ALERT: Speak Out About Planned Class Size Increases (URGENT response requested)

[jos...@podiumarts.com]

Good Morning KP Community:

Over the weekend and this morning your KP PTA has received multiple notices of (2) urgent communications efforts to push back against a planned increase in class size, in response to the recently announced MCPS FY 2025 operating budget. As is often the case, these decisions are made quickly, with little public notice and trickle down from A) County Council budget decisions to B) the MD BOE & MCPS leadership deciding how to adjust operations to meet those.

We are sharing this information to both inform our KP Community as well as provide you with opportunities to take swift action, if you want to. 

The first paragraph below was sent by our 4th Grade teacher Ruben Serafini, who is also a senior rep with the local teacher’s union MCEA (Montgomery County Education Association, an NEA affiliate), which provides one option to express your opinion on this planned resource cut:

Teachers were notified this weekend that Principals received a communication from Dr. Peter Moran, Chief of Schools, indicating that MCPS intends to move forward with reducing allocations in schools to increase class sizes. See Dr. Moran’s full message here. If you feel it’s appropriate to share: MCEA has come up with a quick and easy way to ask friends and family to sign this demand to stop cuts to our classrooms. You can find a direct link to contact county leadership here. When you click the link, it asks for email and other info, but once you click “Start Writing” a form letter pops up and you just submit it. Numbers and voices behind this, is one of the few powers we have as a union and community. 

The email below is from one of our MCCPTA Cluster Coordinators, providing a second option to take action. This is not an official request by the MCCPTA Board, but is supported by several senior members of the MCCPTA, who are alarmed by this decision and want parents to have the option to speak out by signing on to the letter linked below.

PLEASE NOTE that your engagement is requested immediately, prior to the submission of the letter tomorrow (Tuesday).

Here is the link to sign again, for quick access:

From: Jonathan Thessin, RM Cluster Coordinator
Sent: Friday, May 31, 2024 5:07 PM
To: dele...@mccpta.groups.io <dele...@mccpta.groups.io>; presi...@mccpta.groups.io<presi...@mccpta.groups.io>
Subject: Please Sign Letter to Oppose Class Size Increase in MCPS FY 2025 Operating Budget

 

Dear MCCPTA Delegates and PTA Presidents,

As you know, the Board of Education and Interim Superintendent Monique Felder have statedthat they are considering an increase in class size, among other budget adjustments under consideration, in order to meet the FY 2025 operating budget parameters set by the County Council.  We need to decrease—not increase—class sizes, which are already too large, particularly at the elementary level.  

If you agree, please sign this letter to make clear that the Board should not increase class size as a way to address the budget shortfall:

https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/urge-montgomery-county-board-of-education-not-to-increase-class-size?source=direct_link

I plan to send the letter to the Board of Education on Tuesday, June 4.  If you are inclined to sign, please do so before Tuesday.

Please feel free to share this letter with your school community.

Best,
Jonathan

Jonathan Thessin

Richard Montgomery Cluster Co-Coordinator

rm...@mccpta.org

(617) 335-3797

Thank you for your attention.

Joseph Finneran

Kensington Parkwood ES

MCCPTA Delegate