MCPS Board President Invites Mr. Leventhal and Councilmembers to Budget Work Sessions

Dear Council President Leventhal:

On December 9, 2014, Dr. Joshua Starr, Superintendent of Schools, presented his recommended FY 2015-16 Operating Budget to the Montgomery County Board of Education.  As I shared in a blog post to the community, over the next few months, the Board will thoroughly review the superintendent’s budget proposal and will gather public feedback from the community.

Specifically, two public hearings will be held, one on Thursday, January 8, 2015, and another on Thursday, January 15, 2015. Both hearings will begin at 7:00 p.m. and will be held in the auditorium of the Carver Educational Services Center, 850 Hungerford Drive in Rockville. These hearings give us a chance to get feedback and ideas from those who are most impacted by the superintendent’s budget proposal—our students, staff, and community members. Subsequently, we will hold two work sessions, one on Tuesday, January 20, 2015, and another on Thursday, January 22, 2015.

I am extending a personal invitation to you and all councilmembers to attend these meetings, in particular our work sessions. While I know that you will have your own hearings on our requested budget, I believe that experiencing for yourself our work sessions will give you a more in depth understanding of the recommended budget, insight into how the Board of Education reviews the recommended budget, and an explicit understanding of the sorts of questions that we ask in advance of adopting the budget. If you are not able to attend these sessions, I encourage you to send appropriate staff to observe our process.

Do let us know ahead of time if you are coming by contacting Mr. Ikhide Roland Ikheloa, the Board’s chief of staff, at 301-279-3617. I look forward to seeing you at these work sessions and working collaboratively with you on all matters affecting our children.

Sincerely,

Patricia B. O’Neill
President