Skip to main content

Priorities

The school budget season is upon us, and the Superintendent's budget proposes make cuts to kindergarten para-educators, media para-educators and media secretaries. We are assured that these cuts must be made in order to have funds to hire teachers for the expected new enrollment of approximately 1645 children. If only it were that simple. It's not.

First of all, cuts to services that directly impact childen should be the very last thing we are considering. Para-educators provide direct support to students, and media secretaries perform work that allows media specialists to work directly with students. Research and common sense show that, especially in vulnerable populations, the building of sustained relationships is crucial for academic and emotional success.

So, what have we been spending money on in Howard County that causes the Superintendent to suggest that cutting back on student services is necessary and appropriate?

  • Almost a million dollars Over five hundred thousand dollars in salary for free-lance lawyers being paid to litigate against the parents of special needs children. (Thanks to Cindy Vaillancourt for the correction.)
  • Hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Gallup Organization for a program to show that teachers and students are "engaged"
  • Hundreds of thousands of dollars to an outside consultant to evaluate our special education programs who--guess what?--recommends cutting back on support staff to students.

I can't for the life of me understand why such decisions were made. Not only are they counterproductive to the mission of the Howard County Public Schools, they show a profound disregard for what it means to have a sensible budget and intelligent priorites. From Vision 2018:

Our Vision

"Every student is inspired to learn and empowered to excel."

Our Mission

"We cultivate a vibrant learning community that prepares students to thrive in a dynamic world"

As a parent and a teacher I know that building relationships is the biggest part of inspiring and empowering students to learn. It is those relationships which are necessary to create and sustain vibrant learning communities. Please write to these people(see below) to let them know you want to see our school system place the highest priority on expenditures which support human relationships and service to students.

Do it now. The Board of Education votes on acceptance of the Superintendent's Proposed Budget this Tuesday morning, February 24th. The Board has the power to change the budget before submitting it to the County Executive.

BOE@hcpss.org - for Board of Education councilmail@howardcountymd.gov - for County Council AKittleman@howardcountymd.gov -- you can use this address to submit to the County Executive.

The entire State of Maryland is dealing with a budget shortfall. As citizens we understand that adjustments may have to be made. Please let your elected officials know that you know where our priorites should be: in nurturing our students.

 

 

 

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Getting Fresh

One of my favorite days in the Spring comes when this year’s list of Farmer’s Markets is released. That happened this week. New this year are markets in Old Ellicott City and the “Merriweather Market” which, according to the address, will be located here . I mistakenly thought at first glance that it was in the new-construction part of the Merriweather District. I find the name confusing considering its actual location. I’m going to guess that this market is an initiative of the Howard Hughes Corporation because the name seems chosen more for branding purposes than anything else.  Alas, the market in Maple Lawn is gone. The thread on the markets on the County Executive’s FB page will provide you with quite the education in who actually runs the Farmers Markets vs what people often think is going on. Short answer: they are not  chosen nor run by the county. Each market is an independent entity, sometimes started by community volunteers, other times supported by local businesses...
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

What Kids Are Thinking

  It’s a Monday in February, and if you guessed that a lot of Howard County students have the new cell phone policy on their minds, you’d be right. It will mean big changes and it will be stressful, no matter how much good we hope it will do in the long run. But on this particular Monday cell phones might not be top of mind, as amazing as that seems. Some kids will go to school wondering if they or family members will be seized by ICE. Some will fear that their parents’ employment will be purged by the ongoing rampage of Elon Musk and his cronies through Federal Government. Some fear heightened and renewed racism as programs that supprted Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion are vilified and destroyed.  Some worry that it soon won’t be safe for them to use the bathroom in school anymore. It goes without saying that some kids fear going to school every day because of the prevalence of school shootings.  And look! Here’s something new to fear. That old hate group, Libs of TikTo...
1 comment
Read more