In: BOE, Community Feedback, County Council, Education & Culture, Government, Local Government, MCPS, Montgomery County Police Department, Policing, Public Funding, Public Safety, Safety, School Funding, Special Education, Transportation

April 8th, 2024 – This testimony was given to the County Council on the FY2025 operating budget Hello my name is Jason Makstein and I run the blog Moderately MOCO but today I am testifying as a community advocate about various items in the operating budgets. My focus will beContinue Reading

In: Artificial Intelligence, BOE, Budget, Information, Live Stream, Local Government, MCEA negotiations, MCPS, School, SMOB, Superintendent, Virtual

Introduction Board meeting begins with Pledge of Allegiance and roll call. Agenda is revised and appointments are announced for associate superintendent position. Detailed AI Generated Summary for [Board of Education – Board Business Meeting – 5/25/23](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bp-FeH4Y9gk ) Appointments [00:08](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bp-FeH4Y9gk&t=8 ) New appointments in Montgomery County Public Schools – Several newContinue Reading

In: Budget, County Council, County Executive, Government, Information, Local Government

Background A lot has been made of the Montgomery County budget recommended by County Executive Elrich. Including our previous piece on it here discussing the lack of accountability and declining services. There has also been a lot of back and forth between the County Council, County Exec, residents and theContinue Reading

In: BOE, Boundary Study, County Council, County Executive, COVID-19, Drugs and Alcohol, Government, Housing, Information, Local Government, Maryland, MCPS, MCPS Enrollment, Mental health, Overcrowding, Policing, Safety, School, Taxes, Testing

Background On Wednesday 3/15, Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich released his budget which included an 8% overall increase in budget and 10% increase for MCPS. The cost to tax payers is being advertised as a “10 cents” increase but amounts to about a 10% increase in the tax rate fromContinue Reading