[00:00:01]
THIS IS CHAIRWOMAN TIARA BOOKER DWYER.
[A. OPENING REMARKS (Ms. Booker-Dwyer) (6:30 p.m.)]
BOARD OF EDUCATION OF BALTIMORE COUNTY'S PUBLIC HEARING FOR TUESDAY, JANUARY 16TH, 2024 ON THE SUPERINTENDENT'S PROPOSED FY 2025 OPERATING BUDGET.THIS EVENING'S BOARD MEETING IS BEING HELD VIRTUALLY THROUGH A MICROSOFT TEAMS LIVE EVENT.
THE REGISTRATION FORM FORM FOR THE PUBLIC HEARING WAS AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC ONLINE, AND CLOSED AT 3:00 PM YESTERDAY.
FOR ANYONE WISHING TO SPEAK AT THIS EVENING'S HEARING SPEAKER'S NAMES WILL BE CALLED IN ORDER OF REGISTRATION.
WHILE WE ENCOURAGE PUBLIC INPUT ON THE PROPOSED FFY 2025 OPERATING BUDGET THIS EVENING, THIS IS NOT THE PROPER FORM TO ADDRESS SPECIFIC STUDENT OR EMPLOYEE MATTERS OR TO COMMENT ON MATTERS THAT DO NOT RELATE TO THE OPERATING BUDGET.
I REMIND EVERYONE THAT INAPPROPRIATE PERSONAL REMARKS OR OTHER BEHAVIOR THAT DISRUPTS OR INTERFERE WITH THE CONDUCT OF THIS MEETING ARE OUT OF ORDER.
EACH SPEAKER WILL BE GIVEN THREE MINUTES TO SPEAK ON THE SUPERINTENDENT'S PROPOSED FY 2025 OPERATING BUDGET.
THIS PUBLIC HEARING IS NOT THE FORUM TO SPEAK ON ANY OTHER TOPICS.
I ASK SPEAKERS TO OBSERVE THE THREE MINUTES LIMIT AND CONCLUDE REMARKS WHEN TIME HAS EXPIRED AND YOU HEAR THE TONE.
[B. PUBLIC COMMENT (6:35 p.m.)]
TONIGHT IS KENNETH BINES.MS. BREYER, I DON'T SEE HIM ON THE CALL YET.
DO YOU WANNA GO TO THE NEXT SPEAKER? SO THE NEXT SPEAKER IS CHRISTINE PHILLIPS.
MY NAME IS CHRISTINE PHILLIPS.
I'M A SIXTH YEAR SPANISH TEACHER AT OVERLY HIGH SCHOOL.
FIRST, I WOULD LIKE TO COMMEND DR. ROGERS AND HER TEAM FOR WORKING HARD TO GET COMMUNITY INPUT ON THIS BUDGET.
I ATTENDED THE BUDGET TOWN HALL AT TOWSON HIGH SCHOOL, AND I WAS IMPRESSED WITH THE DIVERSITY OF ROLES REPRESENTED AND QUESTIONS THAT WERE ASKED.
SECONDLY, I WOULD LIKE TO RECOGNIZE THE COLLABORATIVE EFFORT THAT WAS PUT FORTH TO FINISH NEGOTIATING WITH TABCO BY THE NOVEMBER 30TH DEADLINE.
I APPRECIATE THAT OUR NEGOTIATED SALARY SCALES WERE ACTUALLY ABLE TO BE INCLUDED IN THE PROPOSED BUDGET FOR THE FIRST TIME.
SINCE I STARTED WORKING IN BCPS.
I'M A WORLD LANGUAGES TEACHER, WHICH IS ONE OF THE NON-CORE AREAS IN WHICH STUDENTS ARE REQUIRED TO TAKE CLASSES FOR GRADUATION.
I HAVE NOTICED THAT AT OUR SCHOOL, THESE CLASSES ARE MUCH LARGER THAN THE CORE CLASSES LIKE ENGLISH AND SOCIAL STUDIES IN OUR BUILDING, I DID A MINI DATA DIVE THIS AFTERNOON AND FOUND THE FOLLOWING, OUR EIGHT LEVEL ONE WORLD LANGUAGE COURSES, WHICH INCLUDES FRENCH ONE AND SPANISH ONE, HAVE AN AVERAGE OF 34.4 STUDENTS PER CLASS WITH THE FEWEST NUMBER OF STUDENTS BEING 34 10.
FOUNDATIONS OF ENGINEERING COURSES HAVE AN AVERAGE OF 34.6 STUDENTS PER CLASS WITH THE FEWEST NUMBER OF STUDENTS BEING 33 IN ONE SECTION.
OUR 12 SECTIONS OF FUNDAMENTALS OF ART AVERAGE 31.5 STUDENTS PER CLASS, WITH 31 BEING THE FEWEST NUMBER OF STUDENTS IN A CLASS.
NOW WE ARE GUARANTEED 325 MINUTES OF PLANNING PER WEEK.
THAT MEANS IF A NON-CORE TEACHER HAS AN AVERAGE 33.3 STUDENTS PER CLASS AND SIX CLASSES, THEY TEACH 199.8 STUDENTS, 325 MINUTES OF PLANNING DIVIDED BY 199.8 STUDENTS IS ONE MINUTE AND 37 SECONDS PER STUDENT PER WEEK.
THAT'S HALF OF THE AMOUNT OF TIME I HAVE TO SPEAK TO YOU TODAY FOR A TEACHER TO GRADE ASSIGNMENTS, GIVE FEEDBACK TO THE STUDENT CONTACT HOME ABOUT THAT STUDENT'S PROGRESS AND MAKE NECESSARY ACCOMMODATIONS TO CURRICULUM MATERIALS FOR THAT STUDENT.
IN THE SUPERINTENDENT'S BUDGET PRESENTATION, I WAS GLAD TO SEE ADDITIONAL SPECIAL AREA TEACHERS, BUT THEN IN THE PROPOSED BUDGET, I SAW THAT THOSE ARE ONLY DEFINED AS ART, MUSIC, AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION TEACHERS.
WE NEED MORE NON-CORE TEACHERS IN EVERY SUBJECT, SO THAT PHYSICAL ED, SO THAT THE EDUCATION THAT STUDENTS GET IN ENGINEERING ALGEBRA AND SPANISH CLASS IS EQUITABLE.
WE ALL KNOW THAT SMALLER CLASS SIZES MEANS MORE INDIVIDUALIZED ATTENTION FOR STUDENTS, AND OUR CERTAIN STUDENTS DESERVE THE SAME LEVEL OF ATTENTION IN THEIR CORE AND NON-CORE CLASSES.
THESE NON-CORE CLASSES ARE ALSO SOMETIMES THE ONLY CLASS THAT STUDENTS WITH IEPS HAVE IN GENERAL EDUCATION SETTINGS BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT CORE CLASSES, THEY DON'T GET PARAEDUCATORS OR CO-TEACHERS IN THE ROOM WITH THEIR GENERAL EDUCATOR.
THAT MAKES SMALLER CLASS SIZES EVEN MORE CRUCIAL.
OVERALL, I WOULD LIKE THE BOARD TO CONSIDER IN THIS BUDGET AND FUTURE BUDGETS THAT AN AVERAGE HIGH SCHOOL CLASS SIZE DOESN'T ACTUALLY MEAN 23 STUDENTS IN EVERY SINGLE CLASSROOM.
NON-CORE C ARE INTEGRAL IN PREPARING STUDENTS TO BE COLLEGE AND CAREER READY AND SHOULD BE TREATED AS SUCH.
BUDGETS ARE POLICY DOCUMENTS RIGHT NOW, THIS BUDGET SAYS THAT THE SKILLS STUDENTS ACQUIRE AND IMPROVE IN MY CLASSROOM ARE LESS VALUABLE THAN THOSE THEY DO IN A SCIENCE CLASSROOM.
WE NEED WELL-ROUNDED STUDENTS, AND I WOULD LIKE TO SEE A MORE WELL-ROUNDED BUDGET.
THE NEXT SPEAKER IS MR. LLOYD ALLEN.
[00:05:07]
IS MR. ALLEN HERE? WE WILL GO TO THE NEXT ONE.UM, THE NEXT SPEAKER IS MS. KRISTEN NIELSEN.
MR. ALLEN IS THE ONE BY PHONE.
I WILL TRY AND GET IN TOUCH WITH HIM.
UH, CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? I CAN HEAR YOU, MA'AM.
GOOD EVENING, CHAIR BOOKER DWYER, VICE CHAIR.
EY DR. ROGERS AND MEMBERS OF THE BOARD.
I'M LLOYD ALLEN, SPECIAL EDUCATOR IN MATHEMATICS.
THANK YOU FOR THE POSITIVE CHANGES TO THE PROCESS FOR THIS YEAR'S BUDGET PROCESS.
I APPRECIATE THE FACT THAT FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MEMORY NEGOTIATIONS WERE COMPLETED PRIOR TO THE DEADLINE THAT IS IN THE AGREEMENTS.
I APPRECIATE THE PUBLIC HEARINGS IN WHICH INPUT WAS SOUGHT FROM STAKEHOLDERS, AND I APPRECIATE THIS EVENING.
I KNOW THAT WE'RE DISCUSSING A LEAN YEAR.
NEVERTHELESS, I'M PLEASED TO SEE THAT SPECIAL EDUCATION TEAM FACILITATORS ARE STILL IN THE BUDGET.
IT'S IMPORTANT THAT THOSE POSITIONS BE FILLED WITH FIDELITY AND THAT EACH PERSON IN THIS AND ALL POSITIONS GO INTO THE YEAR KNOWING WHAT THEIR ROLE WILL BE PRIOR TO THE SUMMER.
IT IS IMPORTANT THAT WE EXAMINE EACH POSITION, AND FOR THAT MATTER, EVERY ITEM THAT IS OUTSOURCED.
IF IT IS A CORE FUNCTION, THEN THAT CORE FUNCTION SHOULD BE COMPLETED BY SOMEONE WHO THINKS OF THEMSELF AS PART OF TEAM BCPS AND WHO IS A TRUE BCPS EMPLOYEE.
THE FACT THAT THE NEGOTIATIONS WERE COMPLETED IN A TIMELY MANNER MEANS THAT THE OPERATING BUDGET REQUEST WAS ABLE TO INFORM THE BUDGET THAT WAS PRESENTED TO BOARD MEMBERS AND TO THE WIDER COMMUNITY THIS PAST MONDAY.
UH, IT ALSO MEANS THAT THEN, UH, THERE COULD HAVE BEEN, AND I ASSUME I, I HOPE THAT THERE WAS, UH, SOME COMMUNICATION WITH THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE SO THAT, UH, THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE'S BUDGET WILL BE INFORMED BY A BUDGET THAT WAS INFORMED BY THE NEGOTIATIONS PROCESS.
I LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUING, UH, AT THE COUNTY HEARINGS.
UH, AND I LOOK FORWARD TO THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE'S PROPOSAL, UH, AND IT BEING RATIFIED BY THE COUNTY COUNCIL.
ALRIGHT, HOW ABOUT NOW? CAN YOU HEAR ME ALL RIGHT? I CAN HEAR YOU LOUD AND CLEAR NOW.
ALRIGHT, I NEED A SECOND JUST TO GET MY AUXILIARY BRAIN.
JUST REMINDER FOR OUR GOOD, UH, SUPERINTENDENT AND YOU THE CHAIR, UH, WOMAN, THAT MY COMMENTS ARE CRITIQUE AND NOT CRITICISM.
QUESTION NUMBER ONE, WHAT ARE THE OBJECTIVE INDICATORS WHICH YOU HAVE USED TO DESIGN, DESIGN THIS BUDGET SO IT ACCOMPLISHES CLEARLY HIGHER QUALITY EDUCATION AND RESULTS? I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THEM.
QUESTION NUMBER TWO, THE BUDGET HAS A LITTLE BIT MORE MONEY ADDED IN THE FORM OF MORE FTES AND STAFFING.
SO MY QUESTION TO YOU, WHY OBJECTIVELY ADD IN MONEY TO THE SCHOOL SYSTEM WILL SOLVE THE PROBLEMS OF LOWER EDUCATION QUALITY AND WORSE DISCIPLINE BEHAVIOR? WHAT ARE YOUR OBJECTIVE INDICATORS? PLEASE SHARE THEM WITH ME.
QUESTION NUMBER THREE, WHY DID NOT, THIS IS NOT CRITICISM.
WHY DID NOT ONE SINGLE BOARD MEMBER ON TUESDAY ASK A QUESTION OR MAKE A CRITIQUE ON THIS PROPOSED BUDGET? QUESTION NUMBER FOUR.
THE CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTIONS IN THIS OPERATING BUDGET ARE VERY SMALL, AND I BELIEVE THEY ARE SMALL ALSO ON THE CAPITAL BUDGET.
SO MY QUESTION TO YOU, WHY NOT THE SCHOOL SYSTEM REACHES OUT TO PEOPLE LIKE JEFF BEZOS, BILL GATES, AND MAYBE ME, YOU KNOW, I'M NOT THAT RICH, BUT YOU KNOW, MAYBE ME, MAYBE I GET LUCKY.
ALRIGHT, WHY AREN'T YOU REALLY REACHING OUT FOR THESE PEOPLE? UM, AND LAST I WOULD LIKE TO ENTERTAIN WITH YOU.
[00:10:01]
MUCH FOCUS ABOUT THE 15 MINUTES.THERE'S SO MUCH FOCUS ON HOW MANY DAYS AND HOURS THE THE TEACHERS WORK ON.
WOULD YOU ENTERTAIN THE IDEA TO CONSIDER MAKING TEACHERS SALARIED? SO THERE IS NOT REALLY QUESTION ABOUT 15 MINUTES AND HOW MANY HOURS WE WORKED, AND THIS IS REALLY TOO MUCH AND SO FORTH.
UH, I BASICALLY ASK YOU TO CONSIDER WHAT OTHER GOOD COMPANIES WOULD DO IN ORDER TO IMPROVE THE OUTCOME.
AND I REALLY THANK YOU AND PLEASE GIVE ME YOUR ANSWERS BY EMAIL.
AND I WILL CHECK TO SEE IF WE HAVE MR. KENNETH BENJIS ON THE LINE.
AND SO I, I THANK YOU ALL TO THOSE WHO HAVE READ THE BUDGET AND HAVE TAKEN THE TIME TO REALLY GO THROUGH IT.
UM, YOU KNOW, THIS, I I JUST WANTED TO ADDRESS ONE OF THE COMMENTS WHEN THE QUESTION WAS ASKED ABOUT WHY THE BOARD MEMBERS DID NOT MAKE ANY COMMENTS OR, UM, OR SAID ANYTHING ABOUT THE BUDGET THE DAY THAT IT WAS PRESENTED.
AND SO WE HAVE A, A WORKING SESSION ON JANUARY 23RD WHERE THE BOARD MEMBERS WILL, UM, WE'LL DIVE DEEP INTO THAT BUDGET.
THAT'S WHERE YOU'LL HEAR THE CRITIQUES, THE QUESTIONS, THE FEEDBACK, THE ACCOLADES.
UM, AND SO THE FIRST PRESENTATION OF THE BUDGET WAS JUST A PRESENTATION.
IT WAS TO GIVE US THE INFORMATION.
WE RECEIVED THE BOARD, UM, THE, THE BUDGET OPERATING, UH, BOOK.
AND WE WERE ABLE TO GO THROUGH IT IN DETAIL SO THAT WE ARE PREPARED FOR OUR JANUARY 23RD MEETING.
SO WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO GOING DEEPER, UM, INTO THE BUDGET AT THAT MEETING.
AND, UM, AND I DO APPRECIATE OUR, OUR OVERLY HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER, UM, WHO MADE COMMENTS ABOUT THE CLASS SIZES.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I WOULD URGE EVERYONE TO DO IS REALLY TO LOOK SYSTEMICALLY AT THE AMOUNT OF DEVELOPMENT, DEVELOPMENT THAT IS HAPPENING IN OUR COUNTY AND HOW MUCH IMPACT FEES ARE BEING, UM, GIVEN TO OUR COUNTY TO SUPPORT EXPANDING OUR BUILDINGS, EXPANDING OUR TEACHING FORCE SO THAT WE DO NOT HAVE TO HAVE CLASSES THAT ARE OVERCROWDED.
UM, THAT IS, UH, SO IT'S, IT'S BIGGER THAN JUST THE BUDGET THAT WE HAVE.
WE HAVE TO LOOK SYSTEMICALLY AT WHAT'S HAPPENING ACROSS THE COUNTY AND ESPECIALLY WITH THOSE IMPACT FEES.
AND SO I KNOW THAT IS SOMETHING THAT THE BOARD OF EDUCATION, UM, WE ARE, UM, THAT'S ONE OF OUR LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES.
UM, THAT IS SOMETHING THAT YOU ALL WILL HEAR MORE ABOUT BECAUSE WE RECOGNIZE THE NEED ACROSS THE BOARD TO, UM, JUST TO REDUCE THE, THE OVERCROWDING THAT ARE, THAT'S IN SCHOOLS.
AND, AND WE CAN'T DO THAT ALONE.
THAT'S DEFINITELY GONNA TAKE THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY WORKING TOGETHER.
AND SO, UM, THANK YOU FOR TONIGHT.
I WOULD LIKE TO TURN IT OVER TO DR. ROGERS IF SHE HAS ANYTHING TO SAY ABOUT THE PUBLIC HEARING OR, OR WHAT SHE'S HEARD TODAY.
UM, I TOO WANNA THANK EVERYONE WHO PROVIDED SOME, UH, FEEDBACK THIS EVENING.
UM, BUT ALSO EVERYONE WHO HAS PROVIDED FEEDBACK ALONG THE WAY, UM, AS YOU MENTIONED, UM, OUR FIRST, UH, WORK SESSION IS THE OPPORTUNITY TO DIG EVEN DEEPER INTO THE BUDGET.
DEFINITELY LOOKING FORWARD, UH, TO THAT OPPORTUNITY CERTAINLY HERE, THAT TEACHER FROM OVERLY.
AND, UM, AS OUR, UH, FISCAL TIMES MOVE TO, UM, YOU KNOW, MORE OPPORTUNITY, UM, WE CERTAINLY, UH, YOU KNOW, WE'LL, WE'LL TAKE THE NECESSARY STEPS TO GATHER MORE FEEDBACK AND, YOU KNOW, TO INFORM, UH, WHAT WE PROPOSE FOR THE UPCOMING YEARS.
AND SO JUST REALLY WANT TO, UM, THANK EVERYONE FOR THEIR PARTICIPATION IN THIS PROCESS TO TODAY AND LOOK FORWARD TO THE CONTINUED PARTICIPATION OF OUR STAKEHOLDERS AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
UM, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH, UH, THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE AS WELL AS THE COUNTY COUNCIL ON BEHALF OF TEAM BCPS.
AND WITH THAT, UM, THE NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA
[C. ANNOUNCEMENTS]
IS ANNOUNCEMENTS.THE BOARD'S NEXT MEETING WILL BE HELD TUESDAY, JANUARY 23RD, 2024 AT 6:30 PM THANK YOU FOR JOINING US THIS EVENING.
THIS HEARING IS NOW CONCLUDED.