Category: Budget and Funding

HB 1107: Putting Last Night’s Five-Hour Board Meeting into Context

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by Lori Morrow

Last night, I attended the PGCPS Board of Education Meeting to hear the members vote on the CEO’s Proposed Operating Budget. The five-hour meeting provided an interesting glimpse into our local county politics. (Click to watch Part 1 and Part 2 of the video of the meeting.) Nearly two hours of the meeting were spent listening to students, parents and community members discuss the impact of recommended school closures and consolidations in southern Prince George’s County. Having faced a similar situation in my Tulip Grove Elementary School neighborhood years ago, I empathize with those families and understand how frustrating the uncertainty can be. As yet, no final decisions on school closures have been made.

A comment I heard multiple times was that the Board Members are elected by us.  However, since House Bill 1107 passed in the 2013 Maryland legislative session, that is not entirely true. HB 1107 changed the structure of the Board of Education and made changes to the position of chief executive officer, formerly known as superintendent of schools. The impact of those changes was evident last night.

Nine of our Board of Education members are elected, and four are appointed by the County Executive.  Moreover, the Board needs a 2/3 majority to override a decision of the CEO, other than a personnel decision. HB1107 also transferred many powers directly to the CEO, appointed by the County Executive.  Under the new law, the PGCPS Board of Education is charged with only two responsibilities: 1. Raise the level of academic achievement of the students in the Prince George’s County Public School System; and 2. Raise the level of engagement of parents, students, and community as a whole. Other responsibilities, including school closures, belong solely to the Chief Executive Officer. It is an important distinction, as the voter’s influence in choosing the CEO comes from our election of the County Executive rather than the Board of Education.

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Every Comment from the Feb. 9 Budget Hearing

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by Genevieve Demos Kelley

The Prince George’s County Board of Education held its third and final hearing Tuesday on the fiscal year 2017 operating budget. The hearing was well attended, and many of the speakers and audience members arrived on a bus chartered by Casa de Maryland in Langley Park. Video coverage of the meeting will be posted on PGCPS’s Youtube channel.

Board Chair Segun Eubanks reminded participants that comments would be limited to three minutes per person. He also noted that the Board is scheduled to adopt the budget at the February 25th Board meeting, after which it will be sent to County Executive Rushern Baker.

Fifteen people spoke at the hearing. Their comments are recapped below:

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Session Materials Available from Budget Q & A

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by Tommi Makila

The budget question and answer session organized by Prince George’s County Advocates for Better Schools on February 4th was a success. Despite the need to reschedule the event due to the snowstorm, the meeting was well attended.

The agenda for the meeting was straightforward. PGCPS Budget and Management Services Director John Pfister provided an overview of the budget, followed by a lively and informative question and answer session. Among the many topics discussed were special education funding, student based budgeting, technology expenditures, philanthropic donations to the school system, building maintenance, professional development, and the proposed parent university. Mr. Pfister and his staff also had prepared answers to previously submitted questions by PGCABS members.

Residents are encouraged to provide input on the CEO’s proposed budget. See this recent blog post for information about the February 9th public hearing and other ways to make your opinion heard.

Mr. Pfister’s presentation and other handouts from the Q&A event are helpful resources for those interested in the budget:

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Speak up About the Budget

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by Lori Morrow
 

100_3401The Prince George’s County Public Schools budget cycle began this past fall, with CEO Kevin Maxwell requesting public input in crafting the proposed Annual Operating Budget for fiscal year 2017. In a school system with nearly 129,000 students in 209 schools, the public submitted only 53 responses.

We all know that parents have opinions. We hear them at PTA meetings, school events, on social media, or from our friends and neighbors. However, sharing opinions with our friends is not enough. We must participate in the process. This year, the CEO is requesting an increase of $182.2Million over last year’s budget to support academic excellence, build a high-performing work force, and expand high-demand programs. After years of tight budgets, these are things our schools need to continue improving.

Getting involved may sound daunting and time-consuming, but it doesn’t have to be:

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Budget Q & A on February 4th (Updated)

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Update: Due to the severe snowstorm, this event has been rescheduled for Thursday, February 4th.

PGCABS flyerBring your questions about the CEO’s proposed operating budget for Fiscal Year 2017 to the Greenbelt Community Center (Rm. 114) on Monday, January 25th Thursday, February 4th at 6 pm. Staff from the PGCPS Budget Office will be in attendance to answer questions.

As you are preparing your questions, keep the following in mind:

  • Be sure that your questions are clear and to the point. This is not the time to make speeches about the virtues or failings of the budget. Save those comments for the Board of Education‘s budget hearing on February 9th.
  • Questions should pertain specifically to the operating budget. This meeting is not focused on school construction and renovation projects; capital improvements have a separate budget.
  • If possible, email your questions in advance of the meeting to pgcabschools@gmail.com or enter them into this google form.
  • Here is the link to CEO Maxwell’s proposed budget.

Have more questions about the event? Email us at pgcabschools@gmail.com.

Here is a link to the Facebook event page.

Time to Pay Attention to the School Budget

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by Tommi Makila

It’s school budget time again. The CEO’s proposed operating budget for fiscal year 2017 is ambitious, so it is likely that we will again go through a spirited discussion about the school system and its funding level. So that your participatation in the discussion is more meaningful, I recommend doing the following three things:

1. Read the CEO’s proposed budget. The school system’s CEO presented his proposed operating budget to the Board of Education in early December. This proposed budget is available on the PGCPS website, on the Budget and Management Services webpage. Even if you don’t read the whole thing (the full document is over 300 pages), at least become familiar with the parts of the budget that interest you the most. Or read the introduction to the budget, a much shorter document that gives an overview of the budget.

2. Attend the budget Q&A session. Prince George’s County Advocates for Better Schools (PGCABS) is hosting a meeting so that interested residents can pose questions to the PGCPS budget office staff about the proposed budget. The Q&A session will be held on Monday, January 25 from 6 pm to 8 pm in Room 114 of the Greenbelt Community Center (15 Crescent Road, Greenbelt). To submit a question(s) in advance of the meeting, click here (or send an email to pgcabschools@gmail.com). Click here to submit questions about the budget . PGCPS budget staff will prepare answers in advance of the meeting. Emailed questions need to be submitted by Monday, January 18.

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Weekly News Roundup: CEO Proposes $2 Billion Budget, ESSA Signed into Law

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Schools CEO Kevin Maxwell gave his yearly state of the schools address on Thursday, outlining a proposed operating budget of $2 billion, a 9.9% increase in spending over the current year. Among Maxwell’s priorities are reducing class sizes in the early grades, raising teacher salaries, and expanding pre-kindergarten.  (Washington Post)

Find the full version of the CEO’s proposed fiscal year 2017 operating budget on the Department of Budget and Management Services’ webpage.

Three community meetings will be held next week to discuss possible school closings and boundary changes. The three community discussions will be held at Accokeek Academy (Monday, December 14), Northwestern High School (Tuesday, December 15), and Andrew Jackson Academy (Wednesday, December 16). All meetings begin at 6:30 pm.  (PGCPS)

Several families have spoken to the Washington Post about corporal punishment at Dora Kennedy French Immersion School in Greenbelt (Washington Post). In October, we published one parent’s account here.

The PARCC results are in for elementary and high school students. Among PGCPS students in grades 3-8, about 25% of students taking the English Language Arts/Literacy assessment and 15% of students taking the mathematics assessment received a score of 4 or 5. Performance is graded on a five-point scale, with a score of 4 indicating that the student “met expectations” and a score of 5 indicating that expectations were exceeded. Read stories at pgcps.org, the Washington Post, the Baltimore Sun, and on this blog. Find detailed results for every county and school in Maryland at the Maryland Report Card.

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Weekly News Roundup: State Funding Issues, Charter School Applications, PARCC Scores

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With budget surpluses on the horizon, Democrat lawmakers are urging Governor Hogan to release the $68 million in GCEI education funds he withheld in May. The money would go to high-cost school districts, with the lion’s share going to Prince George’s, Montgomery, and Baltimore Counties and Baltimore City. (Washington Post)

Governor Hogan and Comptroller Franchot expressed frustration with Maryland’s spending on school construction, at a Board of Public Works meeting on Wednesday. “We can’t just keep shoveling more and more money without accountability,” Hogan said. “The taxpayers are getting pretty frustrated the results.” (Maryland Reporter)

Venture Philanthropy Partners is working with PGCPS to create a new program called “Ready for Work: Champions for Career and College Ready Graduates.” The group has already donated $5 million and has made a committment to work with graduates from Suitland, Oxon Hill, and High Point high schools to “provide internships, to give kids job coaches, to create opportunities for kids to be successful,” according to CEO Kevin Maxwell. (CBSDC)

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Weekly News Roundup: School Lunches, Arts Integration, Saturday School, and Standardized Testing

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CEO Responds to School Lunch Reports:  As part of National School Lunch Week, PGCPS CEO Kevin Maxwell invited FOX 5 along to a Bowie school to have lunch and discuss the recent reports of substandard quality in school lunches.  FOX5

PG County School Closed Due to Fire:  Samuel Chase Elementary School in Temple Hills, MD, was closed Wednesday and Thursday due to a fire caused by an overhead fan.  Students were relocated to a nearby high school.  WTOP

State Lawmakers Investigate Overtesting Complaints:  Lawmakers in the State House and Senate hold a hearing to investigate the common complaint of too many standardized tests in schools.  WBALTV

PGCPS Officials Look to State for School Repair Funds:  Maryland Comptroller visits Suitland High School in a bid by PGCPS to have the state provide matching funds for renovations to ailing schools.  CBSDC

Arts Integration Gains Momentum:  An initiative in PGCPS to integrate arts into the classroom has expanded from 15 to 41 schools over the last year.  This follows a national trend as research emerges showing how combining arts with academics can improve learning.  The Washington Post Continue reading →

Give Input on Next Year’s Budget at Oct. 13 Forum

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by Genevieve Demos Kelley

CEO Kevin Maxwell and his team are already developing the Fiscal Year 2017 operating budget for Prince George’s County Public Schools and will present a proposed budget to the Board of Education some time in December. On Tuesday, October 13 at 7 pm, members of the community will have the opportunity to present testimony in the Sasscer board room regarding budget priorities for FY 2017. This public input will be shared with CEO Maxwell.

Speakers will be given two minutes to speak at the forum and must register by 4:30 p.m. on the day of the forum by calling 301-952-6001. Read more details in the Oct. 7 news release.

Wondering why we’re already talking about the 2017 budget? Here’s a quick review of the budget process:

  • The Fiscal Year 2017 budget actually goes into effect in 2016. It covers the period from July 2016 through June 2017.
  • The CEO and his team begin crafting a budget during the summer, a full year before it will go into effect. The CEO then presents a recommended budget to the Board of Education some time in December.
  • After work sessions and public hearings, the Board of Education adopts a version of the budget, using the CEO’s proposed budget as a starting point. Once the Board votes on the budget (probably in some time in February), it is known as the “requested budget” for the next fiscal year.
  • Why “requested”? Because the Board then sends the budget to the County Executive and County Council for approval. The County Council may or may not decide to fully fund the Board’s requested budget. (In the case of the FY 2016 budget, the Council gave PGCPS less than they asked for.)
  • Once the County Council has approved a spending level, the Board of Education must go through a process of reconciliation — making the budget fit the constraints set by the Council’s funding decision.
  • The Board of Education then votes to pass a final budget in June.