1. It is doubtful Carl Roberts can remain impartial as a County Commissioner on School Board issues. (Cecil Whig 3/2/09, 9/2/10)
2. Criticized for Hiring of Public Information Officer for $20,000 over the market rate for that position with no experience. An example of Carl Roberts throwing taxpayer money at problems without solving them. (Cecil Whig 3/17/05, 12/20/06, 12/27/06)
3. ”Funding for the Cecil County Public Schools has more than doubled in the last decade while the number of students has increased less than 9.9 percent.” (Cecil Whig 4/8/05 3/3/06, 2/20/07, 2/28/07)
4. Significantly increased Administrative positions. (Cecil Whig 3/3/06, 2/21/07, 2/28/08, 2/24/10)
5. Failed to listen to parents and teachers concerns regarding inclusion. (Cecil Whig 5/6/05, 5/9/06, 7/12/10)
6. Failed to listen to teachers, students and parents’ concerns regarding the failed math curriculum. (Cecil Whig 5/30/07, 9/10/07, 10/19/07, 3/8/08)
Cecil Whig Articles & Letters to the Editors:
Former Superintendent Graduates to Annapolis
Posted: Monday, March 2, 2009 1:00 am | Updated: 12:10 pm, Wed Nov 25, 2009. By Cheryl Mattix
Carl Roberts may have retired from his job as superintendent of the county’s public schools, but he certainly has not stopped working.
These days, he is in Annapolis a lot.
As executive director of the Public School Superintendents Association of Maryland, Roberts is the chief watchdog for superintendents across the state when it comes to legislative initiatives that affect public schools, their staffs and students.
Roberts, 62, uses the same face-to-face communication style he honed with Cecil County Commissioners to deliver public school needs to state lawmakers.
"Everything you do in the 90-day session is dependent on what you do outside of the 90-day session," said Roberts, who talks with lawmakers every day.
"It’s all about relationships," he said.
Roberts has spent a good part of his nearly 40-year career in education nurturing relationships with people who play key roles in shaping education, from curriculum changes to funding.
That style paid off during his 12 years as superintendent here, where he started a tradition of monthly lunch meetings with the county commissioners that continues today.
During his tenure as leader of 16,500 students, 2,200 employees at 29 schools, the share of county funding improved so much that at least twice, the school system received its full annual budget request.
Now, as he applies his same "hands-on" approach at the state level, it appears to be working.
"He’s done a very good job of bringing all the state superintendents together as a team this year," said state Sen. Ulysses Currie (D-Prince George’s).
Currie chairs the Senate’s Budget & Taxation Committee, which reviews most education budget items.
Roberts put together a day-long meeting in Annapolis last October for all 24 public school superintendents in Maryland to meet with Gov. Martin O’Malley, Senate President Thomas V. "Mike" Miller, House Speaker Michael Busch and the chairmen of several key committees.
Currie said he thinks that was a first.
Roberts has arranged three more meetings since then for the executive committee of the superintendents association to meet in an open dialogue with O’Malley.
"We thought it was very effective," said Karen Salmon, superintendent of Talbot County Public Schools.
Salmon applauds Roberts for his advocacy in Annapolis this year.
"He’s pretty dynamic," she said.
Roberts sees his role as more of a facilitator.
"Some lawmakers believe all the ills of society can be fixed through the public school system," Roberts said. That type of bill usually results in "taking away money from the classroom," Roberts says.
He tracks bills, looking for those that don’t help students or are likely to be "too cumbersome" to administer in relationship to any benefit that might be gained.
He has many of the so-called targeted bills committed to memory, rattling off their bill numbers like an auctioneer.
He’s also learned to keep his eye on task forces set up during the 90-day session with a mission to meet during the interim and flush out specific issues.
For example, last summer a task force met to discuss physical fitness in public schools. It resulted in legislation this year that requires any new building occupied by 2012 must have a gymnasium.
Roberts and his fellow superintendents agree that his role as legislative chairman for the superintendents for the last six years gave him a head start in his new job.
"He already had high visibility in Annapolis," Salmon said.
Delegate Norman H. Conway (D-Somerset, Wicomico, Worcester), who chairs the powerful Appropriations Committee, has known Roberts for years.
"I’ve known him as an educator and I’ve had lots of opportunities to interact with him," Conway said, noting he’s made several visits to Cecil County Public Schools at Roberts’ invitation.
"He’s very visible in Annapolis and he’s been available to delegations," said Conway, adding that Roberts seems to have his thumb on the pulse of what’s going on in the capital.
Roberts has learned to deal with people he knows don’t agree with him by simply treating them with respect and providing them with facts.
"I’ve found they have no problem in telling me straight up what’s going on," said Roberts, who hopes lawmakers begin to see him as a resource on education issues.
Currie describes Roberts as a "good listener and an easy man to work with."
Roberts says it’s too soon to evaluate his first year on the new job, but the Perryville area resident admits he misses the daily connection and interaction he had with the county schools. "I want time to reflect after this year ends," he said.
The Cecil County Classroom Teachers Association and Cecil Education Support Personnel Association announced their endorsements of 12 candidates on Wednesday, just two days before the start of early voting in the state's primary election.
The associations have recommended incumbent Donna Zane in the Board of Education District 5 primary race, Robert Lynn in the District 4 primary race, and Wendy Wintersgill in the District 3 general election.
They're also backing Democrat Earl Piner in the District 2 county commissioner primary, Republican Harry Hepbron in the District 3 primary, and Democrat Carl Roberts in the District 4 primary. Roberts is a former superintendent of the Cecil County Public Schools.
In the House of Delegates races, the associations endorsed Democrats Mary-Dulany James and Dan Riley in the District 34A primary race, Democrat David Rudolph in the District 34B race, and Democrats Arthur Hock and William Manlove in the District 36 race.
In the District 36 state senate primary race, they endorsed Republican Donald Alcorn.
All recommended candidates had to submit a completed questionnaire to the associations and follow up with a sit-down interview to be considered, CCCTA President Lori Hrinko said.
Candidates answered 12 questions on the state of public education, including topics such as school budgets, national and state legislation like Race to the Top, and the Education Reform Act of 2010, fair labor standards and the role of special education in schools, Hrinko said.
"Everything we do is controlled by elected members of our government from the President of the United States to our county commissioners to our local board of education," she said. "As educators, it is important that we get involved in this process."
After submitting questionnaires, candidates met with a 12-member legislative committee made up of representatives from both associations to discuss their questionnaire answers in depth.
"I think the interview session not only allows the committee to get a better understanding of what a candidate's values are, but also allows the candidate to ask questions of us," said Hrinko, who is also a science teacher at North East Middle School. "We look for candidates who are critical thinkers, those who can ask questions and get answers. I think we were all very impressed by some candidates who don't have an education background, but were well versed in our current issues."
While the CCCTA has traditionally always endorsed political candidates, this marks the first year that the CESPA has joined in the process.| Posted: Thursday, September 2, 2010 1:30 am | Updated: 2:21 am, Wed Sep 15, 2010. By Jacob Owens
Schools’ Chief Responds to Budget Critics
Posted: Thursday, March 17, 2005 1:00 am | Updated: 11:40 am, Wed Nov 25, 2009. By Carl Hamilton
Cecil County Schools Superintendent Carl Roberts is aware of this common criticism: The system spends too much money on headquarters administrators and not enough on teachers, classroom materials and support staff.
And he takes exception to it.
"The priority is — and has always been — the classroom,” Roberts commented.
More than 80 percent of the $146.5 million budget that public school officials here are proposing for academic year 2005-2006 will be spent on educating students, Robert said.
And the percentage of money earmarked for teaching in this budget request is similar to the proportions in past budgets, he added.
"Our main function is to educate students, and you'll see that 81.4 percent of this budget is associated with learning which, historically, is common,” he said.
The Cecil County Board of Education on Monday unanimously approved the proposed $146.5 million budget, which is 9 percent higher than the current $134 million budget.
As the next step in the budget process, sometime in May, the Cecil County Board of Commissioners will vote on how much funding the county will provide the school system.
Roberts noted that only $4.3 million of the proposed Fiscal Year 2006 (July 1 to June 30, 2006) budget would be spent on administration that is unrelated to day-to-day school activities, including teaching and supplies.
That translates to 3 percent of the proposed $146.5 million budget.
(Also unrelated to the classroom, $15 million (10 percent) would be earmarked for maintenance and operations, and $7.8 million would be spent on transportation.)
More than $118 million — or 81.4 percent of the entire proposed budget — would be spent on educating students, supervising teachers on curriculum and overseeing teachers and pupils on a day-to-day basis.
The lion's share — $101.6 million — would be spent on "direct instruction,” according to line items on the budget request. That's 69.4 percent of the proposed budget.
"Direct instruction includes teachers' salaries, textbooks, supplies, materials, technology,” Roberts said. "It's anything directly related to the classroom and instruction."
Of that $101.6 million, $56.4 million would be spent on teachers salaries. Currently, $52.6 million is spent on teachers, who had negotiated a pay increase for academic year 2005-2006.
The proposed budget also calls for $3.1 million for "instruction support," which includes salaries for guidance counselors, media specialists and school nurses and the cost of their materials.
"They're very involved in the day-to-day lives of the students,” Roberts said. "They support the learning process in school, but they're not directly involved in the classroom."
About $5 million would be spent on the Division of Education Services, which includes the salaries of content coordinators in the administration building.
Each assigned to a subject, such as reading and math, content coordinators develop and implement the curriculums used by teachers.
"They offer day-to-day support of instruction,” Roberts said.
The school system also would spend $9.4 million on the Office of Principal, which covers salaries for principals and vice principals and their office supplies and equipment.
Hiring Decision Raises Questions
Posted: Wednesday, December 20, 2006 1:00 am | Updated: 11:43 am, Wed Nov 25, 2009. To: The editor
From: Curtis M. Weaver Jr.
Perryville
When Kelly Keeton was hired as spokesperson for the Cecil County Public Schools, I was proud that a fellow Perryville High School graduate was off to such a start in her profession. However, I found it astounding someone with such a thin resume commanded a salary of $53,000 from a school system that perennially bemoans its funding levels.
Since Ms. Keeton’s salary is higher than the normal starting range for public relations, the board of education needs to satisfy taxpayers that funds are being spent prudently and there was integrity in the hiring process.
Were guidelines for advertising and filling this position followed? Were candidates with more extensive experience interviewed? What was the budgeted salary for this position? How does Ms. Keeton’s salary compare to those of her predecessor and spokespersons for other school systems?
To paraphrase Stephanie Palko’s column, $53,000 is a lot of money to throw at a recent college graduate with no experience.
If someone fresh out of college was the most qualified applicant, why was the position not re-advertised? Truly qualified applicants should have been a dime a dozen. Was the job itself the problem? Is the position of CCPS spokesperson even necessary?
The transition to an elected school board should mean greater accountability to the public, not less; the board may need to re-examine the hiring process itself. I am concerned that Ms. Keeton lacks credibility with the public and media, and I fear she may be viewed as a mouthpiece merely for the school system bureaucracy.
Salary Too High
Posted: Wednesday, December 27, 2006 1:00 am | Updated: 11:44 am, Wed Nov 25, 2009. To: The editor
From: Neal S. McCleary
Fair Hill
The voters of Cecil County are still in the dark about how the newly elected school board stood on the hiring of a public relations person by Carl Roberts at more than $50,000. We, the voters, have only their e-mail addresses to contact them. Some voters still use the postal service and phones for their contacts to the board.
My feeling is that no beginning school board personnel should get a salary near what it takes a school teacher almost 30 years to achieve.
If these salaries are commonplace, then Cecil Community College should offer courses that help the beginner get a greater salary than what their instructor or public school teachers salaries are.
Carl Roberts should consider teachers first for these board positions. They would be more qualified and would enjoy the raise.
Schools Seek More Money After Banner Year
Posted: Friday, April 8, 2005 1:00 am | Updated: 11:40 am, Wed Nov 25, 2009. By Scott Goss
Full funding.
It's a phrase that signifies the holy grail for local government agencies and it's something the Cecil County Public Schools attained in their current budget - a first in memory.
Last May, the Board of Cecil County Commissioners approved the school system's entire $58.7 million budget request - a full $2.6 million, or 8.1 percent increase over the previous year.
The local increase also came with an $8.1 million bump from the state thanks to the 2002 Bridge to Excellence in Public Schools Act, commonly referred to as the Thornton Plan.
This time around Cecil Public Schools Superintendent Carl Roberts is seeking to repeat the funding success that helped him earn the state's Superintendent of the Year Award for 2004.
"We work hard to make sure that our requests are what we believe is necessary and not just a wish list," Roberts said after presenting his 2006 spending plan to the county commissioners Tuesday.
"Hopefully, we'll get full funding again this year but I believe the county commissioners will make a good-faith effort to fund everything they can given all the requests before them," he said.
Roberts, and by proxy the Cecil County Board of Education, are seeking another $3.6 million in new county funding for Fiscal Year 2006. That money would come on top of the $8.4 million increase that the schools are requesting from the state.
Under the spending proposal, the county would share the total funding responsibility with the state in a 42-51 percent split. Federal funding and school revenue would make up the difference.
If approved, that formula would represent a 1-percent shift from this year's 43 percent county- and 50 percent state-funded budget.
"Thornton is working," Roberts told the commissioners Tuesday. "It's expensive and it's causing some headaches in Annapolis, but it is beginning to level the playing field."
All told, the local school district is seeking a total of $146.5 million for Fiscal Year 2006 - a 9.1 percent increase over this year's spending.
By comparison, the entire school system is expecting to add just 44 new students next year - a scant 0.3 percent increase that would seem to defy local expectations created by Cecil County's current housing boom.
"We are limited to basing our growth projections on birth rates from the previous five years with a little wiggle room from historical data," Roberts said of the enrollment projection, which is expected to be seen exclusively in the county's five high schools.
Cecil's elementary and middle schools are expected to see an overall decrease in enrollment by a total of 169 students.
"We see what you're seeing as far as residential subdivisions coming before (the Department of ) Public Works and (the Office of) Planning and Zoning," Roberts said. "But, as far as funding goes, the state doesn't allow us to take any of that into consideration."
According to Roberts, the additional money he's requesting this year would allow the district to hire 47 new teachers at the highest starting salary of the 12 closest school districts in Maryland, Delaware and Pennsylvania. This year, the district's budget funded 32 new classroom teacher positions.
Roberts said the new teachers would maintain the county's current teacher-to-student ratio at an average of just over 24:1.
However, the additional teachers would allow the public schools to expand full-day kindergarten, meet an increased number of courses resulting from stiffer graduation requirements and allow middle schools to begin offering foreign language courses.
The schools' budget request for next year would add about 37 administrators, bus drivers, custodians, secretaries and guidance counselors. Currently, the school employs close to 2,020 employees - a little more than half of which are teachers.
All told, salaries, wages and benefits would make up $123 million or 84 percent of the school system's total budget request. Teachers' wages would account for $58.3 million or 40 percent of the total budget.
Fixed charges relating to employee benefits and fuel costs are expected to account for the second largest expense. Roberts said those costs will jump more than 30 percent next year and account for more than 18 percent of the total budget.
Special education spending, a major issue of contention last year, accounts for the third largest expense in the school system's spending plan. Roberts said those costs are expected to hit $18.1 million this year, a 7.3-percent jump over the current budget.
During his budget presentation Tuesday, the public schools' superintendent focused heavily on the increased funding proposed for staff training, a revised curriculum, new textbooks and technological upgrades.
The school system is looking to nearly double its outlay for curriculum and staff training next year. Roberts is proposing to increase those expenses from $737,400 to $1.2 million. He is also seeking to add $100,000 to this year's $439,000 line item for textbooks.
But the biggest increase highlighted by Roberts is a proposed $1.2 million hike in expenditures on computers, printers and projectors. The new equipment being requested includes 916 computers, 49 printers, 33 projectors and 10 new servers.
If approved, the public school's technology budget would push $5 million.
"In the 21st Century we need the technological infrastructure to ensure that we're providing an adequate workforce in Cecil County for years to come," Roberts told the board. "It may not be during my career, but I expect that in my lifetime students will be assigned laptops like they get textbooks today."
During his presentation, Roberts also said the schools are hoping to add men's and women's lacrosse and cross-country.
The school system's proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2006 does not include the $25 million contribution to renovations at Elkton High School or the upcoming additions and renovations to Perryville Middle School and addition of 17 new kindergarten classrooms in seven schools.
Those and other capital improvements costs are included in a separate county financing budget that gets vetted in the fall and winter.
A countywide operating budget must be proposed by May 1 and adopted no later than June 1. The budget will take effect July 1.
Schools Propose Biggest Spending Boost in Decade. Cecil Superintendent’s Plan Would Add 70 New Jobs
Posted: Friday, March 3, 2006 1:00 am | Updated: 11:44 am, Wed Nov 25, 2009. By Scott Goss
The Cecil County Public School System would add more than 70 new employees and $15 million in spending next school year under a budget proposal being considered by the school board.
If approved, the increase would be the largest in Cecil County’s public schools in at least a decade.
Superintendent Carl Robert’s proposed $162 million operating budget for fiscal year 2007 would be 10.2 percent more than the current $147 million spending plan.
The Cecil County Board of Education is scheduled to begin considering the budget proposal Monday night. The members of the board will vote on a final request March 13.
Their version of the proposal then becomes the school system’s formal request to the Cecil County commissioners, who must adopt a county budget by July 1.
“We’ve listened to all the things the administration wants to do next year, and now we’re ready to begin examining whether what they want matches up with our priorities,” school board president William Herold said Thursday.
Even though administrators are asking for more in 2007 than in any one of the past 10 years, Herold said he does not expect the board’s job to be any easier.
“If you look at what it will cost us to meet our obligations to the various employee unions, the federal mandates for special education and keeping up with our fixed charges, you’re talking about $10 to $12 million right there,” Herold said Thursday. “And that doesn’t include money for any new initiatives.”
The school system’s budget has nearly doubled since Roberts was hired in 1996, due in part to legislation that requires the state to pick up a larger share of the cost.
Under the administration’s proposal for next year, the county would contribute $67 million, or 44 percent of the budget, compared to the $85.7 million, or 56 percent that would come from the state.
A decade ago, the county assumed 51 percent of the school system’s budget, while the state picked up 49 percent.
Student enrollment, meanwhile, has increased by 9.9 percent in the last 10 years. The student population is expected to grow by 101 students in 2007, or less than 1 percent.
Large increases in spending despite relatively low increases in student enrollment are nothing new for the county’s school system.
Since 2003, enrollment has increased by an average of 2 percent a year. Yet the school system has consistently set the record for the largest single-year budget increase in each of those years.
But Herold Thursday said he does not see that as an indication of excessive spending.
“In my mind, it’s not a fair comparison because the real question is what does it cost to educate our students properly?” he said. “I believe that for a long time we were not spending enough for education. Even today, we’re 20th in the state in terms of county spending on public education.”
Funding the school system’s operating budget is split between the county and state governments, with a small portion paid by the federal government and other sources.
The federal government and other sources would fund the remaining $9.1 million, or 6 percent, of the budget.
Of the $15 million in new spending proposed for fiscal year 2007, the county would be asked to cover about $5 million, while the state would pick up almost $10 million.
The largest increase proposed in the 2007 operating budget is a $3.8 million boost for instruction-based salaries and wages, which includes the pay for classroom teachers, support teachers, paraprofessionals, media specialists, guidance counselors and psychologists.
The proposed increase would raise the level of spending in that category from $56.5 million to $60.38 million, a boost of 6.8 percent.
Most of that added cost would come in the form of new hires and pay raises for existing employees.
Barbara Wheeler, associate superintendent of education services, has proposed adding 28.81 new teachers, 3.5 new guidance counselors and 8.5 new paraprofessionals.
Those new hires and pay raises for existing employees would add about $4.3 million to the payroll, while cuts in other areas would eliminate $1 million.
Wheeler said the new instructional positions would support several new school initiatives.
For instance, she said, the expansion of full-day kindergarten necessitates the addition of seven new teachers and more than eight new paraprofessionals. The addition of a dance course in the elementary school would account for another eight new teachers, while the expansion of foreign language instruction in the middle schools would require five new teachers, she said.
Those positions do not include the school system’s proposed allocation for special education teachers and programs.
The special education category is proposed to increase by $2.26 million, or about 14.8 percent. The largest increase in that category would cover transfers, while about $1 million would cover raises for existing personnel and the addition of 28.7 new positions, including seven new teachers and more than 15 new paraprofessionals.
Another $3.8 million increase is proposed in the school system’s budget for fixed charges, which includes employee benefits like unemployment, life insurance, medical insurance, Social Security and other costs.
That increase would raise the amount spent on fixed charges from $24.7 million to $28.6 million, a boost of 15.5 percent.
Rising costs associated with providing transportation and operating the county’s 30 schools would add another $2.76 million in spending under the administration’s budget proposal.
Proposed enhancements to the transportation budget include raises for 26 transportation employees, the addition of a second bus driver trainer, the replacement of 15 buses and the addition of four new bus routes.
Meanwhile, administrators are anticipating a 30 percent increase in utility costs, which include electricity, fuel oil, natural gas and propane. That cost is expected to add $1.3 million to the budget.
Both the board of education’s budget work session Monday night and its final vote March 13 are open to the public.
School Spending Plan Gets 1st Look Tonight. Budgets Have Increased at Least $10 Million in Each of Last Three Years
Posted: Tuesday, February 20, 2007 1:00 am | Updated: 11:54 am, Wed Nov 25, 2009. By Scott Goss
The Cecil County Board of Education will begin hearings tonight on Superintendent Carl Roberts’ proposed spending plan for the 2007-08 school year.
The actual figures haven’t been released yet, but as a guideline, operating budgets have increased at least $10 million in each of the last three years.
Tonight’s hearing, initially scheduled for Feb. 13, was postponed by snow and ice that shut down county schools for 2½ days last week.
Central office administrators are expected to present the school board with the first half of Roberts’ spending plan, including proposed funding for administrative costs, bus transportation and building maintenance.
A second hearing, on Feb. 26, will focus on Roberts’ proposed spending for teacher salaries, classroom supplies, special education and school lunches.
A public comment period is scheduled prior to the budget presentations tonight and next week.
The school board will also hold a public hearing on Roberts’ entire proposal March 6. The board will then reconvene March 12 to vote on whether to send an approved or amended version of the superintendent’s request on to the Cecil County commissioners.
So far, little concrete information about Roberts’ request for the 2007-08 school year has been released.
Last month, Roberts and his staff presented the school board with a lengthy list of enhancements that administrators had proposed for inclusion in his formal budget request.
But those items were not finalized and their presentation did not include details of their anticipated cost.
Some of the items that could be under discussion tonight include funding for new radios and digital cameras, new printing equipment, 16 new school buses, nine new custodian and technician positions, additional staff to assist with construction projects and possibly a number of new vans, trucks and plows.
The school system’s approved operating budget for the current year topped $160 million — up more than $14 million over the 2005-06 school year.
County government funded $65 million, or about 41 percent, of the school system’s operating budget this year. State government, meanwhile, funded $85.7 million, or 53 percent, with the federal government picking up the remaining $9 million.
Last year’s increase in the schools operating budget also followed increases worth more than $10 million in both 2004 and 2005.
Schools Head Must Justify Budget Plan
Posted: Wednesday, February 28, 2007 1:00 am | Updated: 11:48 am, Wed Nov 25, 2009. To: The editor
From: Frank W. Ebright
Fair Hill
Once again, Cecil County Public Schools Superintendent Carl Roberts is seeking money for the school system. Part of that is for cameras in schools, costing somewhere between a quarter- to a half-million dollars. He also wants 11 new administrators, cost unknown.
Is the ultimate goal one administrator per student?
During the Bolender administration, the schools chief got whatever he wanted without question. The budgets weren’t really justified, just submitted and approved. That must stop.
Instead of cameras, start a Cops in the Classroom program. If the bloated administrative staff cannot control the students, maybe a deputy in class could. Cameras will not, so let’s hire more deputies and give people jobs.
The new school board, the county commissioners, and the public need to ask some difficult questions and make Mr. Roberts defend his budget request.
In our county, education is the largest budget. So far, it has had the least accountability. If someone questions school spending, he’s accused of “trying to deprive the kids of a good education.”
Let’s defang that myth by having Mr. Roberts justify the millions of dollars requested for education, along with the double digit increases.
Perhaps he can explain to us why we need cameras to watch students. Many other items in Cecil County need funding more urgently than that.
Schools Propose Biggest Spending Boost in Decade. Cecil Superintendent's Plan Would Add 70 New Jobs
Posted: Friday, March 3, 2006 1:00 am | Updated: 11:44 am, Wed Nov 25, 2009. By Scott Goss
The Cecil County Public School System would add more than 70 new employees and $15 million in spending next school year under a budget proposal being considered by the school board.
If approved, the increase would be the largest in Cecil County’s public schools in at least a decade.
Superintendent Carl Robert’s proposed $162 million operating budget for fiscal year 2007 would be 10.2 percent more than the current $147 million spending plan.
The Cecil County Board of Education is scheduled to begin considering the budget proposal Monday night. The members of the board will vote on a final request March 13.
Their version of the proposal then becomes the school system’s formal request to the Cecil County commissioners, who must adopt a county budget by July 1.
“We’ve listened to all the things the administration wants to do next year, and now we’re ready to begin examining whether what they want matches up with our priorities,” school board president William Herold said Thursday.
Even though administrators are asking for more in 2007 than in any one of the past 10 years, Herold said he does not expect the board’s job to be any easier.
“If you look at what it will cost us to meet our obligations to the various employee unions, the federal mandates for special education and keeping up with our fixed charges, you’re talking about $10 to $12 million right there,” Herold said Thursday. “And that doesn’t include money for any new initiatives.”
The school system’s budget has nearly doubled since Roberts was hired in 1996, due in part to legislation that requires the state to pick up a larger share of the cost.
Under the administration’s proposal for next year, the county would contribute $67 million, or 44 percent of the budget, compared to the $85.7 million, or 56 percent that would come from the state.
A decade ago, the county assumed 51 percent of the school system’s budget, while the state picked up 49 percent.
Student enrollment, meanwhile, has increased by 9.9 percent in the last 10 years. The student population is expected to grow by 101 students in 2007, or less than 1 percent.
Large increases in spending despite relatively low increases in student enrollment are nothing new for the county’s school system.
Since 2003, enrollment has increased by an average of 2 percent a year. Yet the school system has consistently set the record for the largest single-year budget increase in each of those years.
But Herold Thursday said he does not see that as an indication of excessive spending.
“In my mind, it’s not a fair comparison because the real question is what does it cost to educate our students properly?” he said. “I believe that for a long time we were not spending enough for education. Even today, we’re 20th in the state in terms of county spending on public education.”
Funding the school system’s operating budget is split between the county and state governments, with a small portion paid by the federal government and other sources.
The federal government and other sources would fund the remaining $9.1 million, or 6 percent, of the budget.
Of the $15 million in new spending proposed for fiscal year 2007, the county would be asked to cover about $5 million, while the state would pick up almost $10 million.
The largest increase proposed in the 2007 operating budget is a $3.8 million boost for instruction-based salaries and wages, which includes the pay for classroom teachers, support teachers, paraprofessionals, media specialists, guidance counselors and psychologists.
The proposed increase would raise the level of spending in that category from $56.5 million to $60.38 million, a boost of 6.8 percent.
Most of that added cost would come in the form of new hires and pay raises for existing employees.
Barbara Wheeler, associate superintendent of education services, has proposed adding 28.81 new teachers, 3.5 new guidance counselors and 8.5 new paraprofessionals.
Those new hires and pay raises for existing employees would add about $4.3 million to the payroll, while cuts in other areas would eliminate $1 million.
Wheeler said the new instructional positions would support several new school initiatives.
For instance, she said, the expansion of full-day kindergarten necessitates the addition of seven new teachers and more than eight new paraprofessionals. The addition of a dance course in the elementary school would account for another eight new teachers, while the expansion of foreign language instruction in the middle schools would require five new teachers, she said.
Those positions do not include the school system’s proposed allocation for special education teachers and programs.
The special education category is proposed to increase by $2.26 million, or about 14.8 percent. The largest increase in that category would cover transfers, while about $1 million would cover raises for existing personnel and the addition of 28.7 new positions, including seven new teachers and more than 15 new paraprofessionals.
Another $3.8 million increase is proposed in the school system’s budget for fixed charges, which includes employee benefits like unemployment, life insurance, medical insurance, Social Security and other costs.
That increase would raise the amount spent on fixed charges from $24.7 million to $28.6 million, a boost of 15.5 percent.
Rising costs associated with providing transportation and operating the county’s 30 schools would add another $2.76 million in spending under the administration’s budget proposal.
Proposed enhancements to the transportation budget include raises for 26 transportation employees, the addition of a second bus driver trainer, the replacement of 15 buses and the addition of four new bus routes.
Meanwhile, administrators are anticipating a 30 percent increase in utility costs, which include electricity, fuel oil, natural gas and propane. That cost is expected to add $1.3 million to the budget.
Both the board of education’s budget work session Monday night and its final vote March 13 are open to the public.
Copies of the budget proposal can be obtained by calling 410-996-5474 or by accessing the school system’s Web site at Posted: Friday, March 3, 2006 1:00 am | Updated: 11:44 am, Wed Nov 25, 2009. By Scott Goss
School Spending: Administrative Budget Calls for 11 New Jobs. 4400,000 Requested for Additional
Posted: Wednesday, February 21, 2007 1:00 am | Updated: 11:53 am, Wed Nov 25, 2009. By Scott Goss
Superintendent Carl Roberts unveiled a significant chunk of his 2007-08 budget proposal for Cecil County public schools Tuesday, including requests for 11 new positions and $2.6 million in new spending.
The full amount of the superintendent’s total budget request, however, is still unknown.
While the school board heard the superintendent’s proposed expenses for administrative services — including student transportation and building maintenance — larger budget categories such as teacher salaries, classroom supplies and special education won’t be made public until a Feb. 26 hearing.
“It’s not because I won’t tell you,” Roberts said of his budget proposal’s still unknown bottom line.
“It’s because I can’t. We’re still working on the other sections of the budget, so I won’t know the total (amount requested) until next week.”
The requested budgets for the six categories presented Tuesday totaled nearly $29.5 million, or $2.6 million more than what was approved under the school system’s current budget.
Those same six categories made up about 16.6 percent of the school system’s approved $162 million spending plan for the current school year.
If that trend continues, Roberts’ total budget request could reach near $178 million, or $16 million more than was approved for the current fiscal year.
The superintendent, meanwhile, said Henry Shaffer, his associate superintendent of administrative services, would continue to look for ways to trim some of the spending outlined on Tuesday.
“Some of what we’ve talked about tonight might not be in the final version that gets presented to you for a vote,” he told the school board. “Mr. Shaffer’s goal is to spend as little as possible on administrative services so we can spend that money on education services.”
In the category of administration, Shaffer presented a budget request that would increase spending by nearly $875,000, or 25 percent more than the $3.55 million approved for the current school year.
One of the largest increases in that category would be for additional computer software, including a proposal to spend $260,000 on a software application that would extend the school system’s online reporting of grades to the elementary school level.
Shaffer also proposed adding a new $56,000-a-year software application developer position and two new $48,000-a-year computer network technicians.
The budget for student transportation would increase by more than $900,000 in spending under Roberts’ proposal, or nearly 11 percent more than the $9.37 million approved for the current year.
About $560,000 of that increase would be used to provide school system’s 11 bus contractors with larger per-bus allocations to cover two new routes and separate the bus routes currently shared by Perryville’s high and middle schools. The hiring of a new $56,000-a-year transportation specialist is also included.
Roberts proposed a nearly $500,000 increase in the plant operation category, or a 4.4 percent increase over the $11.1 million approved for the current school year.
Included in that proposal is a plan to relocate the school system’s current warehouse facility on Blue Ball Road to an as-yet-undisclosed location that could cost as much as $175,000 more in annual lease payments.
The cost of maintaining school facilities would increase by nearly $225,000 under Roberts’ request, or 6.3 percent more than the $3.56 million approved for the current school year. That increase includes the proposed hiring of lead plumber and a utility worker, both of whom would be paid between $40,000 and $50,000 a year.
In the category of capital outlay, Roberts has proposed increasing funding by nearly $85,000 or 47 percent over the current budget. Most of that increase would go toward the salary of a $57,000-a-year field inspector to help watch over the school system’s various construction projects.
Following next week’s presentation on the superintendent’s proposed budget for education services, the school board will hold a public hearing on the entire spending plan March 6.
The board will then reconvene on March 12 to vote on whether to send an approved or amended version of his request to the Cecil County commissioners.
School Funding Request Hits New High
Posted: Thursday, February 28, 2008 1:00 am | Updated: 3:46 pm, Wed Nov 25, 2009. By Scott Goss
Superintendent Carl Roberts this week insisted his pending $181 million budget proposal is fiscally responsible — even though it includes a request for the largest single-year dollar increase in county funding in more than a decade.
Roberts’ overall spending plan is counting on $8.4 million in new state and county funding next year in addition to the $172.2 million approved for this year.
Of that overall increase, the county would be expected to pony up $4.5 million, while the state would be on the hook for an additional $1.8 million, according to the budget request.
If approved as proposed, the increase in county funding would top the $3.5 million boost in fiscal year 2006 — the largest single-year increase in county funding secured by Roberts during his 12-year tenure.
Roberts on Wednesday dismissed that detail as “misleading” and insisted his spending proposal is frugal and appropriate given the county’s recent funding history.
“Last year, the increase in public school funding approved by the county was only a couple hundred thousand dollars,” Roberts said. “If you spread the ($4.5 million) increase (proposed in next year’s budget) over two years, it’s actually less than the cost of living.”
Roberts said the county commissioners approved just $200,000 of the $4.4 million increase in county funding requested by the schools last year because an increase in state funding resulted in an overall $11 million increase.
“At the time, everyone knew fiscal year 2009 was going to be a different picture and the commissioners acknowledged we would need additional (county) resources at that time,” he said. “I feel confident the county will do everything it can to fund our request this year.”
Roberts also noted that while the total dollar increase being sought from the county is the largest since 2001, the increase as a percentage of the county’s current funding level is actually in line with previous requests.
“The overall budget increase being sought this year, at 4.9 percent, is also one of the smallest we’ve asked for in recent years,” he said, adding that that the state would still be picking up the majority of the public schools’ funding with the county providing 42 percent of the total.
According to Roberts’ proposal, $5.3 million of the overall $8.4 million proposed increase would support a 4-percent employee pay raise.
Another $1.34 million would net 19½ additional positions, including a new gifted and talented teacher, one utility worker, three custodians, five special education teachers and 15½ paraprofessionals.
The proposed increase also includes $1.37 million for rising utility costs, while the county schools’ contribution to employee healthcare and retirement benefits is expected to climb by $1.33 million.
School officials also expect the purchase of additional textbooks, a new lease for computers and office equipment and an increase in transportation costs to cost another $1.1 million.
Those increases would in turn be offset by roughly $2 million in savings incurred through employee turnover and dozens of small spending reductions.
Administrators have said the proposed spending plan would improve the student-to-teacher ratio at the elementary school level, improve the countywide student-to-computer ratio, increase the per-pupil allocation to individual schools by $2, fund the replacement of 15 school buses and expand the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Academy to all five high schools.
The budget also proposes eliminating free summer school for elementary school students in favor of funding academic intervention programs during the regular school year.
Superintendent Proposes Cutting 35 Jobs
Nearly 16 teaching positions would be eliminated
Posted: Wednesday, February 24, 2010 12:00 am
By Jacob Owens
Special to the Whig |
Most of the spending increases included in the proposed $108.4 million education services portion of county superintendent Henry Schaffer’s budget proposal would be to cover cost-of-living increases negotiated in the school board’s labor agreements with the five unions that represent county school employees.
Shaffer, meanwhile, has proposed that discretionary spending in the educational services portion of the county schools budget be cut by $717,483, a nearly 10-percent reduction from the budget approved for the current school year.
Those spending cuts would include the elimination of 34.48 positions — including more than 16 teaching jobs — by the end of the 2010-2011 school year.
“These reductions will result in a real savings of more than $1.6 million,” said Tom Kappra, the county schools’ chief financial officer. “We paid people to do these jobs last year and next year we won’t pay anyone to do them.”
If approved by the county school board, the 35 job cuts next year would follow the elimination of 28 positions this school year and 20 positions during the 2008-2009 school year, according to administrators.
Shaffer said he hopes to avoid layoffs next year by eliminating positions through attrition; meaning new employees would not be hired to fill certain vacancies or positions left open by retiring employees.
“The bottom line is that the collateral of all our budgeting work could be someone’s job and that is an important thing that we keep in mind,” Shaffer said Monday. “We want long-term fixes and to do that we will need major changes that will have an effect on some of our employees that won’t be easy to swallow, but it is the correct thing to do.”
Kappra said school officials would assess every job vacancy to determine whether those positions are vital.
“Just because a job is vacated does not mean that we’ve eliminated it,” he said. “In fact, we are actively recruiting to fill five vacant positions right now.”
In some situations, job positions would be downgraded, such as the loss of an assistant principal at Perryville Middle School. That position would become a local support teacher due to declining enrollment at the school, administrators said.
“We didn’t decide on these reductions last month,” D’Ette Devine, the associate superintendent of administration said. “They are something we have known about since last September and we targeted these eliminations throughout the school year.”
Shaffer said he would prefer not to propose any budget cuts because they hamper the schools’ ability to provide a quality education in Cecil County.
He said he is most concerned with the county’s ability to recruit and retain quality teachers during lean budget years.
“Teachers are now more mercenary than ever with where they are choosing to teach,” he said. “Cecil County lags behind the state average in teachers’ salaries and teachers can earn thousands more in neighboring counties and states without moving.”
Carolyn Teigland, the county schools associate superintendent of education services, said the county’s teacher-to-student ratio also becomes a concern when the school board is forced to cut teaching positions.
“Class size is always a concern for us, but especially now when we are seeing a new population of economically disadvantaged students, like those on free-and-reduced lunches, who have special needs that our teachers may not be able to handle,” she said. “It will be hard to prepare them for those students’ needs when we are lacking professional development.”
Teigland said she believes Shaffer’s budget proposal would make the spending cuts are that required while having the least direct impact on classrooms.
“But I believe we are at a time where we can least afford to tread water,” she added.
After hearings are held on each aspect of Shaffer’s budget proposal, the county school board will vote to adopt the spending plan or an amended version of their own. That final version will then be forwarded on to the county commissioners for final approval before July 1.
Special Ed Change Sparks Anger. Parents Doubt Benefits of ‘Inclusion’.
Posted: Friday, May 6, 2005 1:00 am | Updated: 11:41 am, Wed Nov 25, 2009. By Carl Hamilton
“My boy has Down's Syndrome. He can't speak. He can't read. He can't write.
"He can't even go to the bathroom (unassisted)," Kelly Bender of North East said, referring to her fourth-grade son, Lee Rodden, 9.
"And yet," she continued, "he's going to sit with kids in a (regular) classroom and learn right along with them?
"It's not going to work. How can he survive in a regular classroom?"
When should a special ed student be taught in a general classroom?
Whenever possible, is the answer given by Cecil County Public Schools administrators.
But parents who attended a public meeting Tuesday night at North East High School believe the county school system's "inclusion program" n putting challenged students in general classes n is too liberal and ineffective.
According to Kelly Bender, school officials want to transfer her son, Lee, from Perryville Elementary School, where he's taught with six to eight other special ed students, to North East Elementary School, where he will take part in the inclusion program.
Mistake To Keep Pushing Inclusion
Posted: Tuesday, May 9, 2006 1:00 am | Updated: 11:43 am, Wed Nov 25, 2009. To: The editor
From: Alexandra Logan
As another school year winds down, I am sad to say that Cecil County Public Schools is continuing their push with inclusion. Pretty soon, many children will be left behind. I cannot believe the school system truly feels that severe special needs students will benefit from the general education curriculum. What can they gain in algebra class when some cannot identify numbers 1 to 20 consistently?
What is so wrong with separate special education classrooms? These classrooms provide certain students with what they need. I do not see how regular education classrooms can do the same. Having a special needs student at the back or side of the class doing different work than their peers is not inclusion. It is a special education student in a regular education class.
General education classes are appropriate for many special needs children. I find that a positive concept and encourage the school system to look for these children. However, for those that it is not appropriate, do not push it on those students and their families. What about the regular education teachers? They did not go to school for special needs education. Do they want to deal with special education issues? What about the distractions the included students may cause? Is that fair to the non-special needs students?
Concerned parents should plan to attend the special education meeting on May 11 at 6:30 p.m. at the Elkton public library. Ask questions and state your opinion. Maybe something will change.
School Board Candidate Calls for End to Inclusion
Putting special needs students in general classrooms a 'disservice'
Posted: Monday, July 12, 2010 12:00 am | Updated: 12:31 am, Thu Jul 22, 2010. By Jacob Owens
Stephen Stiles said it wasn't an impulsive decision that caused him to file his candidacy for a county school board seat just hours before the statewide July 6 deadline.
"My wife, Debra, and I had been talking about it for weeks now, but circumstances prevented me from filing until July 6," he said last week.
Stiles is the fourth candidate to file for the District 5 school board seat, which draws from the North East area and currently is held by Kirsten Gerhart, who is not seeking re-election.
Stiles will face off against travel agency owner Dawn Branch, former state Libertarian Party chief David Sten and fellow late filer Robert W. Lynn in the Sept. 14 primary, with the top two vote winners to face off in the Nov. 2 general election.
With three children who all graduated from Cecil County Public Schools and a wife who works in the county schools, Stiles said he feels a deep connection to the public school system.
One of the issues he said is closest to his heart is one that has shaped who he is through the years.
"I have spent 32 years working with developmentally challenged children, many of whom have lived with my family in some capacity," he said. "Only in the past few years, however, have I seen a move away from a system that aids those students in the classroom. We are moving individuals into classrooms where they won't learn the things they need to know and will have difficulty succeeding."
Stiles said the 2001 No Child Left Behind legislation and the move toward including some special needs students in general classrooms has been a disservice to many.
"I believe special needs students' time would be better spent if they were learning life skills," he said. "It's not fair to those students to be expected to reach up to lofty goals, and it puts a greater strain on our teachers to find ways to reach those students. Special needs students are best served with hands-on, repetitive learning with a specialized instructor."
Stiles also said teachers are overburdened from trying to meet expectations on standardized state tests.
"I believe we are spending too much time teaching to the state-mandated tests," he said. "The High School Assessment tests and Maryland School Assessment tests put a pressure on our educators to get good scores because no one wants to be seen as lagging behind others."
Stiles said the discussion of tying scores from those tests to teacher evaluations and tenure also worries him.
"I think some evaluation should be tied to a teacher's tenure," he said. "But test scores should be one of many factors in a teacher's evaluation."
Stiles also said the slow economy affects the way in which school boards should view state and federal mandates.
"Sometimes I think we go overboard when fulfilling these mandates, which puts us in a bind financially," he said. "There are times when school boards statewide should stand up to the state and tell them we simply don't have the funds."
Stiles also said the Cecil Technical High School is a project of great importance that needs to get off the ground sooner rather than later.
"When my last son entered high school about eight years ago, he wanted to go into automotive technology courses at Cecil County School of Technology, but he couldn't because the classes were full and was placed in HVAC courses instead," he said. "But HVAC didn't interest him and we ended up paying out of our own pockets to get him in a automotive training course outside of school. We desperately need the vocational programs expanded in Cecil County, and we are failing our students by not being able to offer them."
Stiles said he recognizes the financial challenge that the building of an all new technical high school would present. He said it requires creative thinking to find that money.
"There are a few places in the county with the space to begin piloting some of the vocational programs on a larger scale," he said. "We should be looking at leasing opportunities so we can get these programs off the ground while we wait for the tech high school funding."
Stiles said he would bring that creative thinking, as well as fiscal responsibility, to the school board.
Roberts, Kammerer Spar Verbally Over Math Curriculum
Posted: Wednesday, May 30, 2007 1:00 am | Updated: 11:52 am, Wed Nov 25, 2009. By Scott Goss
Yet the pressure of trimming the remaining $4.2 million from the school system’s $70.2 million spending plan appeared to bubble over into open hostility during the county school board’s brief public meeting Tuesday night.
During the open session, Superintendent Carl Roberts and school board member Kirsten Kammerer engaged in a heated back and forth over the school system’s math curriculum that ended with Kammerer storming out of the school system’s Booth Street offices.
“I want the (school) board to do an outreach survey of teachers and not CCPS, because (teachers) seem to be telling me something and you something else,” Kammerer told Roberts at one point during the exchange.
“I resent that comment,” the superintendent responded. “To say that all the teachers are opposed to the curriculum and that they are not being honest about it is absolutely not true.”
The row between Roberts and Kammerer began just as school board president Lisa Koch was preparing to adjourn Tuesday’s meeting, which had begun with a three-hour, closed-door session in which school administrators reportedly outlined proposed spending in next year’s budget that could be postponed or eliminated.
The school board then held a 15-minute public session to comment on the budget process and vote on personnel items.
After the board completed its formal business, Kammerer said she had an issue she wanted to raise.
“It’s not on the agenda,” Roberts told her.
Kammerer, however, persisted by stating her desire to see all county teachers fill out an anonymous survey regarding the school system’s math curriculum, which a handful of parents have recently criticized as being “a mile wide and an inch deep.”
“I’ve spent a lot of time working on this and it doesn’t appear to me there is one teacher out there who likes this thing,” Kammerer said. “If I wait until the next meeting to raise the issue, it will be too late.”
School board member Christine Sopa said she has also heard similar complaints from teachers.
“This isn’t the time or the place,” Koch interjected.
“This has been an issue for four years and it doesn’t appear anything is being done and I’m not happy about it,” Kammerer responded.
Roberts reminded Kammerer the board is scheduled to hear a presentation on how the school system will address the recent complaints at its next meeting on June 11.
“In all fairness, you know something is being done,” he said. “But we will do it the correct way, with a system approach that includes all the stakeholders. Every school will be visited and all teachers will have an opportunity to provide input.”
Contacted at home, Kammerer declined to comment on the blow-up.
Roberts said simply, “I frankly did not understand what that was about.”
Roberts also said he was unaware the county commissioners voted Tuesday to allocate an additional $500,000 in public school funding above the $65.4 million they had proposed last month.
“Any additional funding is certainly appreciated, but this is the first I’ve heard of it,” Roberts said. “I’ve received no official word of that having occurred.”
The school board is expected to hold another closed-door meeting June 4 to discuss potential reductions in its initial budget request.
A final vote on a revised spending plan for the 2007-08 school year is scheduled for June 11.
Cecil County public schools got $500,000 in funding added to their budget for the coming year in a surprise move by the county commissioners Tuesday.
UMBC High School Math Study Expected This Month
Posted: Monday, September 10, 2007 1:00 am | Updated: 11:51 am, Wed Nov 25, 2009. By Scott Goss
Student scores on the math portion of last year's Maryland School Assessment exams would appear to back up county administrators' insistence that the math curriculum used in schools is working.
While some grade levels and some schools did show declines in math from 2006 to 2007, math proficiency from third to eighth grade was at its highest level countywide since the testing began in 2003.
Some of last year's most impressive gains on the math test were actually made at the middle school level, where poor reading proficiency among special education students caused all six county middle schools to miss state-defined Adequate Yearly Progress this year.
Such statistics have not done much, however, to quell concern among parents who believe the county's math curriculum is overly skewed to the state test, while failing to prepare students for careers in the fields of science and math.
Parents frustrated by the math curriculum became increasingly vocal and well-organized last year, regularly commenting at school board meetings and even launching a Web site intended to serve as a message board for sympathetic students, teachers and parents.
The debate was essentially put on hold in June when county administrators announced they had contracted two math experts from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County to conduct a three-month audit of the county's high school math curriculum.
Those three months are up at the end of next week.
Carolyn Teigland, the top county educator under Superintendent Carl Roberts, recently said she does not know what to expect of the report's findings or how it will be presented.
"CCPS expects to receive a paper report, but we don't know yet if the auditors will be making an actual presentation," she said. "We have already formed a public engagement committee that will select the forum for releasing the findings to the public."
School administrators have so far declined to name the two experts conducting the study.
They say they have only turned over material used to conduct the study but have not been active participants in the audit's preparation.
Teigland said the schools provided hundreds of student work samples from unit tests, textbooks, standardized test data and other materials to Cecil College, which has hosted the math experts while they conduct their analysis.
In addition, the auditors reportedly interviewed teachers, both individually and as a group, although Teigland said administrators have not asked what questions were posed or what answers were given.
She said it is also difficult to predict what will happen after the audit's results are released.
"Some things we may be able to address relatively easily, while other suggestions could involve a fiscal element which may have to go into next year's budget," she said. "It really depends on what they recommend, but any change in resources would require a pilot program before full implementation."
In the meantime, county school administrators will conduct a review of the math curriculum used at middle and elementary schools this fall.
Also, a committee that includes parents will recommend ways the county schools can better include parents in math education at all levels.
"A result of last year was we found out the public didn't feel like we were talking to them about the math program," Teigland said. "We're going to be looking at ways we can address those communication issues."
Pam Kaste, a leading voice among parents calling for a replacement of the county's current math curriculum, said she is convinced county school administrators are making an earnest attempt to objectively assess and improve the way math is taught here.
"Of course, there are lingering concerns that the two lone UMBC personnel may decide that the integrated math does not need to be replaced," she wrote recently in an e-mail. "Such a decision would hardly be expected from math experts, and would be inconsistent with the views expressed by CCPS high school teachers, parents and stakeholders with math expertise, as well as data from the Maryland Higher Education Commission - but still, it is a possibility."
Math Curriculum Doesn’t Compute to Success
Posted: Friday, October 19, 2007 1:00 am | Updated: 11:49 am, Wed Nov 25, 2009. By Scott Goss
In about two months, a committee of 40 people will lay out a map charting a new direction for math instruction in Cecil County public schools.
In the meantime, details from a commissioned report on the county's high school math curriculum could indicate the magnitude of the changes that lie ahead. The report recommends not only doing away with the textbooks used in some high school classes, but also suggests a redesign of the county's math instruction altogether.
Last week, county administrators publicly presented the report's final recommendations, which include replacing the textbook series on which most of the high school math curriculum is based.
The full version of the 57-page report released days later is highly critical of the county's current high school math program, citing its weakness as one of the reasons less than 17 percent of county residents over the age of 25 held a bachelor's degree in 2000.
The high schools use the "Integrated Mathematics" series published by McDougall-Littell for algebra I, geometry and algebra II courses.
The report describes the textbook series as an alternative to a more traditional, single-discipline approach that weaves various math subjects together so that "every year, for three years, students study topics from these different branches of mathematics."
The series, however, is so lacking in follow-up examples and practice problems that county teachers and administrators have had to develop thick binders of supplemental material, according to the report.
"Generally, we find the size and makeup of these supplements to be very inconsistent and expect that they would be difficult for students to use," the report states. "It seems it might be more efficient to find a textbook that needs less supplementation."
Further, the report finds that higher-level math courses offered in county high schools appear to be designed to address gaps in students' algebraic knowledge and skills rather than teaching the higher-level concepts generally associated with courses such as trigonometry and calculus.
Those criticisms are particularly poignant, given the county's long-term plan to provide local students with a realistic opportunity to take advantage of the high-paying science and technology jobs many believe will become available with the future growth at Aberdeen Proving Ground.
Public school administrators have been working with Cecil College for years to plan a seamless 16-year education pipeline in which public schools provide students with advanced preparation for acceptance into Cecil College. The two-year school, in turn, would offer courses that mesh with those offered at University of Maryland, Baltimore County, which recently signed an agreement to open a satellite campus here.
The report, however, suggests that the public schools' math curriculum is the weak link in that pipeline and could leave incoming students without the math background UMBC expects.
The report notes, for example, that the test Cecil College uses to place incoming students in the appropriate math course places more than 50 percent of county public school students in the most basic class.
Bonnie Tighe, one of the report's authors and a math professor for 20 years, wrote that the biggest problem she encounters every semester is new students with no grasp of algebra, geometry and trigonometry concepts.
"New university students are overly reliant on their calculators and often expect to be given a series of steps to carry out, rather than to think about a problem that is to be solved," she wrote. "At UMBC, virtually all mathematics professors do not allow the use of calculators."
The report later concludes that the high schools' textbooks and curriculum de-emphasize algebraic concepts and fail to adequately prepare students for college coursework.
It also recommends specific, traditionally focused and single-discipline textbooks for each of the math courses that currently use the Integrated Math series.
Whether those textbooks will be considered, the extent of the county's math reform efforts and the timeline for implementing those changes are to be determined by a 40-person math reform committee appointed by central office administrators.
The committee is tasked with choosing which of the report's recommendations to follow and developing a plan for implementing those reforms.
Carolyn Teigland, the county's top educator under Superintendent Carl Roberts, said she has no concerns about the size of the committee, which includes 15 teachers, 10 central office administrators, five parents, five students, four school-based administrators and one professor from Cecil College.
"We have experience in managing large committees and a lot of the work will be done in sub-groups," she said. "Our intent was to include a broad base of stakeholder groups from the start."
Teigland said she expects the committee to release its action plan before the end of 2007.
Roberts’ Remarks Were Disingenuous
Posted: Saturday, March 8, 2008 1:00 am | Updated: 3:45 pm, Wed Nov 25, 2009. From: Pamela J. Kaste
North East
This letter addresses the March 5 article, "Schools say they acted swiftly on math failure."
The wreck that has been the Cecil County Public Schools math curriculum could have been avoided if the superintendent (Dr. Carl Roberts) had proper respect for, and heeded the advice of, our teachers.
For years teachers (even board certified) and school principals who had taught math, tried to fix the problem, but top administrators would not listen. The teachers' concerns were validated by local college math professors who related that CCPS graduates were increasingly ill-prepared and cited data (from the MHEC) showing that math remediation rates for CCPS graduates have been increasing for nearly a decade. This occurred entirely under the direction of our current superintendent.
For the superintendent to claim that students have not been harmed is uncaring and untrue. Many CCPS graduates pay college prices to learn high school math in remedial courses, are six times more likely to drop out, and are not prepared for the job market either.
Clarification is needed - it was the board who acted swiftly to address the math failure, which the superintendent and top administrators ignored. With no disrespect to our appointed members, the elected board members have demonstrated they are capable of improving our children's education.
The board is working to select the next superintendent. Hopefully they will ensure that he/she is respectful and responsive to the CCPS staff. Those working directly with students are the real experts, and their input should count more than that of a few office administrators. Integrity and accountability in a superintendent would be refreshing. Our children deserve no less.
School Unions Announce Candidate Endorsements
