Skip to main content

A Red Flag

Yesterday, in a 5-2 vote, the Howard County Board of Education voted to accept the Superintentdent's Budget. Yes, the budget that makes cuts to paraeducators and media secretaries. Was this an issue you cared about? Did you write a letter expressing your opinion? Well, there's something you should know.

Board Member Sandra French, in talking about how people used to pack into the George Howard building and show support for the budget, said, "but that hasn't happened in a long time, people take our school system for granted and they are not satisfied, it's always me me me, more more more, I I I, and it has to stop. We have to talk about collective sacrifice, how can we work together to move forward our children who are the most needy and I think that's what the board did." (Paraphrased)

I applaud Board Members Cindy Vaillancourt and Bess Altwerger for casting the nay votes on this budget. I only wish that they had better company on the board--being arrogant and tone-deaf aren't the best qualifications.

It is my opinion that this kind of blatant disrespect for the community that Ms. French's comments represent should be grounds for censure. Something is very wrong in this county if parents and teachers are forming healthy partnerships for the good of children and BOE members are basically sneering at them.

On the other hand, apparently stakeholders have been issued an invitation to pack the George Howard Building. (More like waving a red flag, maybe?) Here is the information on the County Executive's hearing on the budget.

I received an email from newly-re-elected HCEA President Paul Lemle, extending the following invitation to the community:

Dear friends, colleagues, and community members,

The Board of Education voted today to adopt a $780M budget that cuts vital services in media and kindergarten even as enrollment increases by over 1600 students. The discussion now centers on the new Governor, County Executive, and County Council—and we need to keep advocating for our students.

Please join HCEA for an open community meeting on Tuesday, March 3rd, 5PM in the Centennial HS cafeteria. We will clarify the impact of the cuts and develop strategy for the next part of the process. RSVP here to give us an idea of how much pizza we need!

If you care about the cuts being made in this budget, and you believe that stakeholder input should be respected and not sneered at, please mark you calendars for this meeting and share this information with others.

 

 

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Teacher Gifts

Today is the last day of school before the Winter Break. It’s a good time to remember the far-reaching nature of our public school system. You may not have children. You may have sent your children to independent schools. It matters not. You will be impacted one way or another. Yesterday I read a long thread on Facebook about several waves of illness in the schools right now. There’s influenza A and norovirus, I believe. And of course there’s COVID. Apparently in some individual schools the rate of illness is high enough for school admin to notify parents.  When I was little the acceptable holiday gift for a teacher was one of those lovely floral handkerchief squares. (I don’t know what it was for male teachers. They were rare in my elementary years.) These days the range of teacher gifts is wider and I have fond memories of Target gift cards which I have written about before. I think it’s safe to say that giving one’s teacher Influenza, norovirus, or COVID is not the ideal holiday...
1 comment
Read more

They Can Wait

This is not a typical Saturday post. That’s because, in my community, it’s not a typical Saturday.  Oakland Mills High School, after years of deferred repair, needs massive renovation. It’s pretty simple: when you don’t fix a problem it gets bigger. The school system itself said the the OMHS school building was  "no longer conducive to learning" back in 2018.  2018 .  But Thursday the Boad of Education voted to push it out of the lineup of important projects which will be given the go-ahead to proceed soonest.  In my opinion it’s a terrible decision and sets a dangerous precedent. To explain, here’s the advocacy letter I sent in support of Oakland Mills High School. I was rather proud of it. I am writing to ask you to proceed with needed renovation at Oakland Mills High School in the most timely and comprehensive manner humanly possible. I have read the letter sent to you by the Oakland Mills Community Association and I am in complete agreement. You are extremel...
1 comment
Read more

Columbia Chance Connection

  Last night, as my husband and I were about to sit down to dinner, our front door swung open and a cheery voice announced, “I’m ba—ack!”  We weren’t expecting anyone. Clearly the only people who’d walk right in to our house would be one of our offspring. I had my reading glasses on so I wasn’t seeing too clearly. It seemed too tall for our youngest, but we knew our eldest was at work. I took off my glasses to see a friendly but confused face scanning our living room. When her gaze landed on us we all had a sudden realization. We didn’t know eachother. “Oh I’m so sorry! I’m in the wrong house! My daughter just moved in and she needed hooks for the kitchen so I ran out to get them.” She waved the package. “All these houses look the same and I don’t know the neighborhood yet. I thought this was my daughter’s house.” We were all getting a bit giggly. “That’s okay. For a quick second we thought you were our daughter,” said my husband. I told her our names and said she should defin...
Post a Comment
Read more