Minutes - April 19th, 2023
Certified Staff Advisory Meeting Minutes
Legislative Update
Dr. Ellis welcomed everyone to the meeting. The school calendar will be a big topic in the legislature and the Montgomery County Board of Education passed the innovative school calendar for the upcoming school year. The House of Representatives put forth a bill that passed giving school systems the ability to start earlier than state law. It went into the Senate Rules Committee. Dr. Ellis went to meet with our Senator, Dave Craven. Dr. Ellis does not see anything happening with the calendar, and we were praised for following the law.
The House of Representatives has introduced a bill, House Bill 219, the Charter School Omnibus Bill. House Bill 219 states that we would have to open a percentage of our district fund balance for Charter Schools to use as well as open up additional funding each year to Charter Schools. We vehemently oppose this bill. The Montgomery County Board of Education passed a resolution protesting House Bill 219.
The House of Representatives is also lobbying to take off the income limitations in the voucher program to attend private schools. Overall, there are many bills out there that are harmful to public schools.
Budget Update
The House and Governor passed their version of the budget. Senator Craven supports more funding for salaries and an increase to the rural supplement. You will receive an increase in your portion of this rural supplement this year as it is significantly more than what you received from the state last year. You are still getting a retention bonus in May of $1,500 as well. The rural supplement goes to 100 districts in the state. Senators are pushing for 100 million more for the rural supplement. The goal is $7,000-8,000 dollars per supplement for teachers.
Montgomery County Schools has requested an increase from the county commissioners. We have a plan to raise the salaries for tenured classified employees and have requested $300,000 from the commissioners to do this. The district requested $300,000 for inflation to cover increased prices and $500,000 to continue our employee retention bonus.
Questions?
Is it possible to get a math program that students could benefit from?
DPI pushes resources for teachers. We are trying to find something to work with and will continue to look. We want work toward everyone using the same math vocabulary, resources, and methods in the district.
Is certified staff getting another retention bonus since we had to initial the intent form or are we only getting the one bonus from the ESSER bonus? Several certified staff members are confused as to whether we are getting one or two bonuses since we are signing and initialing two different documents.
It is all the same bonus. The last retention bonus installment will be released in May. It will be a $1,500. This is a promise to work all next year. If you know you will not work, do not take the money.
How is EVVAS going to work with Future Forward and other tutors pulling out of instructional reading time based on time out of class for tutoring during the school day?
Please send questions to Wade Auman and Terri Absher about questions related to EVVAS and Future Forward.
How does maternity leave work for teachers??
Please send questions to finance about leave.
When will we receive an answer on the Montgomery Fund grant?
You should receive an answer within the coming months.