Montgomery County Teachers Stage Largest Action Yet in Growing National Movement

Click here to read WUSA Channel 9 news story about the Grade-Ins at Montgomery Mall, Lake Forest Mall and Wheaton Plaza.

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Saturday May 14th 2:00 pm
PRESS ADVISORY
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Earlier today more than 300 teachers converged on malls across Montgomery County in the largest such “Grade In” action yet, in what is becoming a growing national movement by teachers.
Wearing T-shirts proudly proclaiming “Teacher at Work”, the educators came together en masse in the food courts at Wheaton Plaza Mall in Wheaton Maryland, Montgomery Mall in Bethesda Maryland, and Lake Forest Mall in Gaithersburg Maryland. Placing table tent cards on their tables reading “I teach at _______, ask me what I’m doing” – the teachers pulled out stacks of papers to grade and got to work.
Rather than working in isolation at home – as they normally do on weekends – these teachers came together to work with one another, and to engage the public in discussions about the work of teachers and the needs of our schools. It was the first such coordinated action at multiple sites simultaneously.
This action comes on the eve of critical votes next week by the Montgomery County Council on next year’s school budget. Despite Montgomery County’s longstanding commitment to its schools, the County Council is considering drastic cuts in the school budget.
“Our state delegates fought hard to win an increase of $65 million in state aid for public schools in Montgomery County”, explained teacher union president Doug Prouty. “But hard as it is to believe, the Montgomery County Council is not going to increase the school budget by $65 million. If I were a state legislator, I’d be pretty upset. And as a county resident and parent of an MCPS student, I’m pretty upset as well. State education aid should be spent on education. I don’t understand why that is even in question”.
Similar Grade-Ins have been held across the country: in New Jersey, in Wisconsin, and Michigan, to name just a few. A nascent website (http://www.gradein.org/) has been launched to help teachers everywhere in planning similar actions. At a time when teachers and all public employees are increasingly under attack, and school budgets are being slashed, these Grade-Ins are spreading across the country as a means for teachers to re-engage with the public about the importance of funding our schools.
FOR MORE INFORMATION on the Montgomery County Maryland school budget, go to www.ourfuturemontgomery.org

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The Declining County Funding of MCPS

FACT CHECK: For close to a decade, the Montgomery County Government has been spending a smaller and smaller share of its locally raised revenues on our schools. Were it not for infusions of increased state and federal aid for education, we would have seen even more dramatic cuts in our schools.

    But now, our schools aren't even getting the increased state funding that our legislative delegation has fought so hard for.
    In FY2010, Montgomery County got $40 million in increased state aid for education. But instead of passing all those funds along to our schools, the County Council reduced its local funding by over $63 million - effectively diverting all of the $40 million in state education funding to other purposes.
    In FY2011, MoCo got more than $48 million in increased state aid for education, but the County Government used most of it to offset a decrease in local funding of $35 million.
    And now for FY2012, even though MoCo got $65 million in increased state aid for education, the County Council is considering diverting all of that into the county's general fund, rather than spending it on our schools.
   

State Aid for Education Should Be Spent on Education

As reported in today's Gazette newspaper, the County Council appears determined to impose even deeper cuts in the MCPS budget.

Here's the flaw in the County Council's thinking: the Montgomery County Council has already been spending a smaller percentage of its local tax revenue on schools. The only way one can claim that the MCPS budget accounts for "57%" of the county budget is to include federal and state aid for education. If you back out state and federal aid, and look at LOCAL TAX REVENUES, you see that MCPS' share of the county budget has been dropping for eight years. Today, the MCPS budget accounts for just 44.7% of the local tax revenues. In FY2003, MCPS represented 52.5% of local tax revenues.

It is the influx of increased state and federal aid for education that has been funding our schools since then. But next year, even though our legislative delegation just succeeded in getting a $65 million increase in state education aid for Montgomery County schools, it appears that the County Council is not going to use that money to increase the school budget by $65 million. Instead, the County Council is going to use that new state education funding to reduce the County's contribution to our schools so they can use the money on other priorities.

One would have hoped we could all agree that state aid for education should be used for education.  The Council's action will seriously undermine the county's credibility in Annapolis.

It's not too late to influence the Council's decision-making. Contact Council members today to tell them that state aid for education should be spent on our schools. And forward this message to your colleagues, your friends, and your online social networks (Facebook, Linked In, etc.)

April 5th Rally for Public Education

Chris Lloyd, technology teacher at Baker Middle School, National Board Certified Teacher, and MCEA Vice-President, created the following video documenting the participants - and the spirit - of the April 5, 2011 Rally for Public Education in Rockville. With press reports that more than 900 people attended - it was the largest demonstration in memory in Montgomery County.

http://animoto.com/play/haS7CGvDpMJDnuCcezWD0g