Montgomery County Board of Education Adopts FY 2010 Operating Budget Amendments, Approves Summer School Fees and Adopts Committee Work Plans

The Montgomery County Board of Education met on Monday, Feb. 23, and, among other actions, approved amendments to the FY 2010 Operating Budget. The Board also approved fees for summer school and recommended four possible names for a new elementary school that will open in Clarksburg next school year. In addition, the Board recognized Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) educators who earned certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards and noted the commemoration of March as Women’s History Month.

FY 2010 Operating Budget Amendments
As a result of the new federal stimulus funding that MCPS is slated to receive through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the Board of Education approved amendments to the FY 2010 Operating Budget Request that will restore $21.4 million in total funding. For FY 2010, this funding includes an additional $6.1 million for Title I services for low-income students and $15.3 for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act grant for special education, according to specific estimates issued by the U.S. Congress. The same amount is expected for FY 2011 as well. As a result of this additional federal funding, the amended FY 2010 budget request that the Board will now send to the County totals approximately $2.15 billion. More information about the planned use of the new federal funding is available on the MCPS web site.

FY 2010 Fees for Summer School
The Board approved fees for the Summer School Revenue-based Program, which includes intervention, enrichment and acceleration of academic instruction through six elementary regional centers, four high school regional centers and local school programs. Full fees for FY 2010 will be maintained at the current FY 2009 rate ($335 for elementary courses, $300 for high school core courses and $310 for high school noncore courses, including student online learning). Reduced fees also will be maintained at the current FY 2009 rate ($85 or $120, depending on family income). Guidelines for reduced fees and waivers are $0-$28,387 for the reduced fee of $85; $28,388-$40,397 for the reduced fee of $120; and below $40,397 for tuition waivers for Minimal Fee-based Programs..

Adoption of Committee Work Plans
The Board adopted work plans for its committees—Communications and Public Engagement, Fiscal Management, Policy, Special Populations, and Strategic Planning—for the 2009 academic year and agreed to review the committee work plans annually. This action resulted from a previous retreat in which the Board of Education agreed to undertake an annual review of the work of its committees and to develop, as a Committee of the Whole, the work plans and assignments for the existing committees. These work plans are aligned with the Board’s work, academic priorities, and the goals of the MCPS strategic plan, Our Call to Action: Pursuit of Excellence.

Naming of Clarksburg Elementary School #8
The Board of Education submitted the following names to the new principal of Clarksburg Elementary School #8, which is scheduled to open for the 2009-10 school year, for consideration by the school naming committee:

Lavinia Margaret Engle (1892–1979) – a founder of the League of Women Voters of Montgomery County, and the first woman from Montgomery County to be elected to the Maryland House of Delegates and to the former Montgomery County Board of Commissioners.

Blair G. Ewing – served on the Montgomery County Board of Education for 22 years (1976–1998) and was twice its president. From 1998 to 2002, he served on the County Council. He is currently the vice president of the Maryland State Board of Education.

William B. Gibbs, Jr. – a teacher and acting principal of the former Rockville Colored Elementary School when, in 1936, the NAACP was searching for a teacher willing to challenge Maryland's unequal salary schedule in court. The suit, filed by Thurgood Marshall and other NAACP attorneys, was settled out of court.

Sandra Day O’Connor – the first woman appointed to the United States Supreme Court. Nominated by President Ronald Reagan, she took her seat on September 26, 1981. She retired from the Supreme Court on January 21, 2006.

The school’s naming committee will recommend its preference from among the list of names provided by the Board and up to two additional names recommended by the committee. The final responsibility for officially naming a school building rests with the Board of Education.

Recognition of National Board Certified Teachers
The Board of Education recognized educators who earned certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards in November 2008. MCPS continues to lead the state in the number of educators awarded this prestigious recognition of proficiency, with 100 new National Board Certified educators bringing the total number of MCPS teachers who have earned the certification to 478.

Women’s History Month
The Board declared March as Women’s History Month in recognition of female students, staff, parents, business community members and community leaders who, by their hard work, vision and achievements, are creating a better tomorrow.

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Montgomery County Board of Education: Ms. Shirley Brandman, president; Mrs. Patricia O’Neill, vice president. Members: Mr. Christopher Barclay, Ms. Laura Berthiaume, Dr. Judy Docca, Mr. Phil Kauffman, Ms. Nancy Navarro, and Ms. Quratul-Ann Malik, student member. Dr. Jerry D. Weast, superintendent and secretary-treasurer. Office of the Board: 301-279-3617. 
The Montgomery County Board of Education is the official educational policymaking body in the county. The Board is responsible for the direction and operation of the public school system. The Board consists of seven county residents elected by voters for a four-year term and a student elected by secondary school students for a one-year term. Board members are elected county-wide but run at-large or from the Board district in which they reside.