April 16, 2009
MCPS faces economic hardships
Board plans discussions, awaits state proposal
by Samantha Lint
Facing a grim economic outlook for its upcoming fiscal year, MCPS Board of Education (BOE) President Nancy Navarro has reached out to a coalition of local unions, calling for collaborative negotiations to form a budget solution.
Nationwide economic downturns have put the state government at an estimated $1 billion deficit for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2010, and County Executive Isiah Leggett has projected a $251 million budget gap for MCPS.
On Sept. 25, Navarro contacted the presidents of three major employee unions and requested a series of discussions to determine how to minimize the impact of cuts for the county. In her letter to the Montgomery County Education Association (MCEA), the Service Employees International Union Local 500 and Montgomery County Association of Administrative and Supervisory Personnel, Navarro stressed the importance of prompt negotiations. "We need to explore joint solutions that will enable us to keep the momentum of our academic reforms going forward in a fiscally responsible way," she said in her letter. "It is very important that we begin these discussions as soon as possible." All three unions have agreed to meet with Navarro, an MCEA bulletin said.
Navarro has spoken with the County Executive and other key officials about the economic outlook for FY 2010, according to Roland Ikheloa, chief of staff and ombudsman for the Board of Education. He said that her proposed meetings with union representatives reflect the Board’s commitment to two-way communication. "Nancy Navarro is very insistent on everyone sitting around the table and she knows the union leaders are very concerned about this. She wants to know what we can do and how we can help," Ikheloa said.
Science teacher Leslie Backus, who taught in the school system during economic hardships in the 1970s and 1980s, expressed concerns that the Navarro-initiated collaboration may lead MCEA to concede too much ground to the Board, particularly on the subject of contracted salary increases. "Lately we have been more collaborative," Backus said. "My fear is that they’re going to talk us into accepting little or no raise."
While both the county and the school district have faced economic struggles in the past, this year’s financial crisis is particularly bleak. According to Marshall Spatz, director of the MCPS Department of Budget, Management and Planning, the full impact of the financial crisis is still difficult to predict. "It is clear that this is one of the most severe situations, if not the most severe, that we have faced," he said. "We will know more by December and then still more after the Governor’s budget is released in January."
Backus described the current situation as unique to any she has experienced. "This looks potentially worse than the 1990s," she said. "I see more people worried."
She said that in past years, sizeable budget cuts have led to larger class sizes, fewer supplies and strong imprints on the quality of education for MCPS' students. "At one point they cut middle school sports, teachers got very low if any raises, supplies got reduced and class sizes got larger," she said. "It’s hard for teachers to give individual attention when they have so many students."
But the most pertinent effect that the crisis will have on education will be the loss of new, qualified and experienced teachers, according to Backus. "We’re going to lose people coming into teaching and more people will be leaving teaching," she said.
Social studies teacher Marc Grossman, member of the MCEA Board of Directors, believes that the meetings proposed by Navarro will be effective in developing solutions to anticipated problems. "The meetings are beneficial to both parties - the unions and the BOE use interest-based bargaining, which involves collaboration and avoids confrontation," Grossman said.
Backus remains skeptical about the collaboration, based on her past experiences. "I remember in the 70s we had a more collaborative approach," she said, "and it didn’t really work." She added that she foresees difficulty for all parties involved. "It can be hard on the kids, hard on the teachers, hard on everybody," she said.
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Should Nancy Navarro be getting free press on a Montgomery County Public Schools website?
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