n everyone. Thank you so much for joining us this afternoon. It is my pleasure to kick off a very new tradition that we've started in M.C.P.S. this year, where the Board of Education not just passes resolutions at
the board table, but also invites members of our community to come and celebrate. This has kind of been something that has evolved over the last several months, and something that we started this school year, and we're thrilled that you can be here to celebrate
with us as we recognize a handful of important organizations and people for the remarkable service and richness that they bring to M.c.p.s. This is an opportunity for us to move these words off of the page of the resolution
and back into the hearts of our community. Throughout May, our district has come together to honor and reflect and celebrate diverse voices and dedicated professionals that enrich our community. Today, we're very proud to recognize Asian
American Pacific Islander Month, recognizing the historical contributions, diverse cultural heritage, and ongoing achievements of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders that helped to shape the United States. Jewish American Heritage Month
recognizing the generations of Jewish Americans whose enduring culture, cultural contributions, historical contributions, and achievements have profoundly shaped and enriched the fabric of American society. And then we also have several
professional recognitions. Before I touch on the several professional recognitions, I'd be remiss if I didn't point out that one of the most significant things that we're going to be talking about today during the regular business meeting is we're going to be talking about the budget. And
candidly, things didn't really go our way this year in terms of fully funding our request. And so even though some of the words on some of these resolutions may ring hollow in the moment, it's not a reflection of the work or
contributions that our very dedicated teammates bring to the table, and that if we had a different set of opportunities, we might have different choices in front of us today. But nonetheless, we are very proud of the educators and teammates that we have in the school
system, and this is a great opportunity that we have to honor them and show our appreciation. And what better way to show our appreciation than Teacher Appreciation Week, which happened from May 4th through the eighth, where we celebrated the dedication,
patience, and hard work of our educators who are inspire, support and shape the futures of their students every single day. Our counselors M.C.P.S. counselors of the year. We're going to recognize today at the elementary, middle and high
school level, we have three fantastic winners who are making an impact in the lives of young people every day, and our our pupil personnel workers. Now, I would be remiss if I didn't point out that this is even a group that is is facing
reductions. And so us recognizing our pupil personnel workers, that is all the more important that we do so today because they have a huge commitment and bring a lot to the table at M.c.p.s. It is an essential role where these dedicated professionals help to
advocate for those that need advocates and serve as liaisons that bridge the gap between our community and our schools. They break down barriers every single day, and it's a pleasure to honor them. Even though we're facing tough financial times. So to kick things off
and to bring back some of the joy in the room, even though it's a little bit of a glum and gloomy day, both figuratively and literally, it's my pleasure to welcome our board member, Julie Yang, for our first recognition. Good afternoon
everyone. It's so wonderful to see a room full of people here that we are in partnership, in service for our students and family. Now, May is the Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month
and staff prepare a lovely speaking notes for me, but I think this one. I can speak from the heart and. But while I speak, I want to invite several. Our VIPs today and they are a small group of people that's
working in our community and they're people we are very proud of. I want to invite our lead of educator for Asian American Progress. That's a M.c.p.s employee affinity group,
and representing the group today is principal of Darnestown Elementary School. Please come up. And also assistant Principal Jeannie from Hoover Middle School. And do we have an education
Foundation executive Christian Christina Wong come up and they offer a special. You know, this is part of their testing me, my memory of who sent their testing me and and we also, oh,
there is from our another co-chair. Christina Wong J and J where's JOJOKC? They're testing me. J okay, come on, come on, come on, C after all,
I need notes. And they brought with them three amazing young people. And they are the scholarship winners this year. And I will tell you about a scholarship in a bit. But can I invite Jonathan to Kim and
Raven Morales? Come up to the front. Okay. Now. Also here today is our amazing leader in the Asian-American Health
Initiative. And that is we have we have here Muyu Mondy. Come on up, doctor Yichi Huang come on up. And I think Doctor Nguyen Nguyen is in the audience too. Did I miss anyone
from the a another organization we are highlighting is the Calcutta University Alumni Association of Greater Washington DC is doctor summa. Sumo Kujo part Suma. I know you
15 years. I still have a hard time saying it. All right, come on up. So leave is an organization M.c.p.s educator infinity group that they do provide scholarship to encourage Asian American students to go into education.
And I hope these young people will come back and work in M.c.p.s. Now, Asian American Health Initiative is a health service affiliated with Department of Health and Human Services to address, assess
health accessibility for some hard to reach population. And then. And I have the pleasure to work with Calcutta University Alumni Association of Greater Washington. They're a group of warm hearted people that provides scholarship
scholarship for our students, so I have the pleasure of working with them in the past few years. Now, one of the things I think that while we celebrate the achievement, the contribution, the culture, the heritage of our Asian American
students who accounted to about 15% of our student population and our county population, you also know them for some other names, like the what model minority? Maybe that's one, or
maybe the perpetual foreigner. Maybe that's another name that they have. I just want to give you a few numbers that maybe you can have a, a, a another side of the community and know why these, the work of these
people are so important. So about 112,000 of Montgomery County residents are are about 15% of Montgomery County residents are Asian American. That's about 160 000, like the
number of our students. But out of 70% of that, they are born, were born outside of the United States, and 30% of them do not speak English very well. Okay. And then and that is also 32000
of them. That is 1 in 5 Asian Americans depend on public health insurance coverage, and 31% of Asian Americans over the age of 65 have a disability.
And 28,800, almost 29,000 that is Asian American over the age of 25 in Montgomery County only has a high school diploma or less. So sometimes these
numbers surprise even me, surprise even me. And. And that is why your work in the community is so important to continue to promote education, continue to promote health access, continue to support all
our students. And so they embrace their heritage and embark on a successful journey here with us and in the community. So thank you for your work. Let's celebrate
together. All members. Okay,
everybody, here we go. One. Two. Three. One. Two. Three. Thank
you. Thank you so much. Good
afternoon. My name is Laura Stewart and I serve district four on the Board of Education. And I'm here to celebrate Jewish American History Month also in May. It is a time to recognize and celebrate the contributions of Jewish Americans to our nation's
history and development. Over the past 350 years, dating back well before the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, Jewish Americans have played an important role in many aspects of American life,
including government, education, science, business, arts, and civic service. Their contributions continue to help strengthen communities across the country. Today, I am very proud that my Jewish ancestors
came over at the turn of the century and settled in the American South. They made sacrifices, started and restarted small businesses. They became teachers, civil servants and retail clerks. I
know that my great aunt Selma, a beloved teacher in Memphis, Tennessee, where I continue to have probably hundreds of relatives. She would be so proud of this moment. I'd like
to also point out that Jewish Americans are literally woven into the fabric of America, just like my family was woven into the fabric of Memphis, Tennessee. I know that they too, experience discrimination,
which actually brought them to this country. And we know that we must continue to share our stories and reach out to our neighbors and work to make this country a more welcoming place for everyone, and so that we can finally end antisemitism
and the fabric of our community, and especially in our schools. And so this month serves as an opportunity to learn about and reflect on the many cultural and historical experiences that make up this American story.
The Board of Education remains committed to supporting an inclusive K through 12 learning environment that recognizes the diverse backgrounds and perspectives that shape our shared history. And with that, I want to recognize the
wonderful organizations and individuals that work to make our system and our county a better place. First, the Jewish Community Relations Council is here, represented by Sarah Winkelman and Gila Franklin
Segal. Thank you. The Montgomery County Jewish Education Educators Alliance, Lisa Miller and Sheila Berlinger. Our wonderful
partners at the Jewish Social Service Agency. Todd Schnick. And our wonderful volunteers that help our families over at
South Lake Elementary School and other families. Temple Beth Ami, Deborah Jacobs. I'm proud to call these people our partners, and I know that we
will make our county and our system a shining example of inclusiveness. So thank you very much. And time for pictures. I'm sorry, Sister
Danielle. Oh, we also have a student to student ambassador. So thank you to our student.
And I'm ML Amon. Thank you. Thank you for.
Good afternoon. My name is Natalie Zimmerman. And I have the honor of recognizing National Teacher Appreciation Week. This year, the National Education Association made their theme for this year's National Teacher Appreciation Week.
Every student, every day. There is nothing more accurate to describe how our educators show up in our schools and for our students. They present us with tireless dedication, enduring service, and constant
inspiration to our students and to their fellow colleagues. Some of this work is visible and some of it is invisible, but all of it can be described as magic. Our educators continue to do right by our students in any condition. And
so I would like to start by recognizing a teacher, Charles Silberman of Rolling Terrace Elementary School. Mr. Yes. Go ahead. Clap. Mr. Silberman is a.
Lowry, Thank You for teaching award. He was recognized for his equity driven instruction, fostering a safe and empowering classroom and supporting students physical, social and emotional well-being. Our other teachers that we'd like to recognize but can't be here
today are Julie Lipsman of Great Seneca Creek Elementary School, Sergio Cabrera of Mill Creek Towne Elementary School, Jeanette Cruz of Wheaton High School, and Daniel Stein of Northwood High School. I would
also like to recognize MCE President David Stein and Vice President Danilo Wilson. As mentioned before, the week of May 4th to May 8th is National Teacher Appreciation Week.
Tuesday, May 5th was National Teacher Day. As teachers, what drives us to wake up every morning and embrace the new day is the fact that we are transforming the future and doing and doing so today. As I always say, education is the greatest act of optimism. Each
one of these teachers is instilling the values for those who will thrive as they leave the classroom and enter the real world. A teacher is the bridge that connects children to their inner creative, their inner politician, their inner poet, their inner lawyer, and all of the occupations and professions that can and will be theirs for the taking. As a
teacher myself, I feel honored to recognize this week to all teachers in our school system, we thank you for the hard work that you put in every day to make our students open minded, creative, and successful. Thank
you. What? You did this. Okay,
here we go. Thank you.
So good afternoon. Good afternoon. I'm Brenda Wolff. I'm on the board of Ed representing district five. And I have the honor today of recognizing our
incredible school counselors who serve as the heartbeat of our school community. This moment is a powerful reflection of our Board of Education's
core value of equity. As we honor these dedicated educators who work tirelessly to ensure that every student, regardless of their background, has the guidance, mental health support, and academic encouragement to
shape their own journey. Recognizing today we have Miss Loreen S Moreland, School counselor of Bethesda Elementary School. Lorraine, where are you? Come on down.
Lorraine brings 21 years of school counseling experience, including six years serving M.c.p.s. Students and families. She is deeply student focused, equity driven and grounded in the A s, c a mindsets and
behaviors framework, ensuring that every child feels seen, supported and empowered to succeed. Miss Letitia W Nelson. Letitia, come on down. Letitia
is a school counselor at Lakelands Middle School with 17 years of experience. Letitia is known for building strong and trusting relationships across her entire school community.
She is a go to leader driven during sensitive situations and a valued partner to teachers, students and families in supporting student success and well-being. Miss Stephanie R
Powell Stephanie, come on. Stephanie is a school counselor at Wheaton High School. Stephanie brings 25 years of counseling experience across all grade levels. She was
selected for her all in leadership approach, in her exceptional ability to transform data into meaningful action that improves outcomes for students. As Oprah Winfrey once said, a mentor is someone
who allows you to see the hope inside yourself. Our counselors do exactly that every single day for students across Montgomery County, by stepping into these vital roles every day, these exceptional
counselors embody the value of excellence, proving that their work isn't just a title, it's about the collaboration required to solve complex challenges and the respect shown for the diverse needs and voices within our hallways. To
our award winners. Your courage to advocate and your commitment to service are not just preparing our students for the future. They are making our schools better right now. Let's
all take a picture together.
One. Two. Three.
Again. Good afternoon. Buenas tardes. My name is Grace Rivera-Oven and I have the honor to be the current president of the Board of Education. As a former student ML student, this is very for Silk Road Circle for
me, when I come and do these proclamations. And today we celebrate the recognition of May 4th through May 8th as pupil Personnel Worker Week in Montgomery County Public Schools, as we call them, our p
ws. And I want to be really honest that this recognition comes during a very especially difficult and emotional moment for me. Because I had the pleasure of having a wonderful p w and one of the hardest
times in my life when my child was very sick. It's all right. Take your time. I'm sorry, I'm
not very celebratory mood today. Because these are real people. Wonderful people. So it makes it more important that we truly pause and we truly understand the value of these wonderful
human beings, and that we show our gratitude that they deserve, not just today, but every day. These are colleagues. These are wonderful people who you might not see their work. You might
not hear about them on the news, but they are people who support our children with so much love. They take care of our families with food insecurity. They they help our new families navigate very difficult, complicated
processes. They navigate crisis of children who go homeless in our school system literally every week. They deal with mental health concerns and they
are fully there 110% for our children. They are the bridge between the families and our schools. And that sometimes can be very overwhelming. And boy, do they work with so much love
and empathy. And they do it silently, with courage and with so much love and patience for our kids. So you will forgive me for this tears, but I cannot
help it because these are true unsung heroes that I want to tell you that I see you. I love you. And you are a fabric and a part of our school community,
and you will not ever be forgotten for your incredible work. And your work matters.
Remember this moment because usually Grace Rivera-Oven doesn't cry like this in public. But I just want to say that your work matters to our students and matters to the parents, to the teachers, to the principals, and matters to the community. And it matters to me and it matters to my
colleagues, and it matters to Doctor Taylor. And I also know that these moments can feel very lonely and complicated. And we are incredibly grateful for you. And, and I hope that you know, that that we value
and we value your impact in our school system. So on behalf of my colleagues and personally, on behalf of myself as a parent, as a former student, thank you, thank you, thank you for your love, for your care, your
dedication to our children. Thank you truly and thank you. And it will be it will be a big honor if the people that are here today, if you would please come forward and take a picture with me and my colleagues.
Thank you. Good afternoon and welcome to the May 21st, 2026 Board Business Meeting. Welcome
to our board members, M.c.p.s. Staff and members of our community who are joining us here today. And to those who are watching this meeting via live stream, including my mom, Graciela. Hola, mommy. And let us begin by standing for the Pledge of Allegiance. To the
flag is in the back. I pledge allegiance to the flag of United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and
justice for all. Thank you very much. I will now ask my colleagues to please introduce themselves to establish a quorum. I will start on my left. Good afternoon. My name is Natalie Zimmerman. I represent district two. Good afternoon.
Rita Montoya, board member at large. Good afternoon. Brenda Wolff, district five. Good afternoon, Julie Yang, district three. Buenas tardes. Good afternoon. Carla Silvestre, school board member at large. Good afternoon, Laura Stewart,
district four. Thank you very much. Is there a motion to approve the revised agenda? Motion to approve. Second, there is a motion and a second. All those in favor, please raise your hand. And that is unanimous. Thank you very much.
The next item on the agenda is recommended appointments. Doctor Taylor. Thank you, Madam President. These are tough times indeed. And to have the courage to step into school leadership, we have a handful of folks who have taken up that
challenge. And I am so excited to introduce them to the board for your consideration. When I call your name, if you could please stand while I say a few nice words about you and the board considers your appointment, and then we'll all applaud your appointment. First
for consideration is Mr. Mica E Wiggins for the position of principal of Sherwood High School. Joining him today is Miss Nicole Morgan, principal at Walter Johnson High School. Mr. Wiggins is currently the principal with the Baltimore County Public Schools and is
returning to M.C.P.S. where he served for 19 years as a teacher and assistant principal. He looks forward to joining the Sherwood community as their principal shout outs to his family and friends who are watching online from Virginia
and Texas. Oh, okay. All right. We're a little early, but. But I like the spirit. That's the right idea. We're just rehearsing, Doctor Taylor. Okay. Is there a motion? So moved. Second, there's a motion, a second. All those in favor,
please raise your hand. And that is unanimous. Congratulations. Now the. Yeah there we go. There he is. Next for consideration is Miss Kimberly D Hayden for the position of principal at
Matsunaga Elementary School. Joining her today is her husband, Calvin, her children, Evan and Dylan. Her mother Sherry, her Sherry sons, Cassandra Heifetz, principal at Ritchie Park Elementary School,
and Diana Zabetakis, a retired M.c.p.s principal. Miss Hayden has been employed with M.C.P.S. for 25 years as an art teacher, curriculum specialist, staff development teacher, coordinator, assistant principal and most recently as
a principal intern at Rachel Carson Elementary School. She looks forward to joining the Spark Matsunaga Elementary School community to build on its strong tradition of excellence and to support all learners in realizing their full potential. Shout outs to
M.C.P.S. principals Miss Angie Fish and Miss Mindy Reeves, her family, and to her grandparents for instilling in her the value of education. Thank you. Is there a motion? Move. Approval. Second. There is a motion and a
second. All those in favor, please raise your hand. And that is unanimous. Congratulations, Miss Aiden. Our last appointment for consideration today is Miss
Kristen Resa for the position of principal at Burnt Mills Elementary School. Joining her today is her husband, David Adkins, son Ezra. Daughters Joey and Charlie, and her parents, Margaret and Adam Resa,
her sister Anna, her brother Adam, her niece Ava, and Doctor Harold Barber, the principal at Joanne Lelic Elementary School at Broad Acres. I think you win the award for the most guest coming with you. M.C.P.S. She
has been employed with M.C.P.S. for 20 years as a teacher, staff development teacher, assistant principal, assistant school administrator, acting assistant principal and most recently as the principal intern at Joanne Lelic Elementary School at Broad
Acres. Miss resa has come full circle. She began her career as a student intern at Burnt Mills Elementary School, and she looks forward to returning as their principal to support the students, staff and families by building strong relationships
and continuing the strong leadership that allows for high quality instruction for all diverse learners. There a motion. Move approval. Second, there is a motion and a second. All those in favor, please raise your hand. And that's
unanimous. Congratulations, Miss Reba. Thank you, Madam President. This concludes administrative appointments for today. Thank you very much, Doctor Taylor. We're going to
be moving on on our agenda. We are coming up to association comments. The association comments at today's meetings. Each association will have four minutes to provide comments from their designated representatives. And we will
begin with Macapp. If you can, please come forward. You call all three at once. And actually, you know what? Is there two per group. So I'm just going to
call Macapp MCA and SEI you. There's not enough seats then m Kapunan m okay. Thank you, Mr. Stein. Appreciate it. Great.
Needs all the help today. Okay. Thank you so much. If you could please start. Thank you, Superintendent Taylor and members of the Board of Education. My name is Alicia Morales, and I am the principal of Richard Montgomery High
School. There are many positions cut on the proposed budget that represent a direct blow to our classrooms and the lives of our students, and without them, I believe our entire system fractures. I focus my urgency today on three indispensable positions whose
absences would directly impact our students. These include social workers, family engagement specialists, and college and career navigators. We've made enormous gains in the ways we support our students mental health. And to this end, our social workers deliver critical services to
our most vulnerable students. They are a primary bridge to life saving resources for students and families who are experiencing mental health and other hardships. When we have a student who's experienced trauma or other difficulties and needs significant mental health support, our social worker, Miss Serino, provides
in-school opportunities for that student that ultimately allow them to better engage in their academics. One student said, Miss Serino changed my life and gave me a safe space to talk about my story. Our family engagement specialists are a lifeline for our students who have disengaged from school,
and when we need an additional level of connection between school and families, Mr. Quiroga is a game changer. He's able to support our students and turn those relationships around so our kids engage in school more closely. And finally, our college and career
navigators help students and their families with every step of college applications, financial aid and scholarships. They set up college visits, college visits to our schools. They are experts in local, state, and national scholarships and established relationships with university admissions counselors to ensure
that our students are applying and not missing deadlines. They are the reason that many of our students are the first generation in their family to be able to go to college without them, many of our students would not be able to follow this path. I realize
that we are choosing which baby to save in these days of budget crises. But if you eliminate these positions, you're accepting that fewer students will walk across the graduation stage and be able to access opportunities beyond high school. I urge you to protect our social workers, family
specialists, and CDNs in the final budget. Thank you. Good afternoon to everyone here. Thank you for the ability to
speak. My name is Doctor Kim Johnson, assistant principal at Sligo Middle School. When we talk about budget reductions, we cannot reduce these conversations to positions on a spreadsheet. These are people who directly impact whether students feel safe, supported,
connected and successful every single day. The remaining unfunded allocations place critical student support staff at risk, including social workers, family engagement specialists. Career, college career, and college advisors
who help students feel welcome, supported and prepared for their futures every day. These roles are not extras. They are part of the foundation that allows students to thrive academically, socially and emotionally. At Sligo, for example, we are seeing
measurable progress because of these supports. Suspensions have dropped from 36 to 15. Chronic absenteeism has decreased from 15.54% to 10.89%. School climate scores from both
students and staff continue to rise. Those improvements did not happen by chance. They reflect intentional investments in relationships, mental health support, family engagement, and proactive interventions to keep students connected to school. I
think about one family experiencing homelessness whose child was at risk of disengaging from school completely. Through collaboration with our student well-being supports, we connected the family to resources, monitor attendance,
and helped the student remain connected academically and emotionally. The student stayed connected because trusted adults had the time and capacity to intervene. The needs of students have not decreased. If anything, they've intensified. When these
positions are cut, students lose access to trusted adults support systems that directly impact their ability to learn and succeed. So I ask you, please remember that students may not remember every lesson they were taught, but they
remember where they where they felt safe, supported, valued, and cared for at school. As we make decisions about budgets and staffing, we must remember that investing in student support systems is ultimately an investment in our future
success and well-being of our students, families, and communities. Thank you for your time today. Thank you. Thank you both for your comments. If
we can have MC, please. Good afternoon. David Stein from MC A. Today the County Council
voted to approve M.C.P.S. FY 27 operating budget while through our advocacy, we averted even more devastating cuts. $36 million in cuts still forces the Board of Education to make some incredibly tough decisions. This body needs to prioritize
funding for people over programs. We need to look at all the programs and initiatives before we look at positions. MC A would like the board to ask two questions. Do we need it and do we need it right now? A new math curriculum at $7 million. Do we
need it. Do we need it right now. Central office staff development. Do we need it. Do we need it right now. Dual enrollment. Do we need it. Do we need it right now. Rolling out secondary program expansion. Do we need it? Do we need it right now? We expect that this
board will ask these two questions for every line item in the M.C.P.S. budget, not just increases, but the entire budget right now. MC A wants the people who teach our students, keep our students safe, and help our students and staff excel to be prioritized
for funding cutting pupil personnel, workers, social workers, psychologists. Does that make sense when they are all focused on on on mental health and well-being supports elimination of certain instructional specialist positions, consulting teachers, and all the high school staff
development teachers. These are very important positions providing needed support to classroom teachers across the district. And those are just my unit. We see similar devastating cuts in SEIU and Macapp. I urge the board today to carefully consider what it will mean if people are laid
off, the harms it will have on our students who need more support, not less, and the trauma and the strain it will cause for the staff who are laid off. You have until June 4th to ask these questions and find better solutions. I will now yield McKay's remaining
time to Mr. Lynch and Miss Lemos. Philip Lynch, Maryland certified pupil personnel worker, cutting p w positions by 50% is unjust. Our small, highly qualified unit makes up two thousandths of 1% of all
MCPs staff, but would shoulder 10% of the budget shortfall. These cuts are unethical. Our work supports the most vulnerable students and families while they are in crisis. Doctor Taylor is striving to improve
communication. Then tell the parents of the 1908 students currently homeless living in shelters, hotels, churches, basements and cars that there's a 50% chance that their lifeline to stability for their children will no longer answer
that call. Tell Msde to reconsider the MOU regarding our compliance with federal law governing the treatment of homeless families and the MOU that governs the monitoring of 1500 students currently on home
instruction in this county. Tell parents that their primary presence. I'm sorry. Tell principals that their primary presence in the community. Supporting attendance efforts, completing home visits, investigating residency concerns, referring to agencies
processing requests, assisting with alternate pathways to graduation will no longer be able to support them in the same capacity. Maintain our commitment to the most vulnerable. Maintain all p w
positions. Good afternoon all. My name is Priscilla Lemos and I'm the well-being social worker at Springbrook High School. And I'm here to urge you to preserve all of our positions and in ever changing county. All of us should be concerned that M.c.p.s. May
eliminate the only licensed clinical mental health professionals accessible to all students, as mental health needs continue to rise. This year alone, our team of 42 are projected to conduct over 750 suicide risk assessments, 850 crisis interventions and more
than 25,000 direct student contact. These numbers reflect students in crisis carrying heavy burdens that no student should ever carry. We are trained to respond in real time. We are not extras, and we are a part of the school safety infrastructure. If removed, the
need does not disappear. It shifts to educators who are already stretched, who are already stretched thin. A student who is not well is a student who is not learning. This is not just a staffing decision. It's about putting the needs of the students first. I believe our community wants their children to have access
to support that, to the support that they need. The second that they need it, the work of M.c.p.s. Social workers cannot be outsourced. The immediate ability to support a student without any trepidation and bureaucracy is irreplaceable. Our students are telling us what they need and we should
listen. I encourage you all to please fund our budget and let us continue supporting these students. Thank you. Thank you.
Now we're going to hear from our SEIU representatives. Good afternoon, Superintendent Taylor, president Rivera-Oven and distinguished Board of Ed members. I'm Pia Morrison, I'm president of SEIU local 500,
and I'm honored to represent the 11,000 education support professionals at M.c.p.s. The proposed cuts pose a significant threat to an already fragile school district, especially as student needs reach unprecedented levels. I
want to yield my time to support staff professionals who are here with me today to discuss the direct impact of these proposed reductions. Good evening, board members and Doctor Taylor. My name is Kate Heald, a proud college and career navigator, a member of
SEIU 500. And I urge you, do not cut our positions. Every day, our mission is to ensure students succeed in the transition from school to what comes next. No one else does this job. We coordinate hundreds of college visits, college and career fairs,
military testing. We guide families through the maze of the Fafsa and Maryland financial aid. Most importantly, we are the lifeline for underserved, underserved, first generation and immigrant students who would otherwise navigate this daunting process
completely alone. If you eliminate these positions, the work doesn't disappear. It will crush an already overburdened school staff, and our students will lose critical support at the most pivotal moment of their lives. At a time when M.c.p.s. Claims college and
career readiness is a priority, cutting college navigators moves us backwards. Our students deserve guidance. They deserve opportunity, and they deserve support, not cuts.
Thank you. Dear members of the Board of Education and Doctor Taylor, my name is Rina Chavez and I have been an ML therapeutic counselor and etc.
with M.c.p.s. For 34 years. Today I come before you to speak on behalf of all our immigrant, refugee and newcomer ML students and families in M.c.p.s. Those that have no voice or vote in any budget or
election matters. These are the students and families that are already suffering human and civil rights violations at the hands of the government. They desperately need our continued support, and these budget cuts are the most brutal and detrimental I have ever seen in
the history of M.c.p.s. In my 34 year career, cutting our team of 22, etc. down to five for the entire county, that means we serve 211 schools and
30,519 ML students. They will. This will have unspeakable and devastating consequences both in the social, emotional and academic realms of these students. M.c.p.s. Must stay true to the equity values they say they stand for and
therefore fully fund the TCS and all of the rest of the emotional support staff. Thank you. Good evening. My name is
Paige Herndon. I'm a media assistant for M.c.p.s. I work directly with students and see firsthand the impact these threatened programs have on our lives and their academic success. These cuts are not just numbers on a PDF. They affect people's livelihoods and student support systems. There
is not enough time tonight to fully express the value of the staff members affected, so I will try to be brief. Media teams are essential. We provider digital literacy, research support and safe spaces. We support teachers who are overwhelmed, and removing us
only increases that burden. Our social workers provide critical emotional support and personal support for students whose success depends on those needs being met. Many of these programs are new and cutting them before we can fully measure their impact is shortsighted. There's too much
work to be done to justify removing the people, helping students succeed. A strong school system depends on support. Budget decisions reflect our values and cutting the people who work directly with students sends the message message that the students are not the priority. Pardon. I'm a little emotional. Students will
feel that loss and so will our community. Thank you. Good afternoon, Doctor Taylor and members of the board. My name
is Annabella Mendoza. I have worked for M.C.P.S. for 24 years and I am currently a proud family engagement specialist. The current M.c.p.s Strategic Plan goal three objective four states the following and I quote ensure that all families feel welcomed,
supported and valued. It also states that 53 parent community coordinators, now family engagement specialists, reported 85,091 encounters through 802 outreach efforts. Think of these numbers. If you
eliminate or reduce the number of F, e, s, s to 12, who will educate and empower and support families to advocate for their students, who will inform, guide and support families at IEP and 504 meetings so their students reach academic success.
Who will provide language specific, culturally sensitive support to families who will provide families with the help they need to navigate the school system, new boundaries and regions. Who will be the bridge between families and schools? Who will take over this key role? Who will
families turn to? It has always been and should continue to be the family engagement specialist. Great structures cannot stand if a pillar of their foundation is destroyed. And that's what will happen if we no longer exist. Thank you.
Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you very much. The next item on the agenda is public comment. While the board encourages public input on
policy, program and practices and will consider the comments received, it is not the board's practice during its public meetings to respond to questions, provide, comment or take action on the issues raised. This is a public
meeting and the board expects the conduct of all speakers and members of the audience to be within the bounds of proper etiquette. Inappropriate personal remarks, route retorts or other such behavior is out of order and will not be tolerated. Those who
demonstrate disruptive or disrespectful behavior during public comments may be asked to leave the room. In addition, public comments is not the proper avenue to address specific student or employee matters. Such matters should be directed through the complaint
or appeal process. Each speaker has two minutes to deliver their comments. When your name is called, please come up. Press the button and speak clearly into the microphone. A yellow light and single beep indicates you have 30s remaining. A red light and
repeating beep signals that your time has expired. Once you have finished speaking, press the same button to turn off the microphone. Following live testimony, audio and video testimony will be played and copies of those testimonies are posted with the other materials
for this meeting. On board docs. I will now call the first six speakers and if you hear your name, please come up to the. Come up to the front. First would be Sienna Shaner, Leanne
Johnson, Nicholas Bennett. Keisha Shaner, Ruby Luhrmann and on you. We will start with
Miss Sienna Shaner. Oh, I'll put it back on, honey. There you go. Thank you. Hello, members of the board and superintendent. My name is Sienna Shaner, and I'm here yet again to remind you of the pressing issue of replacing high school gymnastics with
stunt cheerleading in M.c.p.s. Athletics. After discussing our concerns with the process for many weeks with my mom, title nine was brought up. I was unsure about this aspect of our reasoning because I have so much faith in Montgomery County to uphold equality, especially with a law as significant as
title nine. Yet again, this process proved that I shouldn't trust as easily as I would like to. I realized quickly that taking gymnastics away in favor of stunt cheerleading would be depriving many girls of their only chance to participate in high school sports. It would be
telling many girls that they don't have a place in athletics in Montgomery County. It would be impacting many female student athletes physical and mental health. Additionally, stunt cheerleading is coed while gymnastics is all girls. Therefore, opportunities for
girls are being taken away and equality is not being upheld. The solution is simple we live in the 20th, richest, richest country in the county, in the country, and we have the funds to support gymnastics, including expanding the program. I can confidently say that
existing gymnastics teams in M.c.p.s would push for having more schools with the sport, and we will work put in the work to make it happen. We can't do this without your support, though, so I ask you to please use your influence and actually act upon student interest, and to work to give
students more opportunities, rather than the same group of student athletes. I hope that after hearing multiple voices on this issue today, you choose to listen and take action. Have you have the as you have the power to make the change we're asking to see. I hope you work towards rebuilding our trust.
Please recognize the potential effects of this decision and don't allow it to go through. It's not too late. You can still save our sport. Thank you. Leanne Johnson. Good afternoon,
members of the board and Doctor Taylor. My name is Lily and I'm a fifth grader at Rockview. Last year, I came to testify about why schools shouldn't move to model two for Ela. This year, I'm back to give a follow up report of my experience with Ela, and to also talk about why using a cluster grouping model for math and English is a bad
idea. The school year I've been receiving 30 minutes of wind enrichment daily, and this is not enough time to be challenged. We rarely get to finish our discussions or have everyone present their projects to the class. This is unlike fourth grade, where everyone was happy because we were challenged, had a lot of time to finish all of our work and
have meaningful discussions. To be clear, this is not the teacher or the curriculum's fault. I believe this is because using model two does not allow enough time for the teacher to give students the attention and enrichment they need to succeed. I urge the board and M.C.P.S. to return to the model that I had in fourth grade, where students were cohorted. As for using the
cluster grouping model, I believe that it is a poor idea because it is not looking out for students best interests first, the model would make it harder for teachers to do their jobs well. They would have to tailor the lessons that it fits everyone's needs, then give each group their own set of directions and then try to help
students. That's a lot of juggling for the teacher, which is hard to do well in a large class. Second, teachers would have less time to meet with students who are struggling or provide enrichment to those that need it, because there just isn't enough time to help everyone in the end. No one is going to get the attention they really need. This leads to
boredom and lack of interest in learning. And when you give, do give enrichment. Give zero to minimal computer time. It doesn't seem fair that future students won't get the same amount of time and attention for math and English the same way my friends and I currently do, as it is, the time I receive now for enrichment and acceleration is limited, and
using the cluster grouping model means even less time. How can you guarantee that the teacher will be able to manage all of this and give students the attention that they need? What will you do if this approach doesn't work? What do you think? Why do you think this model is better than the current model we already have for math? Thank you. Thank you.
Liane. Nicholas Bennett. Hello. My name is Nicholas Bennett and I'm a rising junior at Bethesda-chevy Chase High School. And I wanted to thank you all for giving me the opportunity to share. Today, I'm advocating to maintain M.c.p.s current open lunch
policy. Open lunches allow us to have a mental health break from our rigorous academic environment at school, which helps with the overall well-being of the student body. Having open lunches allows students like me to get extra academic help from our teachers. It also provides us with equitable access to
extracurriculars, as well as interactions with peers of various grade levels. Closed lunch would prohibit a large portion of the student body from participating, due to outside responsibilities and access to transportation. If we were to do a closed one lunch, I'm concerned about how safely
we could be served in the cafeteria. That can hold roughly one eighth of the school's population. Knowing the capacity limits of the cafeteria, admin would have to implement multiple lunch shifts, which would take away from students flexible scheduling for AP or IB classes. Additionally, Open Lunch gives
students the autonomy to take a dip in the reality of our community. With safety nets, we learn to interact respectfully with others, which is one of the core values of the Board of Education. The community also relies on the students. According to the Chamber of Commerce, a closed lunch for M.c.p.s would be devastating
for the local businesses. BCC has roughly 2600 students. Let's assume 15 to 25% of the students go out to eat every day and spend, on average, $10 a meal, which is about 4000 to $6500 per day. That's anywhere from 700,000 to $1.2 million in
lost revenue for the community. The last thing I'd like to touch on is the safety of the school. The year before I got to PCC, there was a bomb threat to the school. The school was quickly put into lockdown, but had this situation been real, the dangers could have been catastrophic. You see, many students were off campus due to
the open lunch policy. As a result, they were able to hear of the incident and evacuate back home. My older brother was not so lucky and was trapped in the classroom where he was eating lunch. I understand that safety is a major concern of the closed lunch proposal. I would like or sorry. I would
argue that this real world incident. So we have the testimony. But thank you so much. We're going to hear from. Go ahead. Hi everyone. My name
is Kassia and I'm a fifth grader at Kensington Parkwood Elementary School. My favorite sport to do is competitive gymnastics. I'm here today because I want to explain why high school gymnastics should stay in M.c.p.s. One reason why
I think high school gymnastics should stay is because when I'm in high school, I want to have the experience of doing gymnastics on my high school team. I know from my sister's experience that high school gymnastics is more than just
something to do after school, is it? It is about doing the sport, but also at the same time about making new friends, hanging out and showing school spirit and having fun. That's what high school is supposed to be about, and gymnastics can
help me and everyone else have a better high school experience. Another reason is that my team from the gym, Dynamite, are probably going to want to do high school gymnastics, and they are older than me, so they
will be in high school sooner. So we should try to have high school gymnastics day in M.C.P.S. It is also one of the only all girls sports you can do in high school, so that would be one of the only
options. My last reason is that if we take away gymnastics, there will be three different types of cheerleading and zero different types of gymnastics. This is why I think high school should keep gymnastics in
M.c.p.s and should not take it away. Thank you for listening. Mr. Mr. Chairman. Good afternoon, school board members.
My name is Ruby Lerman. I'm a freshman at B-cc High School. Due to our urban location, our school is a major open lunch participant and our perspective is vital to consider. Firstly, a one size fits all policy has issues. BC's cafeteria only seats 16% of our student body, and at lunchtime, hallways are already packed with students
sitting on floors. Lunch line stretched down the corridors. Forcing everyone inside would create immediate overcrowding, code violations, and safety hazards that can pose a higher legal liability than a structured, off campus policy. The alternative, staggered lunch times, would eliminate clubs, lunch meetings and push
meals to early morning. This isn't just an operational issue, especially with upcoming budget cuts. Specific schools could not handle the logistics and stress. Principals and their teams are best equipped to manage the practical and legal implications of off campus lunch policy. Furthermore,
rushing this decision would go against student self-advocacy, a key M.C.P.S. democratic principle. The NIH found that practicing self-advocacy boosts career readiness by 24% and boosts secondary enrollment by 70%. Yet by pushing this vote, M.c.p.s. Is ignoring years of
SGA advocacy tailored to individual schools. When you hand down a blanket policy from the top, you send a devastating message to students. No matter how right your argument may be for you and your specific school, your voice does not matter. Additionally, I know you have concerns about community disruption. However,
BCC students are vital to the economic success of local restaurants. When surveyed during the lunch rush, nine out of 11 businesses said their revenue would be dramatically hurt if BCC students stopped coming, and no businesses said they would be any better off without us. An employee from
local business Local Food Truck Pizza on the Plaza stated, we don't want this. We rely on the kids for our business and they are always well behaved. In conclusion, the open lunch option shouldn't be taken away from all schools just because it doesn't work. For some, the existing and confirmed benefits
we observed today suggest a blanket policy would do considerable harm. Thank you. I
miss you. Hello, my. Oh, hello. My name is Audrey and I am here again today to bring up the urgent matter of stunt cheerleading. Replacing high school gymnastics, which represents hundreds of students across M.c.p.s. Previously, I mentioned that the only reason
the only season m.c.p.s halves of high school gymnastics is being taken away, while stunt, representing a third season of cheer, is being added. Gymnastics is the highlight of many students days, and by taking this opportunity away, you are taking away the happiness that students feel by
being able to learn gymnastics in a supportive environment. Additionally, M.c.p.s clearly didn't follow through with the process of putting high school gymnastics in every school across M.c.p.s. Many schools such as Poolesville M Rockville, don't have this sport, which is
why students who want to do gymnastics are being forced into stunt gymnastics is not equal to cheer, and it will never be being back here again. I also want to clearly emphasize that no action has been taken since the last board meeting that we talked about
gymnastics. You have told us that presentation will take place, which will inform everybody about the committee of high school gymnastics, yet no information was given out whatsoever about the content or the date of this presentation. You mentioned that my fellow gymnast, Sienna Shaner, and I
will be able to attend the upcoming Sawc meeting to inform everybody about the pressing issue of the removal of high school gymnastics. We have both texted and emailed our snob, our smob, and have received no response back at all. What purpose does the Board of
Education have? Constantly saying that they listen to US students without taking into consideration what we have. We have a petition with over 1200 signatures. We have multiple speakers advocating in front of you. But what more do you want? For you to listen to us. What action have you taken at all
that addresses this issue? There was nothing done. I leave you with this. Consider also the hundreds of other students at other schools who would love to try gymnastics at their school. I urge you, please take this chance to bring this issue to your priorities and take action based on the needs of
your community. Thank you. Thank you. I will be calling the next six speakers. If you hear your name, please come forward. Jonna Mikhaylov. Kavya.
Roku. Tia. Hopefully I didn't mess that up too badly. Nora. Gordon. Tracy. Willis. Kim.
Moderno. And Ju-hee. Sahina. If we can start with Mr. Jonah. Thank you. Can you push your button in front of you? Thank
you. Good evening everyone. My name is Jonah Mishlove and I'm current. I'm the current junior vice president and newly elected school board president at Bethesda-chevy Chase High School. I'm here because the way the policy decision is being made should concern every single person in this room, a policy that will reshape the
daily lives of tens of thousands of students is heading toward a vote. And yet no one has reached out to me, to class SGA, or to any student leader that I know about. I luckily found out by word of mouth, but most students and families in my school still have no idea this is happening. I emailed every member of this board and the superintendent
last Friday. One person wrote me back, Mr. Taylor, and he told me that there was no formal proposal on the table. Days later, here we are. If you close. If you close lunch, open lunch. Questions will start instantly. Where do thousands of students eat? In cafeterias that cannot physically hold them? Does lunch get pushed to
930 in the morning? What happens to clubs, tutoring, and the kids who rely on that hour to meet with teachers? How do you bring more food into buildings already fighting cockroaches and rodents? What about the mental health benefits of stepping outside? I'm in multiple clubs that meet during lunch with and. And with
the uncertainty of exactly how this decision is being made, we're not sure if we will be able to meet next year. In addition to that, lunch is currently an incredibly valuable time to catch up on work or get advice from a teacher. But with something like a lunch period, we lose this flexibility and the meaningful relationships we build along with it. These
aren't just details. This is our school day. The restructuring of our huge school will take more than a couple of summer months, when many students will be disconnected or away. So I'm not asking you to vote yes or no tonight. I'm asking you to slow down and reevaluate the immense impact of eliminating the policy to give students, parents, teachers, and
principals reale to be heard. Thank you. Miss. Thank you, Miss Sylvia. Okay. Good afternoon, members of the board.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify at this important meeting. My name is Kavya Rajkotia and I am a freshman at B-cc High School. I'm here to advocate for open lunch through the continuation of policy. JEF. So far, my experience at B-cc has been great. I've had the
opportunity to take harder classes, participate in mock trial, competitively rock climb and study piano, all while maintaining straight A's. And I know countless other students who are similarly successful. We owe our success to hard work, supportive teachers and the
independence offered by M.c.p.s. Independence is knowing that the school trusts me to manage my own time. Independence is. Knowing that I have the flexibility to meet with my teachers during lunch and independence is knowing that when I need space, I can leave campus for lunch and clear my head. In a school as
overcrowded as BCC, closed lunch would compromise my independence. Students who once left campus for lunch would crowd into classrooms and hallways, forcing teachers to be more engaged in maintaining order than in supporting students and clubs. Furthermore, leaving campus for lunch is a
defining part of my high school social experience and repealing policy. Jeff could take this away. Block lunch lunches would only make matters worse. They would splinter our schedules, making it impossible to seek academic help or engage in clubs. Moreover, it would split
friends across different periods, compromising our ability to meet socially. Policy. Jeff is not just about lunch. It's about cultivating independence and promoting mental well-being and social cohesion. This is precisely why every principal at B-cc has
opted for open lunch. I hope that the board will allow principals to have this discretion by voting to keep policy. Jeff in place. Thank you. Miss Nora Gordon. Good
afternoon. My name is Nora Gordon and my son is in 10th grade at Bethesda Chevy Chase High School, where I am the PTSA cluster representative. I also write a Substack about M.C.P.S. which I send to you. Thank you for the opportunity
to testify about the open lunch policy, and I first want to thank all of the dedicated staff in the audience who are out supporting our M.C.P.S. students all day, and are here fighting for the opportunity to keep doing so. Thank you. And shout out to Miss Heald. Pardon
me. It seems a little. I'm going to go off script because our students have done a great job laying out the case. It seems strange to be here when the board is making such important and difficult decisions, taking this time
with open Lunch. And I want to clarify for people who are watching why that's happening, that's happening because last week, the Policy Management Committee voted to move this vote on rescission of the policy to this meeting. So it
would not be my choice for us to be spending our time here talking about open lunch yet. This is when it's happening. So this is when we're here. So the questions I hope to get
answered today. I have one question really for M.C.P.S. and the board about what they mean by open lunch being an operational issue. When I watched the Policy Management Committee, that seemed to be the reason why the board was saying, we're not going to deal with this anymore. We're going
to let M.C.P.S. deal with it. You hear how that's where students with disabilities are getting their extended time is during this lunch period. I don't see how that's an operational issue, but if this is going to be a thing going forward and the board is not going to set policy on things
that are operational, I would like the board and M.c.p.s to define what it means to be operational, so that we know when we vote, who is planning to do what? The larger question I have is a simple one what's actually going on? When people
read my writing on this? This is my question. The question I get not just about open lunch, but about compacted math, about the budget, about I'm sure I'll get it about gymnastics after today. And people do not understand the process. As with
last week's meeting, it felt that this came out of nowhere. There was no reason provided. There was no argument made. And it feels like there's a larger
agenda. I am a parent of children aged 3 to 12. I strongly oppose the elimination of fourth and fifth grade homogeneously cohorted
classrooms, specifically compacted math and literacy. Model one M.C.P.S. claims this change is required by new state guidelines, but state officials confirm homogeneous Cohorting is fully compliant. We should improve these advanced pathways, not abandon them. Their proposed alternative cluster grouping and heterogeneous
classrooms relies on an idealistic model of differentiation that M.C.P.S. historically struggles to execute in a mixed ability room. Enrichment usually means an extra worksheet given only after a child finishes work that they mastered long ago. Homogeneous grouping has worked for my own children at both
ends of the spectrum. When my son struggled with kindergarten reading ability, grouping protected his confidence. He received targeted support and became a strong reader by first grade. When he needed literacy enrichment in fourth grade, he was placed in a heterogeneous classroom. The teacher was spread too thin trying to
remediate and enrich. Simultaneously, my son's education stalled while his peers peers in a homogeneous class at the magnet program accessed the full curriculum and thrived. Finally, the data M.C.P.S. used to justify dissolving compacted math is deeply flawed. The district
points to declining grade five, six, and seven Mcat scores for compacted math graduate graduates, but fails to compare with scores of the total student body. A comparison shows the Mcat proficiency declines amongst all students twice as drastically as it does for compacted math students.
But even more notably, many students who accelerate with compacted math don't take grade 6 or 7 Mcat scores. Instead, they enroll in algebra at those grades. The high proficiency rates for these most accelerated students who take geometry or algebra two before high school clearly demonstrates the resounding
success of compacted math fellow residents. In the past year, M.C.P.S. has dramatically harmed academic excellence. These proposed changes will further damage M.C.P.S. reputation, driving families to neighboring counties and harming our local economy. Please read my written
testimony for a call to action. Reject the elimination of compacted math and model. Moderno. Good afternoon. My name is Kim Moderno. I'm an MC,
a unit member, former classroom teacher and current reading specialist at Westbrook Elementary School here today to advocate for my elementary colleagues. Research shows that one of the biggest influences on reading growth in students is volume of reading media
assistance. Get books into the hands of kids. They make sure that libraries are stocked with high interest books and are essential to every school's literacy program. Cutting media assistance will impact literacy
growth potential for all of our students. Elementary staff development teachers were taken off the potential cut list just this afternoon, but we have seen them appear on these lists for years. I want to highlight to the board that at my school and many other schools, the
staff development teacher serves as our math instructional leader. Doctor Taylor's December budget presentation showed that less than 40% of our students were proficient on Mcat. In 2025, 23% of our black students were
proficient, and about 16% of our Hispanic students were proficient. In addition, Maryland adopted a new math policy to address low math proficiency rates across the state. A few weeks ago, you adopted a new math curriculum to address these needs. All
schools need a math instructional leader. The staff development teacher will study the curriculum with all the grade level teams, deliver year long professional development, provide ongoing coaching and feedback to teachers to make sure that curriculum implementation and new math
cohorting are well executed and monitor student data to pinpoint exactly what students need. If we indeed strive for academic excellence for all the elimination of math, instructional leader should never be under consideration. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Hi, my name is Judy Saxena. Last time I was here, I ran over time, so I'm going to cut to the chase. We need your help to ensure that high school gymnastics gets reinstated. Full disclosure, two of the gymnasts you heard from today are my daughters. I'm not here to represent them. Cle, they don't need me to. I'm here
to do my best to represent the gymnastics community. You've heard from many of them about why it's important to uncancel gymnastics. These gymnasts are very passionate and willing to do whatever it takes sharing equipment, mentoring new gymnasts, fundraising to preserve the sport they love. I'm here to draw attention to
the girls you won't hear from gymnasts so discouraged by this decision that they gave up on the rest of the season, and the ones who are so negatively affected by this decision that they sought out mental health treatment. What we see all see is a two tiered system that blatantly benefits those with
resources, connections and access. M.C.P.S. Athletics has sacrificed the interests of student athletes as a whole in favor of a very select few. I believe that, like me, this is unacceptable to you and that you do not want the image of M.c.p.s. To continue to be
tarnished by this. That core values of equity and inclusion are not simply lip service. It's past time for M.c.p.s Athletics to provide full disclosure, and you have the ability to insist upon it. If they were confident in their decision, there wouldn't be this trail of non-responses
broken promises and stonewalling. They would eagerly, eagerly provide a written rationale for their decision. Explain how it is based upon robust public participation and meets the requirements of title nine. The decision to reinstate gymnastics isn't complicated. Introducing a third season of
cheerleading this spring was simply a trial period that has ended. M.C.P.S. athletics cannot be allowed to proceed with this invalid decision. The most straightforward and fair approach is to reinstate gymnastics. Then they can take time to reevaluate, and if they
still want to try to eliminate gymnastics, they can do it properly with stakeholder input, transparency and with the level of scrutiny. Such a monumental decision deserves. And I have a couple seconds. I'm going to say congratulations to the WJ Wildcats undefeated season and county champions. Hopefully
they get a chance back to try. Thank you so much. Thank you all for your testimony. I am going to call the next four speakers to the table. If I could please have Miss Sarah Klein, Michael O'Looney,
Catherine Stocker and Hamilton. If we can, please start with Mrs. Klein. Good evening, board
members. My name is Avi Klein and I'm a student, currently junior class president and rising senior class president at BCC. I'm here tonight on behalf of hundreds of my peers, to urge this board to maintain the existing policy, leaving the decisions around open lunch to individual school administrations before making
any policy decision. The board should understand what the evidence says. So we ask the students who would actually be affected. In a survey of over 300 students, the results were clear and concerning. If open lunch is eliminated, well over half of respondents said they would either skip eating entirely, rely solely on
vending machines, machine snacks or leave campus anyway without permission. That is not a safe outcome, a more nutritious outcome or an outcome that supports students. It is a worse outcome in every way, and for those who stay, our building is simply not equipped to absorb that many
students during a single lunch period. We already see students eating in the hallway, on the floors and perched on windowsills on days when outdoor options aren't available. That creates dirty, unsanitary, and, frankly, undignified conditions. Not the learning environment any of us want. Perhaps most importantly,
an overwhelming majority. More than 97% of student respondents said that open campus lunch is very important to their mental health and mood throughout the school day. For many students that our is the only genuine break in their day. A chance to decompress, connect with friends, and return to class.
Ready to learn. Taking that away has real consequences for student well-being. Data from our PTSA shows the same conclusions of 700 responses from parents, students, and teachers. 98% voted in favor of open lunch. With all due respect, this policy has been in place since 1978. If the
board is seriously committed to amending or reviewing it, that process deserves adequate time to allow everyone's concerns to be heard, not just a small group of people who managed to secure a two minute speaking slot. There is no justification for moving this quickly on a policy that is rested within the board's authority for nearly 50 years, nor for
removing it from an elected body and placing it solely in the hands of an unelected administrator, not against the clear wishes of your constituents. We are not asking for special treatment. We are asking to be heard. The data is here. The students are here. Please listen and please vote to maintain policy. JF in its
current form. Thank you. Mr. Mooney. Please. Thanks. Good afternoon. I'm Michael parent of a ninth grader at BCC High School and cluster coordinator at MCPs PTA. I'm going to join Nora Gordon and going slightly off script in what I submitted, because I think our students
have done a fantastic job. This isn't what we should be talking about today. This topic was inserted last week during the policy committee meeting, and there are only 11 high schools in the county that are currently using some form of
the open lunch policy that has been on the books for decades. Each school is empowered to make that decision. Principals in conjunction. There's a whole setup for that we shouldn't be talking about. We should be talking about the staff affected by budget. We should
be spending all of our time on that. The one thing for me, the one thing from my written testimony that I want to share is that last week's policy committee meeting, when this was interjected like a shadow docket item, there were some
things said that were blanket statements about students when they're out in the community, as if they couldn't be allowed to be in the community. High schools are about raising children to become adults, believing in them and trusting them in them. And at a high
school like BCC, it's a unique situation where open lunch is a part of being in the fabric of the community. I urge you to leave the policy in place, move on to other issues, trust in the school communities to make the decisions for themselves and our incoming principal
Doctor Howard, who we warmly welcome to let her and the schools who use this policy do so at their own discretion. So thank you. Mr. Tucker. Hi, my
name is Kathy Stocker, and I'm here after a very busy week soliciting feedback in my role as Area Vice President for the BCC, WJ, and Whitman clusters. I'm here to ask all of you smart, powerful women to please not subjugate and dilute the power and significance of this body. When you abdicate your
own power, as you prepare to do in voting away your policy authority as it pertains to open lunch, you are not just voting away your own individual power and discretion. You are voting away our voice. More critically, you are voting away the power of future board members and their constituents.
I am particularly troubled that board member Malu did not reach out to her particular constituents, the students who entrusted her with their votes to give her the benefit of the doubt. However, I think everyone here knows that this proposal and its process was pushed through with a haste and lack of outreach that is highly
unusual in the midst of May summer, which is a dizzying array of apps, exams, projects, tests, graduations, prom. How are students and their caregivers able to participate in an informed and inclusive conversation? We elect you not to be in combat with the superintendent, but to be in
conversation with him or her. To have authority to ask hard questions and wait for answers before making consequential decisions. I believe that the superintendent is a smart and hard working leader, but the operational and more importantly, most importantly, the educational impact of this
decision varies from school to school, and as such should be left up to the principal. As just one example, BCC students with IEPs and 504 plans will be dramatically and negatively impacted by moving from a mono lunch schedule, which would surely be necessitated by the operational realities of
closing campus. Uniformity does not equal equity. Ideally, every M.C.P.S. high school would have the same size cafeteria. They do not. That is why the principal should have the power to determine the equitable solution for local schools, and you should retain the powers vested in you as Board of Education members.
Thank you all for your service. And to students and families of Montgomery County. Good afternoon. My name is Raya
Hamilton and I'm the mother of three M.C.P.S. students. Today I am representing the Black and Brown Coalition and my family. We believe that low levels of math proficiency is a civil rights issue. Advanced math
coursework are gatekeepers to upward mobility. At M.C.P.S. far too many black and brown children are either underrepresented and challenging coursework or are placed in math courses that are designed to skip over important
content. There are many reasons for math achievement disparities in our community. One that I would like to highlight is the relationship between students and teachers. It only takes one teacher to destroy or build a child's positive math identity. To
illustrate this point, when I was in high school, I once asked a fellow classmate to explain a math problem to me. The classmate I asked was a male. That night, my teacher called my parents to say that I was flirting and distracting
boys in my class. I was so embarrassed and frustrated that I dropped out of advanced math and no longer saw myself as a math person. Thankfully, my children's teachers at Maryvale give them attention, care, and
push them to reach challenging math goals. Consequently, they see themselves as being good at math and deserving of accelerated coursework. I urge the board to prioritize the following principles and policies that promote positive relationships between teachers
and students. A positive academic self-concept with our kids and math achievement. Number one, we believe M.C.P.S. should prioritize culturally responsive teaching. Number two, we believe that all children deserve math instruction that
is challenging, meaningful, and connected to the real world. Number three, we believe that fluid groupings within class. That's okay. Thank you. Thank
you all for your testimony. I will ask our staff to please play the video from Miss Deborah Temkin Cahill. I speak today not only as a parent of a fourth grader currently enrolled in compacted math, but predominantly as a child development researcher with over 20 years of work investigating the learning environments that allow
students to thrive, M.c.p.s intention to eliminate compacted math and instead rely on a clustered acceleration model misrepresents decades of research evidence on gifted education, including misrepresenting the National Association of Gifted Children's Own recommendations. Although Nagc suggests that cluster grouping is a better
option than fully heterogeneous classrooms, it is not a replacement for actual acceleration or compacting. Nagc makes clear that cluster grouping may not be enough for many students, and then compacting is a critical form of differentiation, as, quote, curriculum compacting allows highly able students to avoid having to relearn material they
already know, which research has shown can lead to frustration, boredom, and ultimately, underachievement, end quote. Nax recommendations align with Maryland's implementation guidelines, which call for a continuum of supports for advanced learners that include intentional within classroom clustering, but must also include true acceleration
options, including compacted math. M.C.P.S. plan also fails to consider the feasibility of this model across all research. Evaluating cluster grouping models. One thing is clear there must be deliberate planning and training, rolling out a new cluster grouping model. At the same time, teachers are expected to learn
a brand new curriculum will only lead to one conclusion students will not receive real acceleration. MCPs has failed to consult with anyone about this change, including, but not limited to, the gifted Education Committee of the PTA and the teachers union. I therefore ask the board to do two things. First, pass a
resolution requiring M.c.p.s to follow both the State and Board's own policies to support gifted and talented students, which must include the opportunity for true acceleration and compacting in alignment with their recommendations. Second, require M.c.p.s to delay implementation of any change to
the current map or literacy, enrichment and acceleration plan, including any rollout of a cluster grouping model until they can fully document how they will identify students for each cluster. Support teachers to actively differentiate in classrooms in ways that do not solely rely on independent
learning. Can you please play the video for Mr. Mitchell? Mr. Aaron Matthis my name is Aaron Matthis and I have a doctorate in child psychology. I'm faculty at Georgetown University, and I'm the mother of a kindergarten student at Kensington Parkwood Elementary
School. I'm here today to talk about the detrimental impact of excessive screen time in schools, from both a clinical and parental perspective. This tech saturated environment directly counteracts the core mission of education. The science of child development is clear excessive digital
stimulation and dopamine driven educational apps hinder deep learning and disrupt healthy brain development. Children require deep cognitive engagement, interpersonal connection, and hands on learning experiences to build robust neural pathways. Instead, we are wiring their neural
pathways for chronic inattention in training their minds to crave constant novelty over deep thought. We are already seeing the academic fallout. Neuroscientists like Doctor Jared Horvath highlight that a school screen time has become ubiquitous. Student performance has plummeted
globally, technology is making learning slow and frictionless, stripping away the mental effort required for actual knowledge retention. Furthermore, this creates a severe safety crisis. The MCPs PTA Chromebook report lays plain that students are being deeply traumatized by
unfettered access to adult, explicit content on MCPs devices. This is an active and ignorable mental health hazard. Finally, we must redirect scarce public funds away from tech contracts and reinvest in human capital. We need more
teachers, support staff and smaller class sizes. Investing in educators rather than software, allows for deep cognitive and interpersonal connections that drive real learning. Crucially, small class sizes empower our teachers to instruct effectively rather than relying
on screens as a digital pacifier to manage overcrowded classrooms. Please align M.c.p.s. Policy with neuroscience and developmental science. Our children need teachers, books and human connection, not more screens.
Thank you. Can we play Mr. Greg D'Addario video, please. My name is Greg D'Addario and I'm the proud library media specialist at Rolling Terrace Elementary. To ensure that layoffs don't impact students, it is imperative that you fund library assistance. Media
centers will not function without them. This year, M.C.P.S. has circulated 2.1 million books. Every book in our collection must be evaluated by a media specialist with more than 13,000 evaluations this year. Without assistance, these evaluations will come to a standstill,
limiting student access to new, culturally responsive and diverse books that help them see themselves and others reflected in literature. Media center action plans will be dormant because media centers cannot support Cips when they can't teach media assistance, make instruction possible, they
welcome students and staff support lessons, ensure the library is open when the media specialist is at planning and shelf books. They also play a major technology support role, responsible for 40,450 interactions. This year, an average of 230 per day with
media specialists. Media centers provide tech support 436 times per day. This is underreported as expertise often allows staff to resolve issues without submitting a helpdesk ticket. Media assistants support every strategic plan goal. They advance academic excellence by
supporting instruction and processing materials that help students grow in literacy and meet proficiency benchmarks. They contribute to future ready graduates by working with interns, apprentices, and student volunteers. They foster positive, safe and effective environments by creating welcoming libraries, helping all students find mials
that reflect their interests and identities, and ensure spaces and resources meet school needs equitably. They also strengthen a high quality, diverse workforce by serving as a key pipeline for future media specialists. Strong schools depend on strong libraries, and strong libraries require media
assistance. Without them, media specialists will be overwhelmed with operational tasks, reducing instruction and turning libraries from transformational learning spaces into transactional check in checkout centers. Can you
play Holly sharks video, please? Hello, my name is Holly Sharrock and I'm the parent of a twice exceptional student at Flora singer. My son's winter map M results showed that he is ready for above grade level math instruction. He's in
second grade so that option isn't available to him. It is, however, available to approximately 3,304th and fifth grade students across M.c.p.s. Today I am asking the board to pause the plan to eliminate compacted math in elementary
school. Other speakers tonight may address concerns about the data presented by M.C.P.S. or the lack of community engagement surrounding this issue. I want to emphasize something much simpler. These students are individuals 3300
of them, not averages. I support equity, but I am concerned this plan unintentionally creates new inequities while trying to solve existing ones. Elementary classrooms already contain an enormous range of learners with diverse and diverging needs,
expanding that range further without meaningful structural support risks making it harder for teachers to meet all students needs. Well, students who are behind may lose focused instruction. Students with IEPs or language needs may struggle to access acceleration
opportunities. Gifted students might lose access to the rigor and pace that they need to remain engaged and continue growing. Gifted and talented are not synonymous with privilege. Many of these students are twice exceptional, and many come from underserved
backgrounds. Equity means recognizing that students have different needs and ensuring their pathways that allow all students to grow. I urge you to pause implementation until transparent data, community engagement, and structural supports have been identified.
Thank you, thank you. This will conclude public comment. The board's next meeting to receive public comment is on Thursday, June 4th. Online signups will open on Thursday, May 28th at 6 p.m. and in addition to online signups, same day in-person signups are permitted when a
space is allowed with unallocated slots filled on a first come, first served basis in-person 15 minutes before the start of the open session. Additional information is for our meetings is on our board's website. With that, we'll open
up to my board members with comments, if any. I Will go first if my board members will allow me to. To our young people and the parents who testified on gymnastics. That will be scheduled for June 4th.
It has been scheduled for June 4th. We didn't schedule it before because we were told most of you were at a competition. So we wanted to make sure that you were able to make it for that meeting. So we will see you hopefully on June 4th. And for the open lunch,
I'm going to have my colleague, Miss Brenda Wolff, explain the the process that we started. So nobody jumps the gun. And everybody understands that this is going to be a full input process with the community members. Miss Wolff, good
afternoon. Again, it seems that the policy committee created quite a bit of excitement last week on the open lunch policy. I want to thank all the students who came here today to share their opinions with us.
Unfortunately, Miss Molu could not be here. She is a student first and is trying to wrap up some things for graduation. But I do want to tell you that this is just the beginning of a discussion. There is no
indication that we plan to do anything today except for refer our policy committee decision regarding rescission to the full board. You'll hear about that later. That does not mean that we're making a decision
today on Open Lunch. We're making a decision on whether or not we should send that out for public comment. Thank you. Thank you, Miss Wolff. I will start on my right with Miss Stewart. First, I would like to
thank all the advocates for coming out and speaking directly to us. I find it extremely useful to hear directly from community members. So thank you for that. Most of these topics we will get to today and our agenda, except
for the math topic. And so, you know, we left the last board meeting with some information about plans going forward. And I would like Doctor Taylor, if
we don't have an update today, an update very soon on how that planning is going. I do believe we've received a lot of input and including in that report, I believe we have some schools today that don't have compacted
math. We also have some maybe doing it online. We haven't really had that update as to how that's been going. And then what are the exact plans for fourth and fifth grade? Because I heard mixed messages about fifth grade, and I think it's
very important to put all the cards out on the table and also be open to work through the way this is going to happen in individual classrooms, and I feel like we just need an update. So thank you. Thank you
very much, Miss Zimmerman. Thank you. And I also want to thank everyone for being here and for their advocacy. And I also appreciate that all three of our associations are our partners in pushing for our county council colleagues to
fund the M.C.P.S. budget. And that work has not gone, gone unnoticed. I understand that now. Your advocacy is here with us, and I, I appreciate that. I also appreciate you being here after your work day, especially. A lot of us feel that end of
May burnout. So I truly appreciate you taking that extra time. I would like to ask administration for two pieces of information. The first, I would like the board to have information regarding our Msde
math curriculum requirements for K to eight and our contract with amplify Desmos for FY 27. Some additional info there. What potential options we may have in. Especially savings and I'd also like to see a list of professional development
contracts that are in our FY 27 budget. Thank you. Thank you very much, Miss Yang. Yes, I want to associate myself with my colleague's comment. We have a difficult topics to cover
today and budget open lunch will be included. So stay until that discussion. I also want a piece of information, two pieces of information for
compacted math. Is it already underway? Because I heard some places that it's already underway. So what is the plan? I would like to hear a more timeline and our what the
system is planning to do. Second thing is, as we are looking at the budget right now, if today during your presentation, you can highlight our cuts in terms of programs
or staffing, that would be helpful for us to, to understand it further and, and be thinking about this together. Thank you, everyone for coming in, Miss Montoya. Thank you. I would join the request of Miss
Stewart, Miss Zimmerman and Miss Yang regarding the elementary math. And I would also like to add that I also am concerned about the information or lack thereof. I know I've I've indicated that to you many times. I was hoping to have
this issue addressed in part in terms of gifted and talented learning at the next Special Populations Committee meeting. Unfortunately, I don't think that's going to take place, but I am still working on some things. So please just hang tight. Folks. In the community I have, I know we are going to get into budget, which is why
most everyone's here, and there were a lot of different staffing positions that were mentioned by all of the speakers and our friends and our associations. And so I think the question, the overlying question is who's
going to do all of this work, right? Because the work still needs to be done. And I would specifically want to know because I'm unclear. So if we don't have college and career
navigators, who helps in that way, because that that was something one that was brought up by one of our speakers. But also it does seem that perhaps there might not. I'm not clear about whether there's other staffing positions or programs or something that lend itself
to that. Thank you. Thank you very much. I too, want to say thank you to all, all of you, for being here today. We didn't get to this position, you know, to be here. I know you wanted
to be in the classrooms, and I know you wanted to be in your schools, working with with your students. And we all know how much you care for our system and for our kiddos and this school system. As you know, I'm a product of M.c.p.s. And many of these positions have made a
very big difference in my life and who I am. But unfortunately, I think this is probably one of the worst budgets we have had that I can recall. So I just want to let you know that we hear you, we see you, we're going to do our best. But
remember that we were put in this position not because we wanted to, but because we were put in this position by other elected officials. So thank you so much for coming, and I hope some of you will stay, because we will be discussing this a lot of these topics later on on
our agenda. Doctor Taylor, we're going to be moving on to item number eight consent items. Are there any consent items that my colleagues will request to be pulled for clarification.
Okay. Seeing none, is there a motion in a second to approve items? 8.1 to 8.19 motion to approve. Second, there is a motion, a second. All those in favor, please raise your hand.
And that is unanimous. And that will pass. Madam president, I have a couple of announcements tied to your consent agenda that I'd like to share. It's never easy to lose a teammate. And today, you've recognized several staff members who
recently passed away and whose service and dedication has left a lasting impact on M.C.P.S. and their school communities. This includes Miss Jamie Kruczynski, a mathematics teacher at Northwest High School who served Montgomery County Public Schools for more
than nine years. You also recognized Miss Mary Sparshott, a special education bus attendant with the Department of Transportation, who served M.c.p.s for more than 13 years. And finally, you recognized Mrs. Jennifer L Mills, a
teacher at Olney Elementary School who was with Montgomery County Public Schools and served faithfully for over 21 years. We extend our deepest sympathies to their families, friends and colleagues, and I'd ask that everybody joining us today take a moment of silence
to recognize their contribution. Thank you. Although today is is not a day of celebration, it's actually a pretty rough day on a number of different fronts. We did also pass some
resolutions in your consent agenda, recognizing some celebrations to take place next month. You recognize June as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and Queer Pride Month reaffirm reaffirming M.C.P.S. commitment to safe,
welcoming and inclusive schools where every student is treated with dignity, respect and belonging. We will celebrate this recognition at the Board of Education meeting on June 25th. Also today, you recognize the recipient of the 2026
Superintendents Annual Mark Mann Excellence in and and Harmonie Award, which honors educational leaders who demonstrate academic excellence, positive human relations, and a community outreach. In the spirit of former parkland
Junior High School principal doctor Mark Mann. I love this award because I'm the one that gets to make the call to the recipient. And earlier this week, I had the opportunity to call Mrs. Brandy K Overton, the
principal of Doctor Martin Luther King Junior High School or middle school. And Miss Overton is here today in our audience. We are so proud of
Brandy and the work that she's done at MLK, and we're so glad. Thank you for being here today, and we will recognize you at a number of different events that are coming up. And this is just the first of many. So thank you very much. And let's give another round of applause for
Miss Overton. Thank you, Madam President. That concludes positivity for this evening. I really appreciate that. And congratulations to Miss Overton. We work very closely together in the county in many projects.
Brittany, congratulations. Truly. With that, we're going to be moving to our next item on the agenda. This will be 9.1 fiscal year 2027 operating budget. At today's meeting, the board will receive the
superintendent's recommendation on the reconciliation of the fiscal year 2027 operating budget. The board is scheduled to take final action on the fiscal year 2027 operating budget at its meeting on June on June 4th. With that, I will turn it over to you, Doctor Taylor. Thank you, Madam
President. Normally I love to talk about budget. I love to talk about the numbers. I love to talk about what it represents and more importantly, what it means for the direction
of the school system. And I got to tell you, last year we had a pretty successful budget process where we were able to lay the groundwork and the foundation for a lot of our success this year in helping to,
to fix some things, or at least take steps forward into fixing some of our challenge spots. This budget season we knew was not going to be easy, and that is why we had a substantially scaled down request that came
before the Board of Education. There were a lot of tough decisions that were made on the front end of our budget process, and we brought forward to the board for your consideration, a really measured response that would take care of our very
hard working team, but still move us a little bit forward. And to say that it's been disappointing to see where we are today is really an understatement and just a terribly frustrating part of
this process as a as a organization that is comprised 90% of people and most school systems are really 80% people, that puts us in a disadvantaged position from the start, where
our choices for making reductions are really limited to two things the number of people that we employ and how much we compensate them. And the reality is, is that the costs for operating our school system go up every year. And so
when we often get criticized for having the biggest budget in the history of Montgomery County, I just have to shake my head because every year is the biggest budget in Montgomery County, because our costs continue to escalate, inflation
continues to escalate, and some of that is a function of the fact that our very hard working teammates also need to be able to provide for their family, and they deserve to do so. It brings us no pleasure whatsoever to bring forward
really drastic reductions to our ability to serve our community better. And the question has been asked, and I've got an awful answer. And, Miss Montoya, you you asked it again, which is like, who on earth is going to do this work?
And the reality is, is that a lot of this work isn't going to get done. And there is going to be a service interruption, and our families are going to have less as a result, quite candidly. And this is no new, nothing new for our dedicated
school staff is that every year we are asked to do more with just a little less. And in particular over the past 15 years. And I think that this kind of goes back to the fiscal 2010 housing market bubble burst, which we've never
recovered from. That every year has been this year where a year where we have been asked to do more with a little less, even though people say, but you keep getting increases in your budget, increases that fall short of the mandates and
requirements that we are expected to comply with. So with that, I am disappointedly preparing and and sharing with you a presentation on where we stand fiscally. You'll see
information about our capital improvements plan, which falls very short of the requests that we made earlier this year and our operating budget, which also falls very short of the requests that we made this year.
We'll walk you through step by step of where we stand and where our recommendations are and where and how we came up with our our methodology for making these recommendations. I'll just close by saying this
there is no perfect budget, just like there's no perfect school calendar, and there is always room for making adjustments, although that room is very narrow in this particular budget scenario. And
so we're not thrilled with any of our options, though we look forward to a healthy discussion of those options with you. Today, I'm going to turn things over to our Chief Financial Officer of Yvonne Alfonso Windsor and our Chief of Staff,
Essie McGuire, and our Deputy Chief of Facilities, Andrea Sueoka, to talk through the major brushstrokes and then take some questions from the board. Thank you, Doctor Taylor and board members. So as you've heard, certainly FY 27 and our
operating budget is one of challenges ahead. The county Council did appropriate an increase of 128.7 million more than last year's budget. The current year, FY 26 to 27. That is a total of 61 million less
than the board's request. We have been talking about reductions of 36 million, and that is still true. So this is confusing, and we will explain it very shortly. But when you just do the math, it is a reduction of 61 million. As a result, there are difficult decisions and position
reductions that remain that we must face. And that, again, as we've said, we will be talking about today. We're here today to present to you and review with you the superintendent's recommendation to reconcile the budget. And, of course, the board then will take final
action on June 4th. Wanted to revisit just a little bit our our goals and fundamental objectives coming into this budget that we presented last fall. These are still our strategies. And as Doctor Taylor said, we will. We
acknowledge that we'll be doing them with with fewer resources than we had requested, but we are staying focused on these objectives as our goals and our alignment with the strategic plan. And these are still the
things that we want to and are keeping front of mind as we construct and build through this budget. So to work through the numbers, what you see is the FY 27 board recommendation in the first column, the change
from the year to year change from FY 26 of the board's request, the amount the council approved, and the change again over the approved FY 26 budget. The red numbers, of course, are decreases. And one thing that you'll notice there is that we
do show a decrease of $8.6 million in the federal space, a slight decrease, mostly partially related to the county cable fund in the enterprise funds. And again, the 61 million that we've talked about for the county contribution. So
again, we've been talking about 36 million. And now here I am saying 61 million. The issue is that from an expenditure standpoint, we are looking at an impact of 36 million. That's the somewhat good news. Again, relatively speaking, the.
Because the Council provided M.C.P.S. with a one time contribution to our employee benefit plan from the Opeb fund, and the Opeb fund stands for other Post-employment benefits. It's a fund that the. All the county agencies and other
agencies, public. Government agencies across the country have been required to maintain against future liabilities for retiree health care. So from that fund, the county is allowing us to use and providing us 25 million for our employee benefit fund. We had
budgeted 40 million to put into our benefit fund. And as board members and the community are well aware, our benefit fund is not as healthy as it needs to be right now. And we need to continue to make robust investments in that fund, contributions to that fund to be sure that we can meet our
obligations to our employees. The 25 million that the council is providing from Opeb means that we can use that 25 million for other expenditures. And so that is the one time nature of the revenue shift that the
Council is providing to us. So the appropriation, if you just do the math of the actual money that we're getting from the council, that's why it's $61 million less, less. But the impact on expenditures is only $36 million. So again, that's the number that we need to tie
to in terms of identifying money that we can't spend out of our operating budget. Hopefully, that's at least a little bit more clear. So before we continue with the operating budget, there is a relationship, of course, between the operating budget and capital budget. And those
are two budgets that the council has to reconcile together at the end of its budget process. So I'm going to ask Miss Atoka to walk us through some of the good and bad news from the capital budget perspective. Good evening. So I wanted to share a
quick update with you across the three slides that we have for you this evening about what was approved today by county council for our six year CIP. And just to remind everyone, so you all made a board's request to the county executive back in the fall for a $2.7 billion request. And then we have the
six fiscal years there. Today, County Council approved $1.85 billion. So that's about 67% of what you all originally requested. I will note that for the FY 27, that is about 100
million more than last year's approved CIP. So this is nowhere near what we were hoping for or had requested, certainly, but it is a start in the right direction. I have some good news and some bad news to share. I'm going to start with the good news if we
can go to the next slide. So critical infrastructure projects did receive some increased funding. We did get our top two priority projects, which we have been very clear with over the last couple of months, that Damascus High School major capital project, and Eastern Middle School, where our top two priorities in
terms of the major capital projects, those remain fully funded and on schedule to start design in FY 27. Damascus has an anticipated completion of August 2031 and eastern to be completed in August 2030. We will start the design selection
process this summer and look forward to engaging with those communities in the fall. For schematic design and conceptual design review for their projects. The next five bullets are part of our systemic projects in the county wide. I want to be clear that these
were not fully funded, but we did get some significant increases across the six years and in particularly in FY 27 and 28, there was quite a bit of decrease as you work in out years across those six years. But there is some good news in this particularly. I'll start
with the Hvac that is top of mind, very top of mind this week as we saw some significant issues with the temperatures, we received an increase of almost 50% from what we have previously been funded for. So 120 million from what was funded last year, CIP. And we
were fully funded and our first two years. So FY 27 and 28 of what we requested are decreases in the next four years. But that is good news for us to move forward with those FY 27 and 28 projects, very similar for the roof replacements almost doubled from last year's
approved CIP, another one that dramatically impacts the experiences of our students and staff in the building. We received an increase of 53 million from last year's approved CIP. Emergency replacement also received an increase of 14 million from
what was previously funded, and again got the full funding for what we requested. Fire safety upgrades almost doubled, increasing 10 million over the six years, and restroom renovation increased by 50%, 9 million from what was
previously approved. The bad news there's certainly bad news in this. Unfortunately, we had requested funding for the four elementary schools listed here Burning Tree, Cold Spring, Highland View, Piney Branch, those were all delayed. Their
design funding now starts in FY 31 with anticipated completion of August 2034. So that is a significant out push from where we originally asked. And you all requested in your budget. Same is true for alternative education program that was also
delayed by three years. So design would start in FY 29 with a completion in August 2032. The tech mod, as we often refer to IT or technology modernization specifically in FY 27, was cut very dramatically. What was
requested was the 33 million, and we only received the 16.9 million. So basically cut in half. Facility planning was also significantly reduced by 2.5 million. And just to remind everyone, this is a fund that we use to hire numerous types
of consultants. We use this to help fund the county wide elementary boundary study and school consolidation, which we have an RFP out for right now. It would also help us fund consultants to look at all of our other infrastructure needs, alternatives for our
headquarters and other just district wide planning, any feasibility studies as well. This is a really important line item for us to fund those as we make sure we're making the right improvements in specific areas. And that was dramatically reduced. And then the transportation and regional support facilities, which was
intended to fund the bus depots, was delayed by three years. The material management relocation, which would have been the 750 progress way, was not funded at all. This would have been to renovate that warehouse, and then the holding school improvements was also not
funded. I can't resist. So a third of the capital improvement plan request was unfunded. More than half of the projects were delayed.
Technology was cut in half in half, and there are facility planning dollars that have been zeroed out. Just out of curiosity, Miss Atoka, and I know I'm not normally in a position to ask questions. Do
we currently have any schools in design at this moment? No. When was the last time that M.c.p.s didn't have a school in design? Very long time. Over 50 years. And we're talking about
two projects that have a green light. That's great when we should have five projects in development in any one particular point. This is a deep moment of pause, everybody.
Thank you. Sorry for the interruption. Good afternoon. We will now transition back to discuss the operating budget and the details that accompany the reductions. So while this
is not the worst case scenario, we do know that it is bad and that it presents meaningful challenges and impact to our operations and our schools. The board has requested budget was funded at 98.4%. That was an
increase. It reflects an increase of about 3.6% over last year's budget or this current year's budget, FY 26. Additionally, it was a it is a 5.1% increase from the local funded from the local budget from this year. But again, it's
a significant decrease. It's a $61 million of the funding that is received is one time funding. So that really creates a structural issues for us moving forward. This is back to what we were discussing before. There's a reduction of 25 million from Opeb. Again, we're
receiving one time funding, and that allows us to fund other items in the operating budget. But there's also a $36 million cut. And not only that, but $36 million is also one time funding that will not be available next year. So that
creates really a $61 million deficit moving forward. So as as we mentioned, although it is not the although the worst case scenario was avoided, the reductions are limited to 36 million. As I stated before, the challenges remain
tremendously significant. We received $118. Million from the County Council in the appropriation and an additional 25 million for the from the Opeb for for the in employee benefit plan. Additionally like we just mentioned, 61 of that
is one time non-recurring income revenue. So keep that in mind. 61 million of that is non-recurring. What that means is that we will begin the FY 28 budget development process with a $61 million gap. This is before accounting for
compensation increases, for inflationary pressures and the needed increases to support the employee benefit plan, which we had discussed many times during this meeting. That is a significant, significant structural deficit that would must be corrected to make sure
that we're able to provide employees with their benefits. Despite the fiscal challenges, we remain fully committed to the M.C.P.S. core mission. This FY 2027 budget will maintain the negotiated compensation
agreements with the association's core instruction, and curriculum improvements will continue. It also funds the first phase of the new staffing standards for our schools, which is part of a six year. Process support services
positions aligned with cross-functional teams that are supporting our schools and our staff are being maintained. The next phase of the elementary school security staffing has been preserved, which accounts for 28 additional security staff members for our
elementary schools, continues to focus on secondary literacy and the increased commitment to our professional learning to make sure that all our staff receive the necessary information and learning to do their work. M.C.P.S. is
fundamentally a people driven organization. 88% of the operating budget supports salaries and benefits for over 25,000 employees. In Montgomery County Public Schools, 91.9% of the increase requested in this
year's budget would have gone or is going to. It is tied to our personnel costs, as Doctor Taylor has emphasized, when nearly 90% of your budget is. Personnel reductions inevitably impact either the number of people we employed or the wages
and benefits we use to compensate their hard work. The approach to this budget reconciliation was simple keep reductions as far away from the classroom as possible. This budget prioritizes the access to instruction for students,
continuity of operations as much as possible, and the long term fiscal stability of the school system. If you look at the graphics on the slide, it represents the composition of our school system. At the core of the system are the school based services or student faces.
Position facing positions such as teachers, peer educators, administrators, which make up 87% of our employees. The next layer closest to the core are the support services at 10.2%. These are the employees that support the work of the school, such as psychologists,
maintenance workers and members of the cross-functional teams. The outer layer is Central Services, which makes up 2.8% of the overall budget. These are areas such as human resources, finance, payroll and technology. So as we go through the next slides, we will review
the reductions through this lens and framework. We will start with the reductions to central services. This layer of reductions to central services accounts for $5 million. The
total budget budgeted positions in central services is 693. Out of those, 693, 28 are being reduced through this iteration of the budget. That is a 4.4% of reductions in central
services. Out of the 28 positions that are being reduced, three are vacant, 25 are filled. Just to summarize what happened over the last two years, and in the and the board's recommended budget, it included 53.5 central services
positions that were being reduced last year, 27.5 earlier this year. This spring, a two year total in central services reductions of 109 positions. Every area in central services is being impacted, including
executive staff and related positions, which accounts for five F, T, s and a little bit over almost $800,000. Additionally, Contractual services for 975,000 and hiring partnerships for 500,000. This is not an all inclusive list.
These are just some of the areas that are being touched. If we can move on to the next area, which is the support services area, the reduction here in terms of dollars is $14.5 million. The total FTE
for this positions is over a little bit over 2626, 2612 positions. We. The reduction. The recommended reduction is 113 positions, which is a 4.3% reduction. There are currently.
Of those 113 positions, there are currently 33 vacant and 80 filled. This includes. And again, it's not a comprehensive list, but includes social workers that are based. Supporting some of the social workers of the schools, the PWS,
which is moving. The recommendation is to move the PPWS to a model of two per cross-functional teams, and one specifically for alternative programs. The family engagement specialist. We're moving to a model of one per cross-functional teams, and I just want to make sure
everybody remembers there's 12 cross-functional teams in total. The ML therapeutic counselors. We're moving to a model of one per region. So six positions will will be maintained in terms of maintenance and task
force. If you remember, in this current year's budget, we had three task forces to be able to support our schools. We're re to one task force and we will continue to build the capacity. But that was the decision that was made to make to make sure that we're able to to account for for the
reductions, and then $400,000 in temporary part time salaries. Again, this list is not exhaustive. It's just some of the items in terms of school based positions. Obviously, that's the core of our work. And that's where the bulk of our of our budget and positions
is. This accounts for 30.5 or $30.6 million in reductions. Currently, we have over 22,000 positions that are school based. These are positions, not necessarily employees. The reduction recommended is 294.7
FTE. That accounts for 1.3% of the school based staffing there. Of those 294 FTE, there are currently 125 vacant and 168 filled. The reason that there's
so many vacant as well is because this eliminates this. Defer the implementation of the elementary school resources or resource teachers for special education, which are vacant. So this defers that implementation, the entire implementation
towards next year. Additionally, the coalition career navigators, it reduces the coalition career navigators, the high school staff development teachers, and the English composition assistants. The media systems are going to a different model where each elementary and
middle school will have a 0.5 media assistant and the high schools, because the, you know, their enrollment level, they would have a 1.0 FTE per high school. The social workers. This reduces all social workers and that are directly tied to
special education. And it also passes the increase to the equity add on funding for schools. Again, this is a pass. The money that was put in for this year will remain, but we will again, it will be a delay in the in the second phase of
that of that initiative. So then, as we mentioned earlier, fiscal stability is a priority for this budget recommendation. We need to make sure that we are able to provide for the employees and students. Part of this strategy is a retirement
incentive of $4 million. Additionally, because we are reducing positions and and vacant positions as well, we need to decrease the amount of laps that we put in the budget right now. And we have mentioned this many times before as well. When we look at
our budget, we are basically double budgeting and we are cutting $70 million in laps. We need to reduce that laps to $60 million to account for the, you know, the reduction in vacancies that we'll have for next year. Additionally, like
we mentioned before, the employee benefit plan is in a structural deficit. So this hold harmless. The EVP from the position reductions, but it does reduce the EVP by the 25 million from the Opeb contribution. So it is reduced
by 25 million in the budget from the base budget. On the previous slide, I mentioned that the budget included $4 million for retirement incentive, which is one of the approaches we're taking. The challenges we're facing as a school system is not limited to
the budget shortfall, but also enrollment decrease that we're experiencing. As a result, M.C.P.S. would like to offer incentive for employees who are currently eligible eligible to retire. The incentive will mean that ten month employees that
are eligible to retire July 1st will receive a one time payment of $10,000 and 12 month employees, an incentive retirement of $12,000. Again, this will be one time payment. The deadline for submission. We
have been. Delayed to Friday, June 5th, but unfortunately cannot be delayed further than that because we have to make sure that then they receive their retirement contributions and payments effective in July. There are two primary objectives for this retirement
incentives. We are looking to free up more positions to to place any displaced employees as a result of this reduction. We do want to look, you know, look out for the employees in Montgomery County public Schools and their hard work. Additionally, this increase the relapse and turnover in savings
for FY 27 and FY 28 so that we can be fiscally solvent. And so this is just a summary of everything that we have discussed. The adopted budget
does account for $128 million, an increase from last from last budget or the current budget, and accounts for $61 million in reductions from the board's recommended budget. Okay. Thank
you very much, I. Appreciate the presentation. I will now open it up to my colleagues to see if they have any questions. Miss Zimmerman, thank you. I asked earlier for additional
information on, you know, some contracts that we have particularly focused on things like professional development. I certainly don't want to I know our operations are also being cut with this budget, so I don't necessarily want to
explore operations contracts. You know, I want our schools to have functioning Hvac systems and things like that. But I'd really be interested in exploring some of those contracts and seeing what options we might have for those, as well as any other additional
non personnel related potential reductions that we could make. Some that's been in our M.C.P.S. classrooms. It's devastating to think about how we would function without these really essential staff in our buildings. So I'd be really interested in seeing additional options. We need to have the
staff in our buildings. Thank you. Miss Stewart. First, I just wanted to go back to CIP. Surprise, surprise. I don't see
all the line items here. So are we going to get a full accounting and when will we get that for all the different line items and which ones are being fully funded and not. And thank you. Yes. So on the county
council's website right now through the resolution, you can download the PDF for each individual project. So you can see year by year. And then as part of our educational facilities master plan that will be published, it's always published July 1st. It will have the updated numbers included in that. But in the
meantime, I would recommend looking at the county council PDF for each individual project. Excellent. I'll be doing that as soon as we leave here. I just want to make sure that we are prioritizing correctly in our budget as we go forward,
because we have some severe effects, especially for our planning, and I look forward to that opportunity to looking at that line by line. Thank you. Doctor Taylor, did you want to add anything to that? Just out of curiosity, how many PDFs are
we talking about? A lot 35. Oh yeah, potentially. No, it's one PDF per capital. So if you remember at the beginning of our CIP book, there's one summary expenditure table. Each of those line has a PDF for it and it's a one pager. So not
like 3540 pages. Yes. I'm just looking forward to the spreadsheet so I can see exactly where all the stakes are. That's all. Thank you. Unfortunately, there is not a clear spreadsheet in the county council's document, not the spreadsheet you're used to seeing. We will have that for the July 1st. Correct. Master plan book. Excellent. Thank you,
Miss Yang. Yeah, I associate myself with missus Miss Zimmerman's request of looking at our professional development. Can you speak to the mic a little bit? Because that is not a single line item. It's different department, different.
You know, initiative has different professional development costs. So just want to have a better understanding of it. Then a few other things. So one big picture thing is can
staff help us and the public understand the projected deficit for next year? Right. What does that mean? What does that mean. So help us understand in terms of this
year, if we just do salary, you know, how much is the increase next year if we just do I don't know what the negotiation contract will be, but just similar to this, what would be it look like? So what does it look like if we you say going
into it, we are 61 million in the hole. What does that mean? So if you look at our operating budget right now where, you know, we're looking at $3.7 billion, let's say we are going to start, let's say we I know we're talking 61 million, but
let's say we're talking 100 million deficit. That would mean that we would start with a $3.6 billion budget. So $100 million less than what we currently have, because that's money that currently the county council doesn't have revenue
for. It was only a one time revenue. So because this time we use we are short 61 million as you. And then they also move. One time I talk money that's 30, 36, 6 million. So you are saying that these are one time
money for 100 million. We will start the year $100 million short. Yeah, there's actually more to that. So there's also a revenue component. So yes. And that's that's part of that revenue component that we don't have. But additionally, not it's not only the revenue
component. And I'm not sure if that's what you mean, but we also have the employee benefit plan where we have a $61 million deficit. The 20 we were putting in the budget, 40 million. There are only funding, 15 of that. Okay, 40 of that, 40 million because of the 25.
So we already have a hole. So the increase continues. I am my next question. I think I think I'm asking on behalf of a lot of my colleagues, is you show a pie of, say, return on
investment, how you are making the the cut. So how do you, you know, how do you evaluate the reduction that we do? Which position? How do we decide? So
actually return on investment was not considered at all. Right. It really is with the goal of staying as far away from classroom teaching positions, because the previous cut that the board had made was classroom teaching positions. I
remember that year was can't do it alone. Miss Montoya, I'm sorry. I'm going to ask the audience to please. We have still a lot to cover and we really. I know this is really difficult, trust me, but we really want to just listen as
much as we can. Thank you, Miss Montoya. Thank you. I'd like to also join Miss Zimmerman's comments and requests, and I just want to expand on that, not just in the instance of professional development, but look, this is not an economy
that can absorb people with no jobs, right? It's not like the cuts that we make here that people can just easily go out into Montgomery County or Maryland or nearby and just pick up another job. We're just not living in that society right now. And so my primary concern is with saving as many jobs as possible, because those jobs are people, they are human
beings that we all live with. So what I would like to see is, in addition to any professional development type contracts, are there any programs that are doing something and a person can do that? So for example, I remember a few months ago there was something on the consent
block item for some outside vendor to do some survey about like, I don't know, AP tests or something like that. I can't totally recall. And I asked, well, why do we need that? Don't we have a person in said, right. So if we can employ our people instead of going outside to other organizations or
businesses, I just would really like us to try to look into whether or not we have any items where we are doing that, where instead it could be a person that we already have in our M.C.P.S. community. Thank you, Doctor Taylor. I believe we actually have done that quite a few times. So if you
want to, I think one of those was when we were doing redistricting, we decided. So I don't know if you would like to speak to that. Yeah, absolutely. I think that there's always an opportunity to find some efficiencies in that space, one of which we most recently did with our boundary study, where we did have a contract with an
outside vendor, we chose to move that work inside because the work was higher quality with the people who know this community best. And so finding opportunities to do that, I think is, is there's definitely an impetus for that. We're going to work as fast as we can to get you the information we can as quick as we can, before
June 4th, Miss Sylvester, thank you. I hope I'm not being repetitive, but again, prioritizing professional development, I want to ensure that we have the funding in the
budget to execute our tier one professional development in the summer, and any professional development that we need in order for the instruction, the. So the teachers have the time to be able to prepare and deliver the instruction for our
students. So I guess I want to see the numbers in terms of how much we are putting into professional development in this proposed budget, and what exactly that covers. My second
question is staff development in the high schools. Those were currently at 0.5. Is that correct? Currently full time, 0.6, 0.6. And could you just give me the number of what that
costs to have? 0.6? I believe it was 1.8 million. Yeah, we've we've got it in the list. But we'll we'll look it up for you really quick. And the other thing was the college and
career staff navigator, the navigators. Yes. I know that there's been talk about kind of moko cap being an, you know, something that could be relied
on to do some of that work. But I just want to understand. What they do. And if, if we if we don't have the college and career navigators, how that
contract would be modified so that we are able to deliver the same level of service to our schools and our students. So they do do different things. Our our college and career navigators have a lot of critical roles. One of the more
critical roles is that they do run a college and career center at each of their schools, and do a lot of the logistical work behind the scenes. Last night we got to celebrate a lot of scholarship winners tied to our education foundation, and they were instrumental in getting a
lot of those, those kids across the line. Your contract with Moko Cap and Worksource Montgomery is actually a blueprint requirement. It does take up a lot of capacity financially and is largely
focused on meeting the risk standards tied to career development. So there's a there's a gap there with the college space that needs to be filled. And, and, and there's, there's some things that would have to either be lost or
reassigned as, as to, to fill that gap in particular, not to mention the management of running the day to day in that in that college center. So we're not, we're not assuming that they're going to absorb that work, maybe some in part tied to the career space, but
not the college work. And that aspect of that work particularly. So that service would go away or be absorbed by. Yes, it would either go away or be absorbed by counselors. It's hard to tell at this point. I mean, we're we're fresh with this information in short
notice. So. Okay. Thank you, thank you. Can you just before we go to the next question, just clarify that we are bound to that standard by the blueprint to. Because people are going to be asking, why? Why can we not then hire these folks instead of the folks from Worksource? Because I think a
lot of people are asking themselves, including us and I, and I think, can I take something on to that before you answer when you're done? Yeah. Can we we can you, can you. Give us your thoughts on that? In that answer? Can you also
let us know? Right. So there's a requirement of some things. Are we meeting the requirement exactly. Are we going above and beyond. Right. Is there a potential amount of money basically that we could reduce? That's a really good question. I might have to double check on the above and beyond aspect. I
know that we are at least meeting the requirement and our contract and expectations tied to blueprint is for at least another year in terms of, of, of having a contract that does fulfill this type of responsibility. I don't know if there's anything else you guys
want to add to that, but we can certainly prepare a little bit more detail and, and something a little bit more summery form for you. I think that would be very helpful for the community to understand the things that we are tied to, that we have to do that. We have absolutely no flexibility as much as we want to. We have asked the state,
and I think we have advocated for that. I think our unions have advocated for that. We have no flexibility in that area. That is correct. The career advising, you know, as part of the blueprint, and it requires us to have a contract specifically with with work for
Workforce Montgomery, every, every county Worksource every area is required to have a contract with their worksource from their from their county. Thank you, Miss Stewart. Well, wait a minute. Yes. Oh, I'm
sorry, I didn't see it. You must have just put it on because. No, it's been on all the way around, Miss Wolff. Thank you. My blind spot, Miss Wolff. Go ahead. Well, you know, this is very heartbreaking because there are no really od options here. But I have a
question on the buyout for people who may be impacted. You said that they had to be currently eligible for retirement. Well, when I worked for the government, they also had a buyout for people who would be eligible within a
certain period of time if they were going to be subject to some sort of reduction in force. And so I was wondering, is there any opportunity for us to provide that kind of benefit to people who may be eligible for
retirement, say, by December of 2026? Unfortunately, because we're part of the state retirement system, that is not an option so that the same rules apply. You know, for all the all the counties, the state retirement system, don't don't
allow us to by service, you can buy service after you've completed your eligibility, you can increase your, your pension by, you know, using some of your sick leave hours and at service, but you have to first meet the service years
requirement. Okay. Well, the other thing I wanted to have Doctor Taylor talk about is central office positions. This comes up quite often. And I know you said that you cut 109 since you've been here. Can you
talk a little bit to this to the staff about the difference between how we count positions and how our neighbors count positions? Because we hear this a lot that we are top heavy.
Yeah, yeah. This is this is like calculating the difference between like apples and zebras. It is wildly different between states and localities within Maryland. Some states have a
state staffing system or a standard, which sets some expectations around that. Maryland is not one of those states. So it is a little bit of a of a free for all. We have to count them a couple of different ways. Physical bodies in, in a location like the
location that we are in right now, or is it. 850 Hungerford as well? Or we count them from a financial standpoint of can they be attributed financially to a school setting for more than half of their of of their
allotment? And so for us, the, the physical bodies, this Is a good representation of the physical bodies that are assigned to central office. And so when you look at 693 and that number was almost 800 a
couple of years ago. Central office has seen some reductions and some efficiencies to, to spare other parts of the budget. And, and to try to find some efficiencies in that space for just that reason. This is still a pretty representatively large
size reduction of 4%. That's that's pretty significant. Plus the other 4% that was cut earlier in the budget process. So it's, it's still is a pretty significant jump. Some states and some localities do count
other positions that we don't consider part of central office, and we count positions that some other localities don't consider central office in our support services slide. If you want to go to that next one. In
a lot of ways, financially, these folks get counted as as central office, but really they're not. These are the these are boots on the ground folks who are out in the field. And they, they are interacting
regularly with students, with parents, with teachers. And so even though we may count them financially as part of a central office mix, that's not really a great representation. So counting them as a as a support services really does
make more sense. I hope that moves us a little bit closer to adding some clarity. Just is so wildly different from state to state and from locality to locality. But we are we are not disproportionate compared to our closest peer. And I would
say our closest peer is probably Fairfax County, which is similar size to us. And in Maryland, our closest peer is Prince George's County, and we are right in line with both of those counties in terms of how we staff our central office
relative to to other places. Thank you. I think every year I have this discussion and Miss Montoya has already raised it today, but I do want to say we are definitely concerned about the impact on the people on the
staff that are left. So my question is, are we able to look at who's left in Central office to help do some of this work in the school building?
And I know there are going to be upset about that, but. Well, and, and I and I think it's important because to, to at least bring it up as a topic because you have made some significant inroads into deploying central office work into the field. And I think
that the more that our, our team sees themselves connected to what's happening in the field, the better off we are. Our payroll team is a great example of something that everybody in the school system relies on. Our HR team. They
are they are centrally based, but they are absolutely critical and they are something that everybody relies on. And so even our technology and, and budget teams, they serve a central function, but they're connected to the work in the
field as well. Okay. But since they're already on staff and they're drawing a paycheck, can't they take over doing the substitute teaching at least one day a week? Yeah, that would be a lot of fun, I think, for a lot of folks, for sure. I
certainly look forward to doing that. I've enjoyed that. But I also think that when we hire folks to do certain roles, we need to make sure that we have the best people and the qualified people to do and fulfill those certain roles. Thank you. I'm just thinking of
ways that we can save money. Yeah. Miss Stewart, a lot of the questions I was going to ask about the operating budget were asked. So first of all, I also like to look again at
contracts at this point, after everything I've heard today. And just thinking this through, I'd rather save positions over some contracts that I've seen. So. Just what? It can't hurt to
look to see how many positions we can save. Also, I want to talk about because we already talked about career, college and career navigators and the gaps that will be caused there, and hopefully we can close some
of those gaps. But although not all of them. So that is $1.9 million, which is not the biggest amount here. So I, I would love to see if there's some opportunities there, but I would like to talk about the
social worker case loads. If we have to go through this painful process and those positions go away. They had caseloads and those kids need help. Mental
health. Mental health is so important. I know because I have family members myself. We all know kids that use mental health services in our schools, and so how will we be working
with our partners? Will we be working to have hand offs for our children that are not left in the lurch? Hand off with caseload that they're getting services today? What are we
going to do to work with our partners, HHS? ET cetera. So we absolutely will. I mean, I think as Doctor Taylor has said, we're at the beginning of this process in terms of first working through the budget and then absolutely following through, following those
implications and how we can have those transitions. We are always in close communication with our sister agency, the Department of Health and Human Services. Certainly from a public agency standpoint, they do have the primary responsibility for social, behavioral, mental health and
other health services in the county, and so we will be working closely with them to to see what supports can be offered. We would need a new MOU or can we work on our existing MOU. So I think again,
we just need to think about the the services. I think the services and what that transition needs to look like. I think it would be very specific based on the needs of the of the children. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Thank you. I'm just going to clear that up right now. I do not think we need a new MOU.
Okay. Thank you. Miss Yang. Yes. This budget reflects reflects very difficult trade off proposed trade off. So before I was before I served on the
board. I work in the school buildings for 11 years. So I think I not only understand intellectually as a board member, the role everyone plays in our building, but these are the people I have worked and service and see their action
every day. Helping students. There are two places I would like us to look a little bit more, and one of them was mentioned earlier is blueprint requirement. Let's take dual
enrollment as an example. Our school buildings. There's a requirement blueprint requirement or standard. Our school buildings also offer AP courses college credits. So can
we get some numbers to to demonstrate you know what, what are we going above and beyond? Or are we are we can we have savings in that categories. I
associate myself with Miss Stewart's comment about if we have to, if we. Reduce our mental health service footprint,
what kind of transition plans are in place to to help the students and families? Yeah. On your slide for retirement incentive presentation, it
references both budget pressures and enrollment decreases. Yeah. So can you explain a little bit how the enrollment decreases like, like impacting this budget?
Absolutely. So enrollment decreases are having a very significant impact on this budget in that it does result in fewer positions that we need in a number of areas where, where the, where the, where the hiring is driven by enrollment. So there was a period of time
many years ago where M.C.P.S. was growing by two, sometimes 2500 or 3000 students a year. And in that kind of environment, you're adding a lot of positions. Now that we are declining and projected to decline and actively declining in our enrollment, even
currently, that means that we are not adding, but in fact, decreasing positions. And so there are fewer positions. There are fewer positions in in many of the enrollment based categories. And so as a result, there are fewer places to hire.
We're really not anticipating to be hiring significantly at, if at all. And the first priority, of course, is going to be to place our existing employees who may be displaced, but there are fewer positions for them to be placed into. So one more piece to the
enrollment mix that does add a dimension that we haven't really talked about, is that a lot of our state revenue is enrollment driven as well. And so even though we realized an increase in state revenue this past year, that increase was
truncated because it was less than we might have expected in previous years. And so that does play a role. And that's a that's a multi-million dollar hit. And and that can't be stated enough. How significant that really does play into into
this. Can you just give us an idea of how many, how, how many kids have we lost in the last three years is about. So we, we are we are at our peak in 2019 was 165,000 students. And so
right now, just six years later or six, six budget years later, miss, where are we at today or right around today? 159,000. So 104 159,000. Okay. But if if I
may clarify though, for FY 27, we're projecting 155,000. Correct. And I would say to this is a dramatically different position than the school system has been in literally in recent memory. I mean, for over 20 years, the school system was growing by
leaps and bounds. And turning that dynamic. We did certainly bounce back a little bit after Covid, but that being in a declining enrollment position has a very significant impact on the budget in all the ways that we're speaking of. Miss
Sylvester, thank you. Obviously, we're in very difficult budget times. The county is in very difficult budget times, and I think that I urge the board to kind of come together to talk about with the state, to have
really serious conversations with the state, to get more flexibility around the blueprint implementation. In fiscal management, we have looked at the cost drivers that the blueprint has brought on amazing, amazing things that we
all do know, we recognize we need. But reprioritizing, what do, what do, what can we continue to implement? What can we afford to implement? What's working in our schools and prioritizing that rather than trying to do everything because we cannot afford to do
everything. So I urge my colleagues to huddle around this issue and talk. Don't wait till session, but begin talking about that with the state. Thank you, Miss Sylvester. I'm just going to say we have, I think, at least from the time I've been on this board, we
every year we asked our delegation and our delegation ask. And I believe that we have a current county executive sitting on that board, Mr. Leggett, and he's tried. But I just have to say that we can
only control what we can control. And we have been advocating for that flexibility, and we will still be advocating for that flexibility just in a different place in terms of our budget. So I think it's time to revisit that conversation. Miss Montoya. Thank you. I just wanted to add something to Miss
Yang's request. She asked about blueprint requirements, specifically with dual enrollment. Similar question that I asked, are we meeting minimum or going above and beyond? To the extent that we are going above, I would also like in that request to know then which students will be impacted if we take it down to
the minimum requirements, if there's certain groups or demographics or things like that, if we could have that information and then and there may not be an answer to this right now, but our funding absolutely is tied to enrollment. And as we face
these various decisions, whether we're talking about open lunch or accelerated elementary math, or what services we provide or programs, are we thinking about how that impacts declines in enrollment and whether or not parents want to send their children to
M.c.p.s schools? And what are we going to do? What is our plan to basically market ourselves so that people want to send their kids to school here? Can I add to that? One of
the things we have to market to our kids, our families, our, our wonderful staff right here in front of us, you all are amazing. And so I do think that's one of the things we can market is our staff and why we need to try to keep as many as
possible. I think we should call this discussion okay. This was a very robust discussion. So I'm going to wrap it up and say. That we truly, myself and my colleagues, I want you to
know, we tried above and beyond to advocate and to tell those who fund us that these were going to have very serious consequences for our children. One of the things that I have asked Doctor Taylor and our
staff to do is to look at this cuts with an equity lens. Who are the kids that are going to be affected the most by these cuts? Because that is very important for us to do. And
honestly, that. We have to make tough decisions with this budget. There's no other way we were put in this position. We will do our job, our diligence, but not without saying that. We
told them how essential every one of you were to our M.C.P.S. family, and to the buildings that you all represent, and to the families you represent and the people that you work with. And still, M.C.P.S. is the only
agency that is so scrutinized in this county for every penny more than any other agency in our county. And I think we have to ask ourselves why, when
education is literally the brand of this county, public education is the brand of this county special education that things that we do is the brand of this county. Why is it that we are so overly scrutinized
over other departments? We were not there once. We were not there twice. We were there 4 or 5 times this year, fighting for every penny to bring back. Why is that? Why is it that we are
not the priority in this county? 150,000 kids. We are one of the largest employers. Most of you have children, and our system.
Why is it that every year we have to fight for every penny to save positions, to ensure that our children get the best education and that equity is at the forefront of everything? So I just want to say thank you so much for being here. Thank you
very much for being the voice for communities that cannot be here today. I appreciate you, we see you, we hear you. And with that, we're going to move
on. Thank you.
Picture. Thank you so much. We're going to go to our next item, which is item
10.1, which is Final Action Policy IGS Educational Technology. I will turn it over to our wonderful vice president, Miss Wolf, the chair of the Policy Management Committee.
Okay. Thank you, President Rivera-Oven. On October the 16th, 2025, the board tentatively adopted policy I G. S educational technology. The policy was distributed for
public comment. The comments and amendments to the draft policy that resulted were reviewed first by the Policy Management Committee on February 26th and then by the full board on May the 7th.
Draft amendments to this policy have been recommended by the Division of Technology Services to update the guiding principles for the effective, appropriate and strategic integration of emerging technologies in support of teaching, learning and
operational functions of Montgomery County Public Schools. Before we take a vote on this item, I will ask staff to confirm whether any changes have occurred since the May 7th presentation on this policy, and then read the resolves.
Good evening. Thank you, Miss Wolff. I will say that we heard board feedback at the work session, and so we have kept the previous title of policy, I guess. And that's the most
recent change to the policy. Okay. I'm going to hold one minute because I know that my fellow board member had a comment, and she just oh, there. She's back. Good, good, good. I was just holding for you for
your comment. So thank you. And as chair of the Policy Management Committee, I move that the board grant final approval to policy I g. S educational technology. Thank you miss. Excuse me. Thank you,
Vice President Wolff I with the motion of the chair of the committee's recommendation, no seconds required. Is there any discussion? I have a proposal to offer. Amendment. Okay. In
the section A two, starting at line 25. I have four words to add. I'll read what's exist and
I'll tell you when I will. My additions to reaffirm the commitment of the Montgomery County Board of Education to equitable access and opportunity for all students and staff to use technology to communicate, collaborate,
create and innovate safely and responsibly. And this is my addition comma while reducing potential harm comma and then continuing in support of teaching and learning and
operations. And should I explain why I wanted to add these four words? Okay, we received lots of public comment about potential harms. And
there's research that describes what can happen. Kids get devices, you know, we try to put firewalls, etc. and then as technology grows, there could be more coming up that we don't see. And so I just wanted to
highlight that we would look at that and the regulations that we will be put forward, that Doctor Taylor will do that after we put this policy out. Thank you. Thank you, Miss Stewart. You have to we have to have. Miss Stewart needs a
second motion. You need a second motion. I made a motion. Yes, second. Second. Second. Miss Yang is a second. Miss Stewart made a motion to add while reducing potential harm as an amendment. A friendly amendment to Mrs. Wolff. Second. Second by Miss Yang. All those
in favor, please raise. Are we going to have a discussion before we vote, or we should. Would you like to discuss. I sure would you go right ahead, Miss Montoya. So first, I only received this amendment about 1:00 today. And my concern is basically the concern I
generally have with a lot of the content of our policies. Is that what does that even mean? Right. The point of a policy is to put people on notice as to what they can or cannot do, or what they should or should not do, etc. And so when we have
terms and we don't define them, it makes it very unclear for the community and families and parents in terms of what is the level of accountability. It makes it unclear to the staff about what they can or cannot do. And quite frankly, even for myself as a board member, what
does that mean to reduce potential harm? Are we taking it contextually? Does it depend on what age the child is? What right. So there's just already so many questions. We can't just add words into a policy without saying these are legal items, right? We have to say
what we mean so that people understand because then we can't hold people accountable if it's not clear. And so this is, I think, one of the biggest challenges that I see in terms of our policies is that we're not giving actual notice to the staff that have to follow it. And then for myself, when I
have to hold the school system accountable, how do I do that? Or if we get an appeal and a staff member is accused of violating some, you know, somehow with reducing, they didn't reduce potential harm? Well, what does that even mean? So I respectfully and had I had this earlier, perhaps I could have had more conversations. We
could have worked through this. But since I did not, and I don't see that fleshed out in here, I will not be supporting the amendment today. Would anybody like to comment, Miss Yang? This policy has been in
development for a very long time, and if all go back originally the idea stem, I'll say, hey, we're in an AI world now. Let's take a look at as a school system, what are some
guiding principles we can put around AI? And that's how it started. And the staff did tremendous work reaching out to the community, go to PTA meetings, schools, students, libraries, blah, blah, blah,
blah, really robust. And then a little history. Then we decided maybe we don't need a whole AI policy, actually just incorporate this into our education technology and more
detailed things will be refined in our regulations. And so I understand that looking at this policy, maybe you have not delivered everything our community want to talk about
education, technology. There are many aspects for it, but we also can't use one time update, you know, to address all the concerns. I gave a little bit background to say why this hasn't touched upon many, many
other topics. I, I, I know that might be a disappointment that we haven't talked more about the responsible use of technology or what I think I
second miss Stewart's motion, because I think this is the right attempt to say, set us out in the future. We do need to address and make this policy more. Enable the school system to have regulations that will
look at right in detail, that the not so positive part of technology use and age appropriateness in our in our
classrooms. So. So that is that is the the background. Miss Montoya, you have an addition. I do I didn't know if Miss Wolff or Miss Stewart wanted to. Oh no, no, no, I was just going to go ahead. Thank you. I stand by my earlier comments and also
just want to add that unclear terms in our policies is how we invite litigation. And that costs a lot of money and that eats into our budget. So I just need to be very clear because I know you all are lawyers, and I know you hear what I'm saying, right? When we make policies
that are not clear and we don't define terms, it costs us money. Thank you. Can we call for the vote? Just one last comment, just to respond a bit. We also talked about innovate, innovate
safely and responsibly. That's not actually defined. And I did copy our staff lawyer to take a look. And I did not get any
negative feedback. So again a lot of this is squishy, but we tried to pin it down during regulation. And so anyway, I'm ready for the vote. Okay. So
there is a motion a second. All those in favor, please raise your hand. And that would be Miss Stewart, Miss Sylvester, Miss Yang, myself, Miss Wolff, and Miss Zimmerman, all those against Miss Montoya. And it
passes. Thank you very much, Miss. Miss Rivera-Oven or the original? The original one? Yeah. Okay. It's been a long day. Okay. Now we're going to vote on the original one with the Friendly Amendment. It's already been moved and seconded.
Hasn't it been moved and seconded? So when are we all going to vote? All those in favor, please raise your hand. That will be Miss Stewart. Miss Sylvester, Miss Young, myself, Miss Wolff, and Miss Zimmerman against Miss Montoya, and it
passes. Thank you very much to the staff. Moving on. 10.2 final action on policy BFA policy setting. I will now again turn it to my wonderful colleague, miss, the Vice President of the Policy
Committee, Miss Wolff. Thank you, President Rivera-Oven. On January the 8th, the board tentatively adopted draft policy BFA policy setting. The policy was distributed for public comment. The comments
and amendments to the draft policy that resulted were reviewed first by the Policy Management Committee on February 26th and then by the full board on May 7th. Policy BFA policy setting sets forth
the process used for developing and implementing policies adopted by the Board of Education. The proposed amendments to the policy aim to clarify the process used during policy development, particularly as it concerns
public comment and stakeholder input. Before we take a vote on this item, I will ask staff to confirm whether any changes have occurred since the May 7th presentation and then read the resolves. Thank you, Miss Wolff. I can confirm that there were
no additional changes to the policy, so I'll read the result. Resolved that the Board of Education adopts Board of Education policy BFA policy setting as updated in the response to public comments. Thank you. As chair of the
Policy Management Committee, I move that the board grant final approval to policy BFA policy setting. Thank you, Vice President Wolff. With the motion of the chair and the committee's recommendation, no second is required. Is there
any discussion? Seeing none. Sorry, I just have a quick question because there is discussion when these policies get brought from the committee to the full board, and without pointing to any specific one. But definitely with these two, right, there are comments,
there are suggestions in various things. But then we come back and we're like, no, nothing has changed. So it just seems to me that engaging in this process is not meaningful because. By the time it's come
out of the policy committee, it's not actually up for any meaningful engagement by the rest of the board members. Right. It's pretty much set, and we're not going to change anything. That's a pattern that I'm seeing here. And so I'm just getting a little concerned about whether or not I mean,
comments, especially by myself and my colleagues. But even, you know, when the policies come to the full board, sometimes we'll get emails from various community members and some points are great, some points maybe are not are out of context or whatnot, right? There's a mixed bag, but the pattern just still seems to be
the same. And so I just have to ask whether we're actually considering the things that are said at the board table or if we're, I mean, it just feels like the legal team is just going back and then bringing us exactly what we got. What would you like to. So just, just a point of clarification, I
believe that public comments are discussed in depth at the policy committee and considered at considered at that point. And so what the policy committee is bringing forward to you is their recommendation. Thank you for that clarification. Miss Wolff,
would you like to add anything else? That wasn't my question, but that's fine. It's we didn't this policy come before the full board more than once. And then it went back to the policy committee. So they did respond to the to the questions that we
had. And then we brought it back to the full board after we had had a consideration of what what we said reviewed. Thank you. So as chair of the Policy Management Committee, I think I already did that part, didn't I?
But you like it so much. Go ahead and do it again. Okay. I move that the board grant final approval to the policy BFA policy setting. Okay. Thank you so much, president Wolff we have comments. Anybody else would like to have anything to say? Okay. Following the
comment, there's no further discussion. All those in favor of this motion, please raise your hand. And that will be Mr. Ms. Silvestre. Miss Yang myself, Miss Wolff, Miss Zimmerman, all those against that would be
Miss Montoya. Thank you. And it passes. Appreciate your work. Moving right along. 11.1 fiscal year 2027 proposed meal prices. This is the next item on our agenda. Before we proceed with
action on this item, I will ask administration to please confirm whether there has been any revisions to recommendations since the work. We had our session on April 16th, and then if you could read the results in the resolution on the table for the board's consideration. Thank
you, Madam President. Yes. Today we're back again to bring back meal prices for the board's consideration. The last meal price increase occurred in fiscal year 15, so over ten years ago, and it was a five
cent increase. Since that time, food costs have resulted in a 53% increase to the Department of Food and Nutrition Services since that fiscal year. And so we are bringing this back for your consideration, especially
in light of the budget conversations today, the necessity to manage those labor and food costs a little bit better. It's important to note that a meal price increase will apply only to students who do not receive free meals. We will
continue to use a multi-layered approach, maximizing the use of federal and state programs, and to offer free meals to qualified students, and to look for opportunities to expand that wherever possible. It is also important that we clarify
that this is for one year, and I'll read the resolved, but we also have Miss Leech here as well to answer any questions. If the board should have them resolved, that the meal prices for fiscal year 2027 be $1.60
for breakfast and $2.85 for elementary school lunch, and $3.10 for secondary school lunch. To have a motion. Is there a motion we need to move?
Move approval? Is there a second? Second. There is a motion to move in a second. Is there any discussion? Yes. Miss Yang, I have a question. Doctor Taylor, I know the Enterprise Fund is in the hole, and that's
why. Because, you know, we can't cover the cost. Would this cover the cost? No, this would not fully cover our costs. And we would continue to have a structural deficit. We currently right now have the lowest meal prices in the
region. And I'll defer to Miss Leech to answer any additional questions or even to add some additional context to that to help me understand the number wise. How big is the hole with this? How big is the hole next year? Just help me understand.
Absolutely. So and I'll just share my name for the board and the public. My name is Elizabeth Leech. I'm the director of food and nutrition services here with M.C.P.S. So currently we are running a little over $5 million loss. And we've been able to sustain that loss because we have a fund balance back from the
pandemic that we are going to slowly exhaust, right. So FY 26 5 million. FY 25/525, FY 26 projected over 5 million, and that over 5 million would continue to increase annually.
So FY 27 would be a little over 5 million by FY 28, five and a half by FY 29, 6 million. And that would be an annual loss. So the 30 cent increase will bring in about $2 million in revenue next year. That would decrease our loss to about 3
million. That would enable our fund balance to get us a little bit further. The recommendation after this year would be to assess annually, as most all school districts do, what our meal price would need to be to help us get towards fiscal
stability. So this new price go into effect August, whatever date school opens. And then that means FY 27, it reduced by 2 million. So we were at a loss of 3 million for FY 27. Correct.
Gotcha. Bless you. So in short it does not fix our problem, just to be crystal clear. Correct. Okay, Miss Sylvester. Just wanted to thank you for your presentation at Fiscal Management Committee this week,
where we went into great detail about the Enterprise fund. And Mr. Lockman is going to send the slides to the whole committee, so you can get this kind of detail that you just asked us today. It was a very good presentation, I appreciate it, I was there, this is for
the general public, yes. Miss Stewart. I think when this was first presented, we talked about like a three year plan. This is the first year. I just want to say I would like to
look at this year by year to see where we are. I don't want people to think that we are that. If I vote for this, I wouldn't be voting for the three year plan, right? This is this year to stave off some of
the losses. And because really the country could be even be in a different place a year from now, we don't know. So I just wanted to point out that this is only for this year. Correct? Correct. Thank you, Miss
Zimmerman. Thank you. I also wanted to call to attention the fiscal management meeting and appreciate the work that you brought for us there, because I also wanted to elevate that. Part of what we talked about with that is that we're looking
now to reduce meal debt accrual. But that is our goal with this. And admittedly, it is a painful time for our community that we're raising meal prices. I think we all acknowledge that. But that on the board side, that there are some other things for us to look at as
well. And when it has to do with our meal payment procedures and how we can help with things like the we talked about when meal debt is unrecoverable or, and also the positive unclaimed meal balances and how we can utilize
those in the future as well. So again, thank you. Thank you, I appreciate it. So I concur with all my colleagues comments. I'm just going to be honestly, for me personally, as somebody who tackles food insecurity during
her full time job in this county, we are feeding more families than we did at the high peak of Covid, and I really want that to sink in for folks. So for me, this is a
very difficult because. People are truly, truly suffering with food insecurity in our county. And I just need people to understand that. But at the same token, food prices have gone up tremendously. And this
is, you know, the situation we're in. We have not raised prices in 15 years. That's a decade and a half. We were a different county, a different country 15 years ago. And I would really, you know, encourage us. I mean, I heard
somebody said, how can you be raising food prices? And somebody in that company just paid off the debt. And I just want people to understand this is not the same as that. So I just want us to be clear where
we're tackling, no matter what we're tackling here. So with that, is there any more comments from my colleagues? Okay. So there is a motion. Do we need a motion a second. Correct. Okay. So there is a motion in a second. We had
discussion. If there's no further discussion from my colleagues, those in favor, please raise your hand. WB Miss Stewart, Miss Silvestre, Miss Yang, myself, Miss Wolff, Miss Montoya and Miss Zimmerman. That is unanimous. Thank you so
much for your work. Okay. Moving on. That will bring us to 12.1 item on the agenda. This is tentative action policy. On open lunch policy. I will
turn this over to my wonderful Vice President of the board, Miss Wolff. Thank you, president Rivera-Oven. On May the 13th, the Policy Management Committee met to discuss policy.
JEF open Lunch policy. After a lengthy discussion focused on various considerations regarding open versus closed lunch, including student safety concerns, community input and operational impact. The Policy
Management Committee voted to recommend rescission of the policy. This is because, although the possible impact on student safety and the surrounding community cannot be ignored, the committee
ultimately felt that this is an operational issue that falls squarely under the purview of the superintendent. Whether or not a school offers the option for students to leave campus during lunch, impact staffing needs, student scheduling and
facility use all operational items over which the superintendent has ultimate authority. If the board rescinds policy JEF, it will remove board involvement in this process and grant full
discretion to the superintendent to manage the operational item. The Policy Management Committee believes this is the best course of action and recommends that the full board initiate the process of rescinding the policy by
taking tentative action on rescission at this meeting. If the board adopts the committee's recommendation, the policy will follow the standard process for policy adoption, namely tentative action,
followed by a period of public comment. The Policy Management Committee's review of comments received and then a final recommendation presented to an action taken by the full board. Given the level of interest in
this item, I suggest we use an extended comment period to reiterate the committee's recommendation to rescind the policy is not based on the merits and considerations of open versus closed lunch, but
rather on whether a policy should exist that governs this operational item. With that, I ask the staff to come forward and read the resolves. Good evening. I'm Robin Seabrook, chief legal officer for M.C.P.S. and I'll read the
resolves that resolved that the Board of Education take tentative action on Committee on the Committee. Recommended rescission of Board of Education policy. JEF open lunch policy and be it further resolved that the Committee
recommendation to rescind board policy. JEF open lunch policy be sent out for an extended public comment period. Thank you. As chair of the Policy
Management Committee, I move that the board approved tentative action on the recommendation to rescind policy. JEF open lunch policy. Thank you, Vice President Wolff. The motion of the chair on the committee's recommendation. No
second is required. And is there any discussion? I see Miss Yang slide on Miss Yang. Would you like to go? Yes. Thank you. Thank you, Madam Chair. So last Thursday, doing the policy committee meeting, I
asked a number of questions. It has only been several days. Okay. Because I wanted to fully understand if we put a policy out there, say we want to rescind it. I want to understand what drives this and what can we how can we
construct a constructive dialog? Right. I ask things like attendance data, serious incidents, comparison among schools or different time frames. And also, you know, the fiscal impact. We just talk
about the enterprise fund. It seems like every meal we we serve, we lose a little bit money. And then also the, the, the impact on staffing. So a whole host of questions. And
also I advocated to have an extent, you know, to do the full public engagement. So I, I really appreciate the chair saying that, you know, your openness and openness to say
this should go for a full comment period. And I we hear a lot from students and families, but I also know we haven't heard from a lot because last
night I asked some parents and students, like, what? What are you talking about? We don't know anything about it. However, at this point, I have two remaining concerns for putting
this out for for the board to put this out, resend it to put out for the public comment. So. If we have put something out before we have a really substantive conversation,
looking at the very questions I described just now, I feel it's premature. You know, if I would like to really see the data before I make this recommendation. And I also
believe this will help the public to be informed and to be so that they when they advocate for share their experience, they also have more of the background knowledge, not just
in their not just their personal experience, but also have an understanding of the system wide implication of this policy. And at a time when we always talk about how our discussion is so polarized, I think it is very important for
us to base our discussion on a certain set of common knowledge before we we proceed. That's my question number one. Can I just respond to that? Yes. I think it's it's our intent to answer
all of your questions, some of which were my questions too, particularly around attendance coming back after lunch. But you know that this is not our intent to implement anything in the upcoming school year. So we have this will come back to the
policy committee for full discussion, because we do want to get the information from from for all of the questions that came out of the policy meeting. And we've already spoken to Robin about that. But
I don't think that address my concern of having putting something out before having a substantive conversation. So, Miss Yang, you you are saying you would defer the start of the public opening of public comment until a full discussion
has been had by the board. I would join Miss Yang's comment. Yeah. I don't think we're ready to say we want to rescind this and put it out for public comment. I have no data to base that decision on. I would rather, as in the fall, have a
robust conversation since, you know, we are not going to implement it next school year. So what is the rush to do it when the seniors will be checking out tomorrow? So, so, so I would really want to put
that for my colleagues consideration this semester. Some points of clarification. So number one, this is not happening in the upcoming school year. No. So at this
point, given the schedule, I think Miss Wolff said in her opening remarks that you would have to follow the regular policy development process. And so by the time that is complete, even if you don't extend for
public comment, it would be too late for schools to respond to what you're trying to do. And so at this point, the decision is still with the schools and with the principals, and that's how it will remain for for the upcoming school year. Okay. Just wanted to make that crystal clear for our audiences.
So just playing out this scenario. So if we put out a policy to comment for comment to rescind it, we're going to get comments in favor of rescinding it and against rescinding it. And then it will
come back to policy committee and policy, will look at the comments and then make a recommendation to the board to rescind it or not rescind it. I think the fundamental question here is, is this an operational issue that the superintendent
has control of or not? And I think that the policy as written is not a good policy. It definitely needs revision. So I think for me, I need to decide is revising the policy,
the path forward that I want to take? And can I thank you for obliging me while I think out loud, but this is kind of where I stand. Also trying to decide how to vote tonight. Thank you. I'll have more questions when I get my thoughts. Can I respond
to that too? Carla. When we receive comments and get all the information that we intend to gather, we will take a look at whether or not rescission is still the way we want to go, or whether or not we think that we should put in a new policy that
I did not say in the in the comments. Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam president, I think it's also important to clarify that this policy does not say whether or not you will have
open lunch or not. It does not decide that issue. And I think that that speaks to the public's interest right now is whether or not. And so I think there's a big confusion. This policy doesn't say you will or you won't. You shall or you shall not. It it really is a
governance question for the board's consideration. So thank you for clarifying that. And thank you for that. Miss Stewart. I'm thinking the same way. Carla is thinking I would, and also thinking about some of
the public comment about giving away our power. When was the last time we rescinded a policy? I don't know, it seems to me like it was just in just in general review. It looks like
probably 2017, 2019, something like that. The and I think Miss Webb would know probably better than I would, but I think it was about that time. There was a time when the board was able to rescind policy without this
process. Right. And now your policy setting policy says you have to go through this entire process. So there was there was a time back in like 2017, 2019, where, where the board rescinded a bunch of policies. That's, that's really good to
know. Being that I've been here a year and a half, it's good to know what the history is on this. I feel comfortable if we were reviewing the policy that's. Which could end up in
rescission or in a modification. So I think that's where I'm at because I don't know if I'm ready to take the extra step of rescission. And I would like more information about when we did rescind policies just in
general. And anyway, that's my comment. Thank you, Miss Zimmerman. Thank you. I just want to clarify as well that mainly what we're focused on here is the governance and the operations aspect. And, you know, the merits of open lunch
perhaps aren't. The main focus of our discussion is that am I understanding our our goal correctly? Yes. That would be a yes, miss. Everyone interpret the policy differently. So the policy as it stands now, as Doctor Taylor alluded to,
doesn't say whether or not open lunch can be given. In fact, the default in the policy is students will remain on campus period for lunch unless the schools say the principal decides through this process that open lunch can be granted
from. I'm taking it from Miss Wolf's opening remarks that the Policy Management Committee is really focused on, not the merits of open lunch, whether it's good or bad, but whether or not the board should govern in this area. That's that is it
sounds like the direction of the policy management Committee here. And the question for public comment. Thank you. Before Miss Montoya, you go, Miss Webb, if you can enlighten us a little bit. I just wanted to go back to the rescission
question. There was a time. So there were waves of rescissions because we have a voluminous amount of policies we've had. So we've had policies that sometimes sit on the books for a long time, like the distribution of Bibles, policy
that sat on the books for a very long time. And so rescission is a way to kind of look at and clarify your, your policies so that every policy is meaningful. Otherwise you end up kind of almost having
what we call a dead law. So you have policies that are not enforced, not known, and they just sit on the books and sometimes they come back to bite you when they sit on the books and no one knows about them. Thank you for that, Miss Montoya. Thank you. I would
like to join again Miss Yang's comments. Also, Miss Silvestre comments about needing to decide whether this should be revision versus rescission. And I just. And miss Stewart's where she talks about wanting
more information. I'm just getting generally concerned about the decision making process that's coming before this governing body. I'm not seeing meaningful engagement in a lot of different areas. I'm concerned that we have a lot of information, that we don't have
to even decide whether we think it should. The rescission aspect should be put out, and that we're being forced to make this decision by voting on this. While all of that information is outstanding. I would like to make a request to Board of
Education staff for information regarding what other Maryland school districts do in this regard, whether they have a policy on this issue, whether who governs that. I haven't seen any information about that. I also would like to request
information on the. I'm going to say serious incidents, but there could be a lot of different incidents that fall within this. And I want to see the nexus between the schools that have open lunch or do not, because while I have my own concerns as a lawyer, I have some liability concerns. Just no matter what, right? Any time
a child is in our school system, we are responsible for them. Field trips. Your parents signed a permission slip. We're still responsible for you. So I do get concerned about just the kids being off campus, right? I'm a mom. Never occurred to me. I would drop my kid off, and maybe they just walk off campus, right? So I absolutely share
those concerns. But I like to make informed decisions. And I don't feel like I have all of the information to even vote on what's before the board right now. So I do just want to reiterate that meaningful engagement is what we need.
Thank you, Miss Zimmerman. Thank you. I just have additional process questions if I'm understanding this correctly. Should the board choose today to move forward with the rescission process that then we're sending this out for an extended public
comment period based on the recommendation. And after that public comment period, when those comments come back, the board from there could choose to no longer rescind the policy, but instead choose to revise the policy or to leave the policy as is based on those
comments. Is that correct? So the next step after public comment. So it will stay out. Your policy says 21 days minimum. It should stay out for public comment. Public. The Policy Management Committee is recommending that it stay open for longer than that. So likely
into the fall. After that, it will come back to the Policy Management Committee before it comes to the full board. Policy Management Committee will consider all of that feedback that we've gotten and all of the data that has been
requested from the district and have a discussion there. The Policy Management Committee could then decide, maybe we don't need revision. I mean, I'm sorry, rescission and maybe the recommendation of the Policy Ment Committee to
the full board changes. And I think that that's what Miss Wolff was, was indicating earlier that the Policy Management Committee could change its recommendation. Okay. And then just to follow up on that, if we choose to take no action today, that then we're
not opening a public comment period. That, of course, the public is welcome to comment on whatever they'd like, but not that formal process. If if you choose to take no action today. That's right. Thank you. That's right. Also, I wanted to say to Miss Montoya the questions you
asked were the same questions that Julie and I already asked, that the Policy Management Committee, along with Miss Zimmerman. I don't think Miss Sylvester. So if this does not
pass today. The policy committee could meet in the fall whenever they meet next and draft a draft policy as an alternative to rescind
rescission, to send that out to public comment, the Policy Management Committee could. And I believe that there's a meeting possibly scheduled for end of June that's added. Could could add this to their agenda for for that meeting and have a
discussion about other options. And it could be modification of the existing policy. Could be there are other options that you all could take in order to address this through the Policy Management Committee. But let
me say, it wouldn't be our our goal to take up the policy if it's voted down, that would send a signal to us that you're not really interested in any change right now. But but those are two completely different things. Rescinding it versus revising it are two completely
different fields. Have one person spoke at a time saying that that's what we would take from this, that at this time, you're not ready to move forward. And as your colleague, I would respectfully suggest that you shouldn't take that because they don't mean the same thing. Okay. I'm sorry, miss, you are order. I was
going to call you next. Is that what you were going to say? No. Okay. Miss Sylvester, are you done? Did you just wanted to clarify that if we don't rescind, another option is to draft a revised policy. And
Miss Wolff has been clear in saying. Why would they do that? If we're not interested in revisiting this policy from 1978? We are interested. Are we? If you are, that would be fine too. But, you know, I'm getting mixed messages. Exactly. No, I
mean, I said that I don't like the policy as written, so I do think it needs revision. And I'm saying that that could be an option on the table as well. Okay. Okay. Well we would put it on our work plan for the upcoming year. Stuart. I also
want to join Miss Silvestre comments. I actually do think we desperately need to change this policy. I it's just the way forward. I am not clear on
which way forward we should go. And so I think I would like both options be on the table a Rescissions or and a change because I don't know what that would look like. So I guess I feel a little unprepared today.
I'm sorry. Thank you. That's exactly it. We haven't have a we haven't have data to base our conversation on. I do think for how imperfect this policy
is. It's saying the board has a vision for lunch that is not one size fits all. It allows the local schools have autonomy
in deciding. Together with the principal, the families and the students. So in that regard, that is a that is the board's role, the board's spirit in the.
It's not managing the lunch, but it's the boss. What. Right. So I will be very honest. I'm not ready to rescind the policy today. I believe it's premature without substantive discussion
and to inform the community. Thank you, Miss Yang. We already said that, Miss Montoya. Thank you, Miss Seabrook. You mentioned that the minimum amount of days to be sent out is for. Sorry for public comment is 21 days. It's been
mentioned in this this session that this would be extended here. How long would it be extended? Because I guess here's the challenge that I'm really having here. I agree with Miss Stewart. Miss Yang. Miss Silvestre that this. At the very least, this does need to be revised. And that's very different than just rescinding
it altogether. Right. Rescinding? It takes the power from this board to be involved, whereas revising it does not. Right. I mean, that's two completely different things. And so I'm just wondering if logistically it's not going to be implemented next year, then
why is the rush to do it now? I just have to tell you, there are so many things going on, and I've heard from the community, and I'm beginning to feel a little this way myself, that these things are just being pushed through so that the community doesn't have time to pay attention to them. Right. It's graduations, it's filled
day. It's Spirit Week every other week right now. You know, there's budgets, there's all kinds of things here. And so I just am confused. I think Julie asked earlier, like, why the rush? Right. Why can't we open the public comment period in the fall when people are back? Right. A couple weeks after
everyone gets settled and now people can pay attention because again, it feels like we're not wanting to meaningfully engage. We're just wanting to engage. Thank you, Miss Montoya. So I'm going to go next. I'm sorry. Can I you
still have. No. But I asked some questions, and I just feel like I asked things and then I just get pushed along and no one gets time for a response. You asked about how long the extension would be, and so I thought we had answered that earlier that it was going to go through last fall. Right. So we
would yeah, we would definitely go through through the fall, but we would follow the board's directive as to how long you wanted it to stay up. I believe there's a policy management committee meeting scheduled for September. And so if you wanted this to come back to that meeting, we would try to close.
The suggestion would be to close it in time to have the comments and the discussion at the September Policy Management Committee meeting. Right. And so does that give people enough time from when school starts? And it takes look, I'm a current parent. It takes us a minute to get into the rhythm
of things, right? It's new spaces for the kids. And so I'm not really going to pay attention to this public comment because I'm trying to get the kids where they need to be and all those things. And if there's a policy committee, because I understand, right, you have to close it with enough time to get the information, digest it. Of
course. And so again, are we then leaving enough time for students and families to meaningful and any staff that may want to, you know, also to meaningfully engage before we have to understandably close the policy comment period within enough time to then have it presented at the committee.
Right. Because the challenge is that then the community does not have faith in these decisions that we make when we do things this way. Miss Montoya. I also miss Miss Silvestre. I'm really frustrated that I asked questions, and no time is allowed for anyone to answer me.
But my colleagues do get that. And I don't understand, miss. Did you did you not answer her question about the meaningful time that we're going to have open until the fall? I think I think I answered that one about extension of public comment. You did. You said that it would have to close within it. Right.
So how much time? Right. Because if there's a and I don't know the exact date of the policy committee meeting, because I don't have that in front of me. Right. Well, it wouldn't it wouldn't have to. I mean, it is up to the board, right? And so if you want to leave it open and not bring it to that first policy management
committee meeting, it could it could remain open until the next one, which I think is not until the top of the year. Possibly. Right. I don't know if you have another one in the fall, but I would need the January that was spelled out in the resolution in the resolution, sorry, the action item that's in front of us. Right. It's not detailed. So
we're we're voting today. We're voting with all of these unknowns and ambiguities. So right now in the resolution, it's for extended public comment time. So the the date by which public comment would close is not in this resolution.
If the board decided that you wanted to leave it open through the end of 2026, you could, because the next policy management meeting after September is January 2027, so you could leave it open through the end of the year. If if, if
that is the will of the board. And let me ask Doctor Taylor, would that give enough time for for careful consideration? Absolutely. Miss Sylvester. So I'm trying to understand the
decision at hand. So if it seems to me that if we believe that the question at hand is does the board need a policy on open lunch, then it's okay to send it out for to rescind and see what. We have our own
opinions, but we also want to hear from the public whether the board has a role in setting a policy for open lunch. That's issue number one. If the board already thinks that we do have a role and should have a policy on open lunch, then we should
go through the route that I described previously, where we have a committee meeting, where a draft policy is is drafted, and it could say, no, it's not allowed. That's right. Or it is allowed under these circumstances. And remember,
when we send when we post things for public comment, we ask the question, right. So we we are asking questions of the public about the policy. Right. We're eliciting their feedback. And so the question here would
be or could be whether or not people think the public thinks that the Board of Education should rescind this policy. Right. And whether or not the the public may think rescission means an end to open lunch, the
public may think that it means an end to the governance of open lunch, but the question will be put to the public, and careful wording of that question may be the key here. If you want to signal to the public exactly what the board's intention is with rescission,
and I will say, Miss Montoya asked earlier for board staff to do some research on other districts that have policies. I did poll my. I researched that myself and polled my colleagues from other districts. Prince George's County seems to be the
only one only board with a. An affirmative policy on open lunch and their policy prohibits it. Other districts really are silent and leave it up to the superintendent and the schools for the most part.
Thank you very much. So I just want us to be very, very clear because obviously, the community is already very engaged because I believe half of the testimony today in public comment was about open
lunch. Right? So here's here's what I'm thinking. When we had the cell phone policy, we had a lot of questions ahead of time. We didn't have a lot of those answers and so on. And we my whole issue is to engage the
community. We are always scrutinized for doing things without going to the community and asking what they think. Right. So today, when we're wanted, we want to we want to
do that. The question is not should we close, open lunch, open, you know, keep it open. The question is, should you know, we rescinded. Keep it. And let me just tell you, 1978,
the gallon of gas was $0.62. And the number one song was Stayin Alive. How you know that really kind of resonates with me right now. Okay, so this is a very, very, very aging. I was
eight years old. This is a very old policy. And I don't know who else at this table or in this room had open lunch in Montgomery County Public Schools, but I did. I did. You did. And the way Doctor Massey,
my principal, handled it, was very differently. You had to earn it. It was a privilege. You had to earn it in different ways. So we're talking that this policy has been on the books for a long, long, long, long time. We were a very different county and a very different place and so on. But
the question today is whether or not, you know, we feel like Miss Sylvester said, are we, you know, are we going to keep this as a policy or not? And you know what we would like to hear from the public. I think one of the folks who testified
today, today she's here. We would like to hear from the folks to say, yes, president Boyd Rivera-Oven, we agree with that. You should you should keep, you know, and revise this policy, but you should do it, you know, and so on and so on. I think that conversation needs
to be had, and that input needs to be have from the community. And I think that is the right you know, we're not making a decision. What we want to hear is should we keep that, you know, that oversight or not, am
I wrong? That was the sole question. That is the whole question, folks. Should we keep it or not? And we want to hear from you and from obviously, Miss Wolff, there was a lot of people who heard it and wanted
to engage with us. Isn't that great? Our students were here saying, this is how we feel. We want to hear from the parents. We want to hear from communities that we usually don't hear of. And that's what I wanted to make sure we had a long time between now and guess what, folks? As the board, we
can set the time. We can say January, can we not? Doctor Taylor we can say February if we didn't see enough engagement and I bet we will. But I think that is a question because we always get scrutinized for not having enough time to make
discussions with the public and our sister jurisdictions already had that discussion. I bet you that's Prince George's County. Their their policy is not for 1978. So anyway, so that's what we were trying to
do. So I hope that it's clear. Okay. Miss Wolff, where are we? Here. I think I didn't I already make that I don't know if you did what we had. It's been a while since we. So there is a motion on the table that
does not need a second, because it's come at the committee's recommendation by the chair. So we would just need a vote. Okay. All right. There is a motion. All those in favor, please raise your hand. That be Miss
Sylvester, myself, Miss Wolff and Miss Zimmerman. That would mean that it does not pass. We need to record the other votes against. That would be Miss Stewart. This is the. This is
the other one I was getting ready to say. I thought he said, do it again because I thought he didn't record it. No, no. Sorry. Votes against I'm sorry. Against. Okay. Miss Stewart, Miss Yang and Miss Montoya,
abstentions. Okay. Just in case. So we have 4 to 3. Correct. Five. Five votes are needed. Five votes are needed. Yes. Okay. So it fails. Okay. I would like to make a motion to refer it to the policy committee for potential revision. I would like to
finish my sentence. So the motion fails. And I already did the votes and I wanted to make sure it's recorded properly with our staff. Yes. Correct. Thank you, Miss Montoya. I would like to make a motion to
refer the open policy to the Policy Committee for consideration of revision of the policy. I second that there is a motion to send this back to the Policy Committee and the
second by Miss Stewart. All discussion. Is there. Discussion? Yes, miss Wolff, I would oppose that motion because I think the question still remains, is this an operational issue or a
governance issue? Correct. And that's the issue that I wanted to get input from the public on. Correct. But that motion didn't pass. Right. So there wasn't enough votes to send it to the public for the public to give input on whether they think this should be a board issue
versus superintendent only or, you know, M.C.P.S. issue. And so now I'm proposing that since it's staying in the purview of the board at this time, that I do believe the policy deserves a look for revision, given the various issues that everyone has raised. Okay. But I simply
said that I would oppose that motion because of that. Any more discussion? Okay. There's a motion and a second. Can you restate again the motion is to
refer the open lunch policy for review to the policy committee for potential revision. So to open the discussion for that. Okay. And it was second by Miss Stewart, I believe. All those in favor, raise your hand. That would be Miss Stewart, Miss
Sylvester and Miss Yang and Miss Montoya. All those against Miss Zimmerman, Miss Wolff, and myself. So that motion fails and that motion fails. As the
tiebreaker. That's right. Okay. Thank you. Thank you very much for your work. So we are now moving to information items. I
would highly suggest that information items, folks, look at the James Hubert Blake High School after action report. I think that would be very important. And there's a couple
other issues on there with that. I believe we are done. I would like to make just a quick comment on the Blake After action report. I didn't realize that that would not be presented at the table to the board unless it was requested.
So I just want to apologize to the community because I did not know that. I move to adjourn. Is there a second? Second is a motion to adjourn in a second. All those in favor, please raise your hands. And that is
unanimous. Thank you so very much, and I hope you have safe travels and blessings.