Attn Parents!!

glitch

Devil's Advocate
St. Mary's County Public Schools funding is being cut drastically. In turn, schools will lose kindergarten paras (aides), IRT's (instructional resource teachers), and 150 jobs. You can ALL help by emailing the county commissioners at BOCC@stmarysmd.com and asking them to INCREASE EDUCATION FUNDING. Email as many times and as often as you can. The children of St. Mary's County thank you.
 

glhs837

Power with Control
Odd, isn't it, that the first things to go are the most headline grabbing jobs. Nothing more heartbreaking than little 6 year old Johnny losing his para educator. There is nothing else that could be cut, it has to be right for the heart. Another aspect of this is that these jobs for years have been funded by the state or the Feds. That belt tightening is now trickling down.
 

glitch

Devil's Advocate
:popcorn:....this will be an intense thread I feel...:yay:

I certainly hope so. It's time parents realized how these cuts are going to negatively impact their children.

I didn't even post about the possibility of Pay to Play rule being implemented for sports and music programs. I've heard numbers ranging from $50 to $100 per child, per activity thrown around. So, your son/daughter plays three sports for their school, you're looking at an extra $150 in fees for them to continue to participate...at a minimum.
 

glhs837

Power with Control
Again, we go right to the cuts that will get the most parents to storm Leonardtown. If you think this isnt done on purpose, you are not looking at this clearly, I think. Dont storm the bastions asking for the money, ask instead why its these things that must be on the chopping block.Or ask can a kindergarten teacher handle 20 kids without a helper? Can our math teachers teach math without a helper with a doctorate to help? If not, why not?
 

xobxdoc

Active Member
Again, we go right to the cuts that will get the most parents to storm Leonardtown. If you think this isnt done on purpose, you are not looking at this clearly, I think. Dont storm the bastions asking for the money, ask instead why its these things that must be on the chopping block.Or ask can a kindergarten teacher handle 20 kids without a helper? Can our math teachers teach math without a helper with a doctorate to help? If not, why not?

Maybe more parents could find some time to volunteer in their kid's school.
 

twinoaks207

Having Fun!
:popcorn:....this will be an intense thread I feel...:yay:

:yeahthat:

St. Mary's County Public Schools funding is being cut drastically. In turn, schools will lose kindergarten paras (aides), IRT's (instructional resource teachers), and 150 jobs. You can ALL help by emailing the county commissioners at BOCC@stmarysmd.com and asking them to INCREASE EDUCATION FUNDING. Email as many times and as often as you can. The children of St. Mary's County thank you.

Well, now I know where you've been during all of the recent teacher-bashing threads...

Trying to save us all some time, let's predict where this thread is going to go...
  • someone will come on & blame all of the problems on the unions
  • someone will blame incompetent teachers
  • someone will say that teachers get paid too much for only working 10 months out of the year.
  • others will drag out stories about wrongs done by teachers that affected their children.
  • some will point out (and probably rightly so) that this is just a big game of political extortion, where cuts are proposed that will impact children in an effort to garner monetary support to save the "cushy" central office jobs
  • someone will point out that everyone is suffering from the economy so why does it matter if people involved in education also lose jobs
What did I miss?

On another note, I hear you and know exactly where you're coming from on this one. We are also going through this in PG county and it has become clear that the decision-makers do not listen to teachers, parents, or others arguing to save teaching positions and programs that directly impact the children, and cut elsewhere (cushy admin jobs), and the parents are the ones pointing out the admin jobs, not the teachers. The political entities are all playing "pass the buck, and pass the blame". I believe the whole effort is useless becuase the politicians simply do not care. They are all looking for soundbites and reputations for "getting tough and cutting budgets".

Good luck with your quest to find support. I am hoping that you find at least a few parents who will stand up and speak up for what they consider to be important to their children.

Let the mudslinging and witch-hunts commence.
 

bresamil

wandering aimlessly
I certainly hope so. It's time parents realized how these cuts are going to negatively impact their children.

I didn't even post about the possibility of Pay to Play rule being implemented for sports and music programs. I've heard numbers ranging from $50 to $100 per child, per activity thrown around. So, your son/daughter plays three sports for their school, you're looking at an extra $150 in fees for them to continue to participate...at a minimum.
They already have this in many parochial schools.
 

Dakota

~~~~~~~
I think this thread should be about what monies could be saved in the future...


1. We don't need lockers lining every school why?

2. Because we live in the age of computers, either provide text book access online or have students buy kindles at reduced rates (I'm sure this would be an excellent business between kindles and other devices that allow you to view books - providing fairly decent prices)

3. charge a fee for the e-books that allow access for x-amount of months and unless your income is below a certain level, many of us can afford to toss a couple hundred bucks towards our child's education between a reading device and e-fees.

Next...
 

puggymom

Active Member
I think this thread should be about what monies could be saved in the future...


1. We don't need lockers lining every school why?

2. Because we live in the age of computers, either provide text book access online or have students buy kindles at reduced rates (I'm sure this would be an excellent business between kindles and other devices that allow you to view books - providing fairly decent prices)

3. charge a fee for the e-books that allow access for x-amount of months and unless your income is below a certain level, many of us can afford to toss a couple hundred bucks towards our child's education between a reading device and e-fees.

Next...
Read this recently...not this article but too lazy to search:coffee:
Amazon considering free Kindles for Prime members? | Crave - CNET

Amazon doesn't make much money on the Kindle e-book reading device. And it's not supposed to; the hardware is a loss-leader that allows mobile access to--and binds customers to--Amazon's e-books store. It's a way for Amazon to say that, yes, its e-books really can replace dead tree editions.

Pretty much the device might end up being free or greatly reduced since the money is in the ebooks (that is what the other article said---the one I am too lazy to search)
 
many of us can afford to toss a couple hundred bucks towards our child's education

Yeah, it's called school tax that we already pay.

I have no problem with a Pay to Play for extracurricular activities.
I DO have a problem with giving illegals tuition cuts @ taxpayer expense and then cutting educational services to the legal students. That is :bs:
 

migtig

aka Mrs. Giant
Maybe more parents could find some time to volunteer in their kid's school.
:yeahthat: Then there would be an aide in the classroom. Honestly, when I grew up there were no paid teacher's aides. Everybody was a parent volunteer.

How about you storm the school board and demand volunteering opportunities to help out?
Yeah, it's called school tax that we already pay.

I have no problem with a Pay to Play for extracurricular activities.
I DO have a problem with giving illegals tuition cuts @ taxpayer expense and then cutting educational services to the legal students. That is :bs:

I agree. If we weren't paying for all the undocumented, then we wouldn't be having funding issues.

How about parents demand that classes are only taught to legal residents? After all, didn't some court in the mid-west recently send a mom to jail for sending her kids to school in the wrong district?

Belt tightening has to occur across the board in this country, state and county. If you aren't budgeting for yourself, then I doubt you'd understand. However, I'm glad to see the state attempting something. If you are worried, then 1) pay for private school 2) volunteer to help out at your child's school 3) homeschool...but don't be demanding more money for extras. That's :bs:
 

xobxdoc

Active Member
:yeahthat: Then there would be an aide in the classroom. Honestly, when I grew up there were no paid teacher's aides. Everybody was a parent volunteer.

How about you storm the school board and demand volunteering opportunities to help out?


I agree. If we weren't paying for all the undocumented, then we wouldn't be having funding issues.

How about parents demand that classes are only taught to legal residents? After all, didn't some court in the mid-west recently send a mom to jail for sending her kids to school in the wrong district?

Belt tightening has to occur across the board in this country, state and county. If you aren't budgeting for yourself, then I doubt you'd understand. However, I'm glad to see the state attempting something. If you are worried, then 1) pay for private school 2) volunteer to help out at your child's school 3) homeschool...but don't be demanding more money for extras. That's :bs:

The volunteer opportunities are there.
 
C

czygvtwkr

Guest
I think this thread should be about what monies could be saved in the future...


1. We don't need lockers lining every school why?

2. Because we live in the age of computers, either provide text book access online or have students buy kindles at reduced rates (I'm sure this would be an excellent business between kindles and other devices that allow you to view books - providing fairly decent prices)

3. charge a fee for the e-books that allow access for x-amount of months and unless your income is below a certain level, many of us can afford to toss a couple hundred bucks towards our child's education between a reading device and e-fees.

Next...


I was unaware they invented the electronic coat.
 

sparkyaclown

Active Member
It's not just paras that are losing their job, it is any non-tenured teacher. So all the teachers that they have hired to compensate for the growth in population are gone. That means class sizes are about to increase. I have heard rumors that class sizes in high schools could reach 100 students. How is a child going to get a quality education in that kind of environment? I think it would be hard enough for a teacher to give much if any individualized attention to a student as it is now. Increasing class sizes anymore will make matters worse and the quality can't help but suffer as the teacher would not possibly be able to keep up with the workload.

Also they are talking about moving employees who have potentialy not taught in a classroom in years back into one. The kids today will rip them apart, and how effective will they be as they will not be practiced in today's methods of instruction or classroom management?

Plus the economy is in the the crapper far enough are we all really so heartless as to say screw them let them lose there job?

The county did as much as possible to sugar coat the situation in the article that was published in the newspaper. There is alot they left out or embellished to spin it into a more positive light.


I emailed the commisioners this morning to voice my disapproval with this cut.
 
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drivingdaisy

New Member
I would say that most Kindergarten classrooms need an assistant of some sort. If you've ever had one child have a bathroom accident while another one is throwing up while 4 are fighting over a hurt feelings you would understand why the extra pair of hands is crucial.

While there is a lot that parents can do to help teachers (copying, laminating, bulletin boards, materials prep, etc) they can be hard to use in the classroom or during learning activities. It is easy to plan your lessons with a fellow professional, but you would treat a fellow professional different than a parent. Plus there are a lot of things about students that volunteers-especially parent volunteers-wouldn't be allowed to know about students which can be a factor in teaching. Without the extra help it will be hard for teachers to have small groups and do one-on-one intervention with struggling students, both of which are extremely important.

The contradictions and complications of the political end of schools can be so depressing.
 
:yeahthat:



Well, now I know where you've been during all of the recent teacher-bashing threads...

Trying to save us all some time, let's predict where this thread is going to go...
  • someone will come on & blame all of the problems on the unions
  • someone will blame incompetent teachers
  • someone will say that teachers get paid too much for only working 10 months out of the year.
  • others will drag out stories about wrongs done by teachers that affected their children.
  • some will point out (and probably rightly so) that this is just a big game of political extortion, where cuts are proposed that will impact children in an effort to garner monetary support to save the "cushy" central office jobs
  • someone will point out that everyone is suffering from the economy so why does it matter if people involved in education also lose jobs
What did I miss?

On another note, I hear you and know exactly where you're coming from on this one. We are also going through this in PG county and it has become clear that the decision-makers do not listen to teachers, parents, or others arguing to save teaching positions and programs that directly impact the children, and cut elsewhere (cushy admin jobs), and the parents are the ones pointing out the admin jobs, not the teachers. The political entities are all playing "pass the buck, and pass the blame". I believe the whole effort is useless becuase the politicians simply do not care. They are all looking for soundbites and reputations for "getting tough and cutting budgets".

Good luck with your quest to find support. I am hoping that you find at least a few parents who will stand up and speak up for what they consider to be important to their children.

Let the mudslinging and witch-hunts commence.

There may be some people around here that blame teachers, or believe that they are, on the whole, overpayed, but there are some of us that certainly do not. I don't have anything at all against teachers. I also don't have anything against doctors, but I don't want doctors getting together as a group and negotiating with the government (which has the power to take whatever money it wants from me through taxation) to decide what is appropriate with regard to their compensation for our collective medical needs and wants and even how much medical service (e.g. how many doctors) we will collectively buy (pay), and then to have that government take my money to pay those doctors to provide medical service for everyone. I don't have anything against chefs either. But, the same thing - I don't want chefs acting collectively to demand a certain compensation amount/arrangement for the food they prepare, especially considering that I'd then be forced to buy their food whether I want it or not, and further that I'd be forced to pay for it even if I had no use for it and wouldn't be getting to eat it.

I'm not sure whether teachers are, on the whole, overcompensated or undercompensated for the services they provide. That's the point - we don't have a system (that even comes close to being one) that can, or is allowed to, figure that out. Some teachers probably get more than they deserve, while I'm certain that a great many teachers get far less than they deserve - we just don't have a reasonable way of figuring out which are which. I want teachers to be paid fairly. I want them to get what they deserve. Government control of the education business prevents that from happening. It also reduces the overall effectiveness and efficiency of education services. It also compels people to pay for other people's (children's) education and thus amounts to a redistribution of wealth. It also reduces flexibility and innovation. It inhibits that which makes most everything better and stronger - competition. Turning back to the plight of teachers in specific - it hurts the good ones and helps the bad ones, indeed creating (or expanding) a market and safe harbor for the bad ones. It facilitates people being teachers that probably have no business being teachers.

I understand people (that are recieving medical services) wanting more money spent on medical services. I understand doctors wanting more work created for their profession and I understand some of them wanting job security provided and compensation levels guaranteed. What I don't understand is how those parties, even feeling as they do, can justify others being forced to pay to provide what it is that they want. Education is extremely important. Parents should want to do (and want to have done) as much as is practical to prepare their children for the future. Health care is also important. Parents should want their children's physical well being tended to as best as possible. That doesn't mean it's okay to make other people pay for it though, and it surely doesn't mean that the health care system should be devised so as to best provide work for would-be health care providers and driven by what's in those providers best interests.

Assuming we feel the need to collectively provide some basic level of education services and medical services to all children (i.e. force people to pay for other's needs and responsibilities), is it not reasonable that, even while agreeing to do so, we draw a line somewhere and say: this right here is as far as we will go - this is the amount we'll provide, the amount we'll give you - anything beyond this reasonable level of care is up to you (the parent) to provide?

Again, I want to be absolutely clear: I'm sure that many teachers deserve far better compensation, and are worth far more, than they are currently getting. I want them to be able to get it. I just don't want whatever it is to be arbitrarily determined. I want it to be the result of the same real dynamics that have always dictated 'fair' results. My hunch - and it really is just a hunch because my information about you is fairly limited - is that you're among the better teachers. If that's the case, I want you to be able to get what you deserve, and children to be able to benefit from your abilities and efforts, and to be able to benefit from more teachers being better at what they do.

It's not that I can say with certainty that all of the results of the current system are bad, it's that I can say with utmost confidence that the current system is dysfunctional (or, rather, non-functional) on a basic level. So, whatever good results it might create are happenstance. I want a system that seeks - that faciliates - good results. Then, I can trust that the results we will get will be as good as they ought to be.

An enterprise having (a significant portion of) its revenue guaranteed, without significant regard to the quality of its products or performance, does not guarantee that said products or performance will be deficient. That's true. However, it does leave open the substantial likelihood that its products or performance will be deficient, and more importantly, that they might continue to be deficient for significant periods of time, because the enterprise might continue to exist - in its deficient form - indefinitely, occupying market space that might otherwise be filled by a better enterprise, producing better products or performance.

It's not the teachers that, in every case, are to blame (for whatever it is we're referring to). It's the system. It's not that, in every case, we owe our children better teachers. It's that we owe our children (and our benefactors) a better system.
 
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awpitt

Main Streeter
I certainly hope so. It's time parents realized how these cuts are going to negatively impact their children.

I didn't even post about the possibility of Pay to Play rule being implemented for sports and music programs. I've heard numbers ranging from $50 to $100 per child, per activity thrown around. So, your son/daughter plays three sports for their school, you're looking at an extra $150 in fees for them to continue to participate...at a minimum.

Band memebers already pay fees. Band and sports have booster organizations that fund raise becuase of the existing lack of funds. If the cuts continue a lot of these programs might be scratched all together.
 
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