT NOW, OUR, BENEFIT, CONTRIBUTION TO THE FUND IS JUST UNDER $400 MILLION.
AND SO THIS $40 MILLION INCREASE WOULD TAKE IT TO ABOUT 435 IN TOTAL.
WHEN YOU LOOK AT OUR EMPLOYEE BENEFITS, OUR RETIREMENT BENEFITS, OUR WORKERS COMP, ALL OF THOSE, THAT SORT OF REQUIRED SET OF EMPLOYER FUNDED CONTRIBUTIONS COMES IN NEARLY $800 MILLION.
AND I GUESS MY QUESTION WAS MORE ABOUT WHERE CAN I FIND THAT INFORMATION? SO WE WILL BE PUBLIC.
WHAT CAN THE PUBLIC FIND THAT INFORMATION SO THEY CAN SEE WHAT IS IN THE BUDGET, NOT JUST WHAT WE'RE ADDING THIS YEAR.
AND WE WILL ABSOLUTELY HAVE THAT WHEN WE COMPLETE THE EXHIBITS BY THE END OF THE MONTH. OKAY.
WELL, MEMBER WE STILL HAVE TIME.
SO I'M GOING TO GO AROUND FOR THE SECOND ROUND.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS BUDGET.
BUT THERE ARE I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW HOW MUCH IT WOULD COST TO, LOOK AT OUR CLASS SIZES FOR KINDERGARTEN, AND, I'M THINKING ABOUT A I'M THINKING ABOUT THIS AS A TRIAGE APPROACH, BUT NOT JUST KINDERGARTEN.
SO KINDERGARTEN FIRST AND SECOND, BROKEN DOWN.
SO WE HAVE AN IDEA, AND AGAIN, PART OF WHAT BROUGHT ME TO ASK THIS QUESTION IS FROM OUR LAST MEETING, AND WE HIGHLIGHTED HOW THE KINDERGARTEN CLASS, THEIR BASELINE IS SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER.
KINDERGARTEN CLASSES I HEAR A LOT, FROM THE PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS THAT THEY'RE NOT UNMANAGEABLE, MANAGEABLE.
AND WE'RE HAVING THESE INCREASE NEEDS COMING UP.
AND SO I JUST THINK I WOULD BE REMISS AND NOT AT LEAST ASKING, WHAT WOULD IT TAKE, TO DEAL WITH KINDERGARTEN IN PARTICULAR AND ALSO, FIRST AND SECOND GRADE.
AND WE CAN WE CAN ABSOLUTELY HIGHLIGHT THAT AS PART OF, A FUTURE WORK SESSION FOR YOU.
ON THE BUDGET, I WILL SAY THAT SOMETHING TO TO LOOK FORWARD TO IS THAT IT WON'T BE A STATIC NUMBER.
SO IF YOU ARE LIKELY GOING TO BE, A DIFFERENT COST TO LOWER CLASS SIZE BY ONE THAN A DIFFERENT COST TO LOWER CLASS SIZE FROM 1 TO 2.
JUST BECAUSE OF HOW THE CLASSES MAY SPLIT AND HOW PRECISE WE WILL GET BY SCHOOL, TO IDENTIFY THE IMPACT, IF WE WERE TO TO CHANGE THE RATIO BY SCHOOL SO THAT THAT'S ABSOLUTELY HELPFUL.
ANOTHER THING THAT, I THINK SOMETIMES MIGHT BE HELPFUL FOR THE PUBLIC TO UNDERSTAND ABOUT CLASS SIZE IS THAT, WHEN WE ADJUST THE CLASS SIZE, WE'RE NOT JUST TALKING ABOUT PERSONNEL, THAT WE ARE OFTEN ALSO TALKING ABOUT SOME OF THE FACILITY NEEDS THAT COME ALONG WITH THAT.
AND, WHAT THE CLASSROOM CAPACITY IS.
IN SOME OF OUR SCHOOLS, WE MAY HAVE A VERY TIGHT SCHOOL, AND WE MAY THINK IT'S A GREAT IDEA TO ADD AN EXTRA CLASSROOM, AND WE MAY DO JUST THAT, BUT THERE MAY NOT BE A CLASSROOM IN THAT BUILDING PHYSICALLY FOR THAT TEACHER TO OPERATE OUT OF.
SO THEN WE HAVE TO MAKE SOME OTHER FACILITY DECISIONS
[02:10:03]
AS A CONSEQUENCE OF THAT, AND WILL REFLECT THAT AS WELL.SPEAKING OF FACILITIES, THESE TEAMS VERY EXCITED ABOUT THAT.
AND I KNOW WE TALKED ABOUT HOW THESE MAINTENANCE ORDERS JUST DRAG ON AND ON, AND AT SOME POINT THERE WAS GOING TO BE A PUBLIC FACING, SYSTEM FOR TO TRACK THAT.
IS, IS THAT SOMEHOW REFLECTED IN THIS BUDGET? YES IT IS.
AND TO TO DO THAT DOES COST, SOME MONEY.
AND WE, WE ARE REFLECTING THAT AS PART OF THIS PROPOSAL AS WELL. OKAY. SO I DID SEE THAT LINE ITEM.
I WASN'T QUITE SURE IF THAT WAS THE PUBLIC FACING.
SO AND MY LAST AND THIS IS BIG, SO I APOLOGIZE.
IT'S JUST SOMETHING I WANT US TO, LOOK AT.
AND I TRIED TO SEE WHERE THEY WERE QUICKLY IN THE BUDGET, BUT WE HAVEN'T HAD ACTUALLY THE FULL THING FOR THAT LONG. SO, WE HAVE THE OUR, FROM, YOU KNOW, COVID MONEY.
WE HAD SOCIAL WORKERS ADDED AND WE ABSORBED THAT INTO THE BUDGET BECAUSE WE REALLY DO NEED THOSE SOCIAL WORKERS.
BUT WE ALSO HAVE, YOU KNOW, NURSES THAT ARE UNDER, THE COUNTY HHS.
AND SO THIS, YOU KNOW, I KNOW THERE'S A DOLLAR AMOUNT, ASSOCIATED WITH THOSE SOCIAL WORKERS.
THIS ADDS TO OUR MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.
SO THIS ADDS TO OUR OVERALL BUDGET.
WHICH I DON'T KNOW IF PEOPLE UNDERSTAND WHAT MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT IS, BUT YOU CAN'T, REDUCE, PER PUPIL SPENDING FROM YEAR TO YEAR.
SO AS FAR AS I KNOW, THIS ADDS TO THAT.
AND I JUST PLUS, YOU KNOW, WE ARE, TRYING TO BE, DO WHAT WE DO BEST, RIGHT? AND, AND AGAIN, WE NEED THIS SERVICE.
BUT HAVE WE TALKED TO THE COUNTY ABOUT, BALANCING BEING WHO HAS, THE BUDGET AND THE MANAGEMENT OF, CERTAIN SERVICES THAT WE PROVIDE.
AND THIS WAS ADDED TO OUR PORTFOLIO? YEAH.
I THINK THAT'S AN ONGOING CONVERSATION.
I THINK ONE OF THE STRUGGLE POINTS, TOO, IS, YOU KNOW, THE NEED IS ALWAYS GOING TO BE THERE.
AND WHETHER IT'S COUNTY SERVICES THAT PICKS UP THE NEED OR WHETHER IT'S THE SCHOOL SERVICES THAT PICKS UP THE NEED, IT IS SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO MAP OUT AS TO WHAT AGENCY IS THE BEST AT PROVIDING A CERTAIN SERVICE.
AS SOMEBODY WHO BECAME AN EDUCATOR IN THE LATE 90S, I CAN TELL YOU THAT, EDUCATION IN GENERAL HAS CHANGED QUITE A BIT, MUCH OF WHICH FOR THE BETTER, BECAUSE WE ARE MORE ATTENTIVE TO THE NEEDS OF THE WHOLE CHILD.
BUT WHAT WE'VE GIVEN UP AND IN THAT EXCHANGE HAS BEEN MAYBE A FOCUS ON WHAT HAPPENS IN THE CLASSROOM AS A CONSEQUENCE.
SO WE ARE WE ARE IN MANY WAYS FAR AWAY FROM, WHAT OUR, OUR CORE BUSINESS FUNCTION IS OR OUR CORE FUNCTION AS AN ORGANIZATION IS WHEN WE ADAPT SOME OF THESE OTHER ANCILLARY SERVICES, EVEN THOUGH WE KNOW THAT IT HELPS AND SUPPORTS OUR KIDS.
BUT IT IS SOMETHING THAT WE WILL NEED TO FIGURE OUT.
IT'S NOT AN OVERNIGHT SWITCH EITHER.
LIKE, YOU TAKE THESE POSITIONS, WE TAKE THESE POSITIONS, YOU DO THIS, WE DO THAT.
BUT BUT SOMETHING THAT DOES NEED TO BE SORTED OUT AND, AND NEEDS TO BE A PART OF OUR, OUR DIALOG TOGETHER WITH OUR COUNTY DECISION MAKERS AS WELL.
WELL, I, I LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING ABOUT THAT DIALOG.
I'M THINKING STRATEGICALLY AS WELL.
SO, WELL, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ANSWERING MY QUESTIONS, MISS MONTOYA, I THANK YOU.
I WANT TO ASK A QUESTION ABOUT UTILITIES AND SPECIFICALLY ELECTRIC.
I MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT WE ALL SHOULD ANTICIPATE OUR ELECTRICITY BILLS GOING UP BECAUSE OF SOME ONGOING THINGS AT A MUCH HIGHER LEVEL.
IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH SCHOOLS.
AND I'M NOT I DON'T HAVE A COMPLETE UNDERSTANDING OF ALL OF THAT.
SO I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S JUST RESIDENTIAL OR RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL.
I WANT TO KNOW IF THE INCREASED AMOUNT THAT WE SEE IS THAT BECAUSE WE ANTICIPATE OUR RATE GOING UP IN THAT REGARD, JUST SO THAT THE PUBLIC IS CLEAR ABOUT, YOU KNOW, OR ARE WE JUST LEAVING THE LIGHTS ON BEFORE WE LEAVE? NO, IT'S A IT'S A PLANNED, MAKING THE ASSUMPTION ON, ON OUR CURRENT UTILIZATION, WHAT THE PLANNED RATE INCREASES.
AND THEN AS IT REGARDS TO THE CHROMEBOOK REPAIR, I SAW THE TABLE THAT YOU INCLUDED, WHICH IS REALLY GREAT.
[02:15:01]
THANK YOU, I APPRECIATE THAT.SO YOU CAN SEE THIS REALLY LARGE INCREASE FROM YEAR TO YEAR OVER THE PAST THREE YEARS.
IS THIS WHAT WE WOULD CALL NORMAL WEAR AND TEAR OR MAYBE SOME OF IT OR ARE WE ARE THERE OTHER CHALLENGES TO HAVING THESE CHROMEBOOKS FOR OUR STUDENTS? THIS IS A RELATIVELY NEW PHENOMENON, AND M.C.P.S, HAVING PERSONAL COMPUTING DEVICES THAT ARE ASSIGNED TO STUDENTS OR ASSIGNED TO CLASSROOMS AND ASSIGNED TO SCHOOLS, AND THE VOLUME THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING AND SINCE THE PANDEMIC, IT IS A LITTLE BIT OF A LEARNING CURVE, BUT THIS IS NOT A REGULAR FROM NORMAL WEAR AND TEAR.
IF ANYTHING, SOME OF THE NORMAL WEAR AND TEAR SEEMS TO TO HAVE LEVELED OFF MORE OR LESS IN TERMS OF THE, THE VOLUME OF THINGS THAT HAPPEN.
BUT IT IS SOMETHING THAT YOU HAVE TO PLAN FOR IT.
THE THINGS THAT, BECOME A LITTLE IRRITATING ARE THE SAME THINGS THAT REGULAR CONSUMERS FIND IRRITATING, THAT THE COST OF ONE THING ONE DAY IS DIFFERENT THAN THE COST OF ONE THING TOMORROW.
AND, AND KEEPING PACE WITH SOME OF THOSE INFLATIONARY IMPACTS THAT, THAT REALLY ARE VERY, VERY DIFFICULT TO MANAGE SOMETIMES AND TO FORECAST FOR.
AND AS A RELATED QUESTION, AND PERHAPS IT ACTUALLY CAN APPLY TO THE INSTRUMENTS AS WELL THAT I WAS ASKING ABOUT.
BECAUSE ESPECIALLY I KNOW AT THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL LEVEL, THERE ARE A LOT OF INSTRUMENTS AND A LOT OF BROKEN INSTRUMENTS.
AND SOMETIMES THEY HAPPEN EVEN RIGHT BEFORE THE BIG PERFORMANCES, AND WE'RE SCRAMBLING TO TRY TO FIGURE OUT HOW THIS CHILD CAN STILL PERFORM BECAUSE THEY WORK SO HARD.
AND I'M WONDERING, I KNOW WE HAVE MANY CONTRACTS WITH VARIOUS VENDORS ACROSS THE COUNTY FOR ALL OF THESE THINGS, BUT IS THERE A WAY TO PARTNER? FOR EXAMPLE, I JUST QUICKLY I REMEMBER THAT SOME M.C.P.S STUDENTS WERE LEARNING HOW TO REPAIR LAPTOPS AND GETTING A CERTIFICATION.
IS THERE A POSSIBLE COMMITTEE TO COLLABORATE MORE WITH OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS, OR MAYBE HAVE SOME SORT OF IN-HOUSE TRAINING WHERE THEY CAN RECEIVE SSL HOURS? IT ALSO GIVES THEM A GREAT MARKETABLE SKILL, TO HAVE THEIR OWN PRIVATE SERVICES TO OFFER THAT.
AND JUST WHETHER OR NOT WE LOOK INTO THESE TYPES OF THINGS, NOTWITHSTANDING ALL OF THE THINGS THAT ALL OF YOU HAVE TO LOOK INTO, I THINK IT'S A GREAT ASPIRATIONAL GOAL.
IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT I HAVE ACCOUNTED FOR IN THIS BUDGET, OR IN THE LAST FEW MONTHS, BUT I THINK THAT THAT'S 100%, A GOOD THING FOR US TO LEAN INTO OVER TIME.
FOR SURE. I THINK IT WOULD HELP A LOT.
AND EVEN IF IT EVEN IF IT DIDN'T, IMPROVE OUR FINANCIAL STANDING.
WHAT A GREAT EXPERIENCE, OPPORTUNITY FOR OUR STUDENTS AND, A GREAT LEARNING EXPERIENCE FOR THEM.
ON, THE GRANT WRITER POSITIONS, I FORGOT TO MENTION THIS LIST, BECAUSE TO ME, THIS IS THE.
SO YOU ARE BUDGETING FOR TWO POSITIONS.
JUST WANTED TO HEAR THE VISION OF WHAT? WHAT DO YOU THINK THESE FOLKS ARE GOING TO BE GOING AFTER? WHAT KIND OF GRANTS? SO CURRENTLY, THIS WOULD BE A 200% INCREASE TO OUR GRANTS OFFICE OF ONE PERSON.
WHICH WHICH WE KNOW THAT THERE ARE THINGS THAT WE PASS UP ON BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE THE CAPACITY TO APPLY.
AND THEN LATER TO MANAGE, SOME OF THE GRANT APPLICATIONS THERE ARE VERY LARGE, FEDERAL GRANTS THAT WE COULD BE APPLYING FOR THAT ARE COMPETITIVE, THAT WE HAVE PASSED ON BECAUSE OFTENTIMES THOSE VERY LARGE FEDERAL GRANTS ARE 100, 200, 300 PAGES JUST IN THE GRANT APPLICATION.
AND THEN THERE'S THE MANAGEMENT ON TOP OF THAT.
THOSE ARE DEFINITELY A LUCRATIVE OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE FOREGO.
THERE ARE ALSO SMALLER, COMMUNITY GRANTS THAT ARE LESS OF A MAINTENANCE BURDEN IN TERMS OF A MANAGEMENT EXPENSE THAT WE ALSO FEEL LIKE WE COULD PURSUE.
BUT AGAIN, THE VOLUME IS PROHIBITIVE TO US, AND WE REALLY HAVE TO BE SELECTIVE.
ABOUT WHAT WE GO AFTER AND, AND, AND HOW THIS MAY ALSO NECESSITATE US TO REVISIT THIS AND MAYBE EVEN EXPAND IN FUTURE YEARS TO TO HAVING A BROADER GRANTS FOOT FOOTPRINT.
THERE ARE FINITE DOLLARS IN THE PHILANTHROPIC SPACE.
BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THIS COMMUNITY CLEARLY VALUES IS THAT WHEN WE WORK WITH OTHER COMMUNITY AGENCIES IN CONCERT AND WE'RE ABLE TO DO THINGS TOGETHER, IT'S A VERY POWERFUL THING WHEN WE CAN WORK WITH SOME OF OUR NONPROFIT COMMUNITY TO APPLY FOR SOME OF THESE GRANTS IN CONCERT, BUT THEY ALSO HAVE LIMITED CAPACITY.
SO THERE'S REALLY SOME WIN-WIN OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE ENVISION.
BUT MY, IMMEDIATE NEED OR MY IMMEDIATE PROPOSAL IS REALLY ABOUT NOT GIVING UP GREAT OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE SEE THAT WE REALLY COULD BE VERY COMPETITIVE FOR
[02:20:01]
JUST BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE THE CAPACITY.AND RIGHT NOW WE JUST DON'T HAVE THE CAPACITY WITH ONE PERSON IN A DISTRICT OUR SIZE TO TO MANAGE GRANTS AND TO APPLY FOR GRANTS IS JUST IT'S JUST A HUGE LIMITATION FOR US.
DOCTOR TAYLOR HAS ALWAYS PUZZLED ME, EVEN BEFORE I JOINED THE BOARD.
WHY IN SUCH A LARGE DISTRICT LIKE OURS? BECAUSE I KNOW FOR A FACT WE ALSO LEAVE A LOT OF MONEY OR FIND USE GRANT FUNDING BECAUSE WE HAVE THE LACK OF MANAGEMENT AND AND AND THESE ARE DOLLAR AMOUNT THAT CAN HAVE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON THEIR EDUCATION AND, AND IN OUR SYSTEM.
SOME OF THE ISSUES THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, I THINK COULD BE FOCUSED TO THE TUTORING ISSUE.
YOU KNOW, WE DON'T HAVE ANY MORE ESSER FUNDING, BUT WE DO HAVE LOCAL FOUNDATIONS THAT ARE VERY FOCUSED ON EQUITY IN EDUCATION.
AND WE'RE VERY FORTUNATE TO LIVE IN IN THIS AREA WHERE THEY ARE FOUNDATIONS THAT DO WANT TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE AND WANT TO SUPPORT INEQUITIES IN OUR SYSTEM.
SO MY HOPE IS THAT WE ALSO KIND OF GO AFTER SOME OF THOSE FUNDINGS TO BRING SOME OF THOSE AREAS THAT WE KNOW THAT WORKED DURING COVID, ONE OF THEM BEING TUTORING FOR OUR CHILDREN.
EVEN THE FIXING OF OF THE INSTRUMENTS FOR, FOR OUR KIDS HAVING MAYBE A GRANT FUNDING THAT BE ABLE, YOU KNOW, BE ABLE TO, TO DO THAT.
THEY ARE THINGS THAT I THINK WE CAN, WE CAN DO A LOT WITH, BUT HAVING ONE PERSON DO IT ALL, THIS JUST IT WAS JUST SUCH A LACK OF VISION.
AND ANYWAY, WE'LL LEAVE IT AT THAT.
BUT, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, MISS WOLFF TOUCHED ON WAS THAT WE NEED TO BE INTENTIONAL ACTIVITY ABOUT IS THAT LOOKING TO ADD THE SPECIAL ED, INCREASE OF BUDGET? WHAT ARE THE THINGS THAT HAS CONCERN ME FOR THE LAST FEW YEARS IS THE INCREASE OF EML SPECIAL EDUCATION, AND THAT HAS BEEN A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE ACROSS THE BOARD.
AND I HOPE THAT WITH THIS BUDGET, WE CAN ACTUALLY INTENTIONALLY LOOK AT WHY WE'RE HAVING THAT HUGE DISPARITY, IN THAT AREA.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS I'M A LITTLE BIT, CONFUSED ABOUT WAS THE NURSES, THE THE WHAT MISS YANG BROUGHT UP WITH THE, THE TWO POINT, WHATEVER, 3.5 2.5 MILLION.
CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, IS THIS I SAW THE NURSES WHERE, COUNTY EMPLOYEES AND THAT THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS IN THE BUDGET OF HHS.
SO I'M TRYING TO UNDERSTAND WHAT IS WHAT IS THE COST TO US.
SO WE WE ACTUALLY HAVE A POPULATION OF NURSES THAT SERVE OUR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES, WITH SOME REALLY UNIQUE NEEDS.
AND, SO A LOT OF THIS, I THINK IS REFLECTIVE OF THAT, IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN.
SO. OKAY, SO WE'RE TALKING NOW THE SCHOOL NURSES, WE'RE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE SPECIAL NURSES IN SPECIAL EDUCATION.
THAT SOME CHILDREN NEED TO HAVE THEM 24 HOURS.
SO THEY NEED TO HAVE THEM WITH THEM IN ORDER FOR THEM TO BE ABLE TO ATTEND SCHOOL.
SO WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TWO DIFFERENT THINGS. YEAH.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT QUESTION.
AND YES, WE'RE SERVING, SOME STUDENTS WITH SOME REALLY SIGNIFICANT AND SEVERE DISABILITIES THAT, REQUIRE, FEEDING TUBES AND, AND EVEN SOME SURGICAL EQUIPMENT, THAT THAT TRAVELS WITH THE STUDENT, AND IN OUR, OUR EDUCATIONAL SETTING AND, AND THIS IS IN OUR COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOLS AS WELL AS SOME OF OUR SPECIAL SCHOOLS.
AND SO, THAT THAT'S A, THAT'S A NEED THAT ACTUALLY CONTINUES TO GROW.
SO THAT IS A COST THAT WE CANNOT WE IN OTHER WORDS, IT IS WHAT IT IS.
AND WE NEED TO, TO SERVE THE STUDENTS BY LAW.
WE HAVE TO PROVIDE THOSE SERVICES.
I JUST WANT TO SAY THAT ON THAT ON THAT POINT, NURSES IS ANOTHER AREA WHERE THERE IS A HUGE DEFICIT OFF.
AND SO EVEN THE COUNTY HAS A HARD TIME PROVIDING THE NURSES THAT WE HAVE OUR SCHOOLS, AND THEIR CONTRACTUAL, AND SO ON.
SO THIS IS AN AREA THAT DEFINITELY IT'S AN AREA THAT IT WOULD BE GREAT IF WE CAN GROW OUR OWN AND SUPPORT TO WHAT WE ALREADY DO IN THE HIGH SCHOOLS WITH OUR EARLY NURSE, YOU KNOW, NURSES PROGRAM THAT WE HAVE IN DIFFERENT SCHOOLS AND BE ABLE MAYBE TO HAVE A PATH OF SCHOLARSHIP FOR THOSE STUDENTS THAT THEY CAN ACTUALLY COME BACK TO M.C.P.S AND SERVE, YOU KNOW, THIS HUGE NEED.
AND JUST TO REITERATE, THE $800 MILLION BENEFITS, RIGHT.
AND THIS IS TO COVER NOT JUST OUR CURRENT EMPLOYEES, BUT ALSO ALL THOSE FOLKS WHO HAVE WORKED SO HARD IN OUR SYSTEM.
SO THIS IS TO INCLUDE RETIREES AS WELL.
AND IS THAT NUMBER ALSO GOING TO INCLUDE THE TRANSITION OF THE 366 PARENT EDUCATORS WHO ARE NOW GOING TO GET FULL BENEFITS? DOES THAT NUMBER REFLECT THAT OR ARE WE THINKING IT DOES AND THE BUDGETED AMOUNT IT IS REFLECTIVE OF THAT.
THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION. THANK YOU.
[02:25:03]
BACK TO THE BIG, COMPENSATION NUMBER.COULD YOU RESTATE THE INCREASE THAT WE ARE PROPOSING FOR THIS YEAR, PERCENTAGE WISE AND WHAT IT WAS LAST YEAR? MIGHT HAVE TO HAVE SOMEONE LOOK UP THE LAST YEAR PERCENTAGE.
I WAS NOT WITH YOU AT THAT TIME.
THIS YEAR, PERCENTAGE IS RIGHT AROUND, 5% TOTAL.
THREE AND, 3.25% INCREASE IS THE, EFFECTIVELY THE, THE INFLATIONARY OFFSET, COST OF LIVING OFFSET.
AND THEN THE STEP, FOR, A YEAR'S WORTH OF EXPERIENCED MERIT, CREDIT.
SO, THOSE TWO TOGETHER ARE JUST A LITTLE OVER, 5% INCREASE.
AND, AND IT VARIES DEPENDING ON THE EMPLOYEE GROUP AND, WHERE SOMEONE IS ON A SPECIFIC STEP SCALE.
SOME PERCENTAGES ARE HIGHER THAN OTHERS, BUT, THE BALLPARK IS RIGHT.
A LITTLE BIT ABOVE 5% IS TAKEN.
OR GIVING YOU THE ANSWER FROM LAST YEAR.
LAST YEAR THERE WERE A FEW DIFFERENT THINGS GOING ON.
SO THERE WAS, THERE WERE SOME INCREASES TO THE SALARY SCALE FOR SEIU, FOR EXAMPLE, TWO OF 3%.
THERE WERE SALARY SCALE INCREASES FOR MCA AS WELL.
SO IF IF THIS TIME AROUND IS AROUND 5%, IS IT WAS IT MORE THAN 5% OR LESS THAN 5%? AND I'M SORRY THE STRUCTURE WAS SO DIFFERENT LAST YEAR THAT I'M HAVING TROUBLE SORTING THAT OUT IN MY HEAD AT THIS MOMENT, BUT, THAT'S OKAY.
I THE NUMBER, THE STRUCTURE VERY DIFFERENTLY.
LAST YEAR, THE 192 MILLION LOOKS BIGGER THAN WHAT I REMEMBER THE PLACEHOLDER WAS LAST YEAR.
SO I'M TRYING TO WRAP MY HEAD AROUND IN TERMS OF THE INCREASE IN RELATION TO LAST YEAR.
HI. CARLY THOMPSON, ACTING BUDGET DIRECTOR.
SO LAST YEAR WE HAD A MIX OF FLAT AMOUNT INCREASES IN PERCENTAGES.
AND THEN IF YOU'LL RECALL, IN TERMS OF A GENERAL WAGE ADJUSTMENT, THE JWA FOR OUR MCAT BOWIE UNION, THEY DID NOT HAVE A JWA FOR FY 2025.
BUT THERE WERE A STEP INCREASES FOR THAT UNION FOR MTA.
IT WAS A FLAT RATE INCREASE FOR DWA.
FOR OUR TEN MONTH EMPLOYEES, THAT WAS $2,918, PLUS A STEP.
AND THEN FOR OUR SEIU UNION, IT WAS A 3% JWA INCREASE IN A STEP, TO REPEAT, THE, TEACHERS.
SO THE, TEN MONTH EMPLOYEES, IT WAS $2,918 FOR THE JWA AND FOR OUR 12 MONTH EMPLOYEES, THAT WAS ABOUT $3,428.
AND THEN THE STEP IN I WAS I'M JUST I'M NOT.
I JUST NEED YOU TO FOLLOW UP AND JUST TELL ME, IS IT A BIGGER NUMBER THIS YEAR THAN LAST YEAR? SURE. THANK YOU.
AND FINALLY, DOCTOR, TAYLOR, GOING BACK TO CLASS SIZE, BECAUSE THIS IS A POPULAR ITEM IN THE COMMUNITY.
COULD YOU GIVE US YOUR VISION FOR HOW YOU WOULD LIKE TO HANDLE CLASS SIZE IN THE FUTURE? I KNOW IT'S NOT IN THIS BUDGET FOR THIS YEAR UPCOMING YEAR, BUT WHAT DO YOU SEE HAPPENING IN THE NEXT YEAR OR SO SO THAT WE CAN ADDRESS CLASS SIZE IN THE FUTURE? THANK YOU.
I THINK TO REALLY DO A GOOD JOB OF ADDRESSING CLASS SIZE, WE NEED TO TO DO A COUPLE OF THINGS FROM A SYSTEM STANDPOINT.
FIRST, THE THE FIRST THING THAT WE NEED TO DO IS, TO MAKE THE SHIFT FROM HAVING STAFFING GUIDELINES TO HAVING STAFFING STANDARDS AND HERE'S WHAT I MEAN BY THAT, BECAUSE THEY ARE TWO RADICALLY DIFFERENT IDEAS.
THE CURRENT STRUCTURE THAT WE HAVE RIGHT NOW AS GUIDELINES ARE FLEXIBLE.
THERE IS, NO EXPECTATION, WHEN A GUIDELINE IS STRETCHED THAT, THERE IS FULFILLMENT OF THAT GUIDELINE AFTER THE START OF THE SCHOOL YEAR.
SO IF CLASS SIZE MAGICALLY BALLOONS AT A SCHOOL, THERE IS NO MECHANISM, WITHIN THE SCHOOL DISTRICT RIGHT NOW TO RESPOND TO THAT OTHER THAN US AND, AND OUR ATTENTIVENESS TO A SPECIFIC ISSUE AND THE AMOUNT OF FUNDS THAT WE HAVE THAT WE COULD APPLY TO THAT ISSUE, HAVING STANDARDS AND FUNDING THOSE STANDARDS SETS HARD AND FAST RULES IN TERMS OF WHAT WE WOULD EXPECT FROM CLASSROOM TO CLASSROOM TO CLASSROOM, BASED ON WHATEVER ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS THAT WE WOULD WANT TO PUT IN PLACE.
AND THAT REALLY DOES NEED TO BE THE WHAT WE WOULD EXPECT FROM WHAT WE HAVE RIGHT NOW IS A GREAT, AMOUNT OF VARIABILITY FROM ONE CAMPUS TO THE NEXT ACROSS THE COUNTY,
[02:30:04]
AND THERE IS NOT A WHOLE LOT OF CONTINUITY IN TERMS OF WHAT A PARENT COULD EXPECT IN ONE CORNER OF THE COUNTY VERSUS WHAT THEY COULD EXPECT AND ANOTHER CORNER OF THE COUNTY IN TERMS OF WHAT CLASS SIZE CAN BE.THERE'S ALSO NOT GREAT CONTINUITY BETWEEN WHAT A PARENT CAN EXPECT FROM ONE GRADE LEVEL TO THE NEXT, BASED ON WHATEVER DISCRETIONARY STAFFING, THAT THE BUILDING PRINCIPAL HAS IN PLACE AT THE AT THE TIME.
A BUILDING PRINCIPAL MAY HAVE NINE TEACHERS ALLOCATED TO TWO DIFFERENT GRADES, AND THEY PUT 4 IN 1 GRADE AND FIVE IN ANOTHER.
CLASS SIZES WILL BE INHERENTLY SMALLER.
AND THE, GRADE THAT THEY HAVE FIVE AND INHERENTLY LARGER.
AND THE CLASS SIZE THAT AND HAVE CLASS SIZE IN THE GRADE THAT THEY HAVE FOR WE CAN PROBABLY DO A BETTER JOB OF, SETTING WHAT THOSE EXPECTATIONS LOOK LIKE.
THAT BEING SAID, THAT WORK, SHOULD TAKE PLACE, WHEN IT'S NOT IN THE MIDDLE OF A BUDGET SEASON, SHOULD BE VERY DELIBERATE, SHOULD INVOLVE OUR OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS AND PARENTS IN THAT DISCUSSION AS TO WHAT SHOULD A CLASS SIZE BE AT AT SPECIFIC GRADE LEVELS AND M.C.P.S, AND IT WILL LIKELY REQUIRE US TO TAKE AN ITERATIVE APPROACH WHERE WE TACKLE SEGMENTS OF, OUR CLASS SIZE EACH YEAR WHERE THEORETICALLY WE WOULD ATTACK, EARLY ELEMENTARY GRADES, THEN LATE ELEMENTARY GRADES OR HIGH SCHOOL AND THEN MIDDLE SCHOOL, TO REALLY LOOK AT HOW WE STAFF OUR SCHOOLS AND WHAT OUR EXPECTATIONS ARE.
AND TO MAKE THAT THE THIS THE EXPECTATION FOR THE COUNTY.
AND WHAT WHAT ONE OF THE MAJOR CRITICISMS THAT WE EXPERIENCE AND RIGHTFULLY SO, IS THAT THE EXPERIENCE AT ONE SCHOOL IS DRAMATICALLY DIFFERENT THAN THE EXPERIENCE AT ANOTHER SCHOOL, AND THIS IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WOULD PROVIDE A LITTLE BIT MORE OF THAT CONTINUITY.
SO, I ALSO HAVE KIND OF A COMPENSATION RELATED QUESTION.
WHEN WE WERE TALKING ABOUT OUR POSITION RECLASSIFICATION AND LOOKING AT, EXHIBIT SIX, I KNOW THAT ALL OF THIS IS RIGHT, OUR PROPOSED BUDGET, BUT I'M, I'M CURIOUS, WHERE HAVE WE GOTTEN THESE NUMBERS FROM BEFORE WE WORKED WITH OUR PARTNERS TO GET THEM? JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE BACKGROUND ABOUT EXHIBIT SIX AND IN PARTICULAR.
YEAH, WE HAD WE DID A FULL RECLASSIFICATION PROCESS.
AND SO WITH THAT, WE TAKE ACTUAL NUMBERS OF, THE, THE EMPLOYEES THAT WE HAVE AND WE TAKE THEIR ACTUAL, SALARY AND BENEFITS FIGURES AND, AND DIFFERENTIATE THEM THAT WAY.
SO, IT IS A REFLECTION OF WHAT WE ACTUALLY HAVE IN, IN TERMS OF POSITIONS AND WHO DOES WHAT.
SO THIS IS LIKE THE FINANCIAL IMPACT PART.
AND, SEEING INCREASES IN SALARIES IS SOMETHING THAT OUR, OUR PARTNERS, FIND AGREEABLE THAT THEY'RE, THEY'RE INTERESTED IN, OUR, IN THIS CASE, FOR AT LEAST, FOR THE PARA EDUCATOR RECLASSIFICATION, THEY THAT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT SEIU HAS ADVOCATED FOR THAT WE DO A RECLASSIFICATION STUDY.
SEIU OR ANY OF OUR ASSOCIATION PARTNERS DON'T HAVE INFLUENCE OVER DOLLAR FIGURES OR AMOUNTS OR ANYTHING ALONG THOSE LINES.
WHEN IT COMES TO A RECLASSIFICATION OTHER THAN A REQUEST TO INITIATE, THAT PROCESS.
AND WE'VE WE'VE DONE THAT SIMILARLY WITH, THE ATHLETIC SPECIALIST ATHLETIC DIRECTOR POSITION, WHATEVER YOU WANT TO CALL IT.
IT'S STILL THE SAME POSITION, FOR WHATEVER THAT'S WORTH.
YOU KNOW, MAKING THE TRANSITION OF A SUPERVISORY POSITION, FROM, MCA TO THE MY CAP SCALES, THERE'S A TRANSLATION COST, A SWITCHING COST, AND, RECLASSIFYING THAT POSITION, GIVEN ITS LEVEL OF RESPONSIBILITY, THERE'S THERE'S A COST TO THAT.
AND THAT'S THE REAL, REAL DOLLAR FIGURE. COST.
IT'S NOT SPECIFICALLY IN THE, CHART.
SO THEN HOW MANY LIKE, I, I GET THAT YOU CAN'T RATTLE OFF, LIKE, FOR EACH POSITION.
LIKE HOW MANY POSITIONS WE'RE MOVING THAT WAY.
BUT MAYBE FOR THE ATHLETIC DIRECTOR POSITION.
DO WE KNOW HOW MANY ARE MOVING? BUT THAT'S EASY.
YEAH, BUT FOR PARAPROFESSIONALS, WE CAN GET YOU THAT NUMBER.
MY OTHER QUESTION, IN THE CHROMEBOOK REPAIR SECTION, FOR THE PUBLIC, CAN YOU EXPLAIN WHY IT'S MAINLY CONCENTRATED IN ELEMENTARY AND NOT ACROSS? OKAY. WE WILL DEFER TO YOU ON THAT.
I THINK IT'S JUST A TECHNICAL ASPECT OF NOT BREAKING BEING ABLE TO BREAK THAT DOWN BY LEVEL.
AND THEN SPLITTING THE BUDGET BETWEEN ELEMENTARY, MIDDLE AND HIGH.
[02:35:01]
BUT IT'S OVERALL IT'S REFLECTIVE OF THE COSTS THAT WE INCUR.FOR SCHOOLS, AS IT RELATES TO CHROMEBOOK REPAIR.
BUT I CAN TAKE THAT BACK AND LOOK INTO, POTENTIAL BREAK DOWN BETWEEN LEVEL.
BECAUSE RIGHT NOW IT JUST SHOWS A HUGE CHUNK IN ELEMENT.
SO THEN THERE IS THERE ARE OTHER EXPENSES IN MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL THAT.
THAT'S A THAT'S AN EXPENSE THAT IS, THAT IS SPREAD.
SO WE CAN LOOK INTO THAT OKAY. GREAT.
AND THEN MY LAST QUESTION, IN EXHIBIT 32, WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TRANSLATION SERVICES, I'M WONDERING, HAVE WE CONSIDERED IN THIS AS WELL, LIKE, TRANSLATION SERVICES THAT STAFF ALREADY PROVIDE AND THAT SOME OF THAT AS STIPEND DID? ARE WE LOOKING TO INCREASE THAT? BECAUSE THAT COULD IN A LITTLE BIT, MAYBE IF WE'RE INCREASING THAT STIPEND OR IN INCREASING THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT CAN QUALIFY FOR THAT STIPEND, THAT WE MIGHT SEE A LOWER, A LOWER COST OVERALL IN THOSE TRANSLATION SERVICES.
AND SO SO THERE ARE A NUMBER OF FACTORS HERE.
AND ABSOLUTELY, THIS IS ONE WHERE AGAIN, WE'RE ADDING THE FUNDS TO REFLECT WHAT WE ACTUALLY SPEND HERE.
SO THIS IS JUST BUT TO YOUR POINT ABOUT HOW TO ADDRESS THIS MORE BROADLY.
THIS IS AN AREA WHERE WE WANT TO LOOK GLOBALLY AND TAKE A DIFFERENT APPROACH AT LOOKING AT IT, BECAUSE WE DO KNOW THAT THE NEEDS ARE INCREASING AND WE WANT TO BE SURE WE CAN MEET ALL OF THOSE NEEDS.
TO YOUR POINT ABOUT THIS TYPE ENDED, WORKING WITH STAFF, THAT'S AN AREA THAT WE, WANT TO CONTINUE TO EXPAND.
THE AMOUNT IS NEGOTIATED AND WE'RE HAPPY TO CONTINUE TO HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS, BUT WE, WILL CONTINUE TO LOOK AT HOW WE CAN EXPAND, THAT ASPECT OF OUR PROGRAM.
BECAUSE IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN, IT'S THAT IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE THE STIPEND AMOUNT IS INCLUDED IN THIS CHART.
MAYBE IT'S INCLUDED SOMEWHERE ELSE.
AND I'M SORRY, I HAVEN'T READ ALL THE CHARTS.
THIS PIECE DOES AGAIN REFLECT OUR ACTUAL COSTS AND TRUING UP OUR BUDGET.
SO THIS IS AN AREA WHERE THE BUDGET LINE IS, AS WE'VE BEEN SAYING, THIS IS AN AREA WHERE THE BUDGET LINE HAS BEEN AT A LOWER NUMBER THAN OUR ACTUAL SPENDING EVERY YEAR.
SO IT'S ENCOMPASSING, A LARGE NUMBER OF INCREASED COSTS THAT WE'RE AGAIN ACCOUNTING FOR. OKAY. THANK YOU.
SO I'M GOING TO, AS THE LAST QUESTION, IT'S JUST A REQUEST.
AND THEN I WANT TO REMIND EVERYONE THAT WE STILL HAVE TWO MORE WORK SESSIONS.
THIS YEAR, EARLIER, YOU RELEASE, CONTRACTUAL SERVICES, TO THE COUNTY COUNCIL, AND TO TO THE BOARD AND TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC.
I'M JUST WONDERING, WITH THAT PIECE OF INFORMATION, I KNOW WE'RE STRUCTURING THIS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT.
HOWEVER, IF THERE'S AN INCREASE AND DECREASE ON THAT CHART OF CONTRACTUAL SERVICE, I THINK THERE'S A GENERAL INTEREST OUT THERE THAT WOULD LIKE TO KNOW.
SO IF WE CAN PROVIDE THAT, THAT WILL BE HELPFUL.
IN TERMS OF OUR WORK BEING TRANSPARENT, INSTITUTION, I THINK THAT'S A GREAT IDEA.
AND FOR THE VIEWING PUBLIC THAT THAT'S LOOKING AT THIS, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT, EVEN AS A NEW SUPERINTENDENT COMING TO M.C.P.S, TRYING TO GET MY HEAD WRAPPED AROUND WHAT WE ARE DOING INTERNALLY AND WHAT WE, UNLESS THE WORK OF CONTRACTORS OR PARTNERS OR CONSULTANTS IN THAT SPACE.
HAS BEEN REALLY FRUITFUL FOR ME TO, TO GET UP TO SPEED ON AND, TO, TO HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING.
SO TO THE EXTENT THAT WE CAN COMMUNICATE WHAT WE WERE, WHAT WE WERE SPENDING, WHAT WE PLANNED TO SPEND AND WHY, THAT THAT'S A THAT'S SOMETHING.
ABSOLUTELY WE CAN DO. I THINK THAT'S A GREAT IDEA.
NOW. OH, I, AS A REMINDER TO, OUR SECOND WORK SESSION WILL BE HELD JANUARY 23RD, AND THE THIRD ONE WILL BE HELD ON MONDAY, JANUARY 30TH.
AND THEN WE HAVE TWO BUDGET HEARING AND THREE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT SET UP.
SO I ENCOURAGE YOU, EVERYONE, CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE AND THE NOTICES WILL BE GOING OUT.
THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR SUCH A ENGAGING CONVERSATION THIS MORNING.
I LOOK FORWARD TO MORE CONVERSATION ON THE BUDGET.
THANK YOU FOR THE ADMINISTRATION.
MAY I HAVE A MOTION TO ADJOURN THE MEETING? SO MOVED.
ALL IN FAVOR? RAISE YOUR HAND.
UNTIL. YOU.
* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.