Thursday, May 12, 2011
Joshua P. Starr's contract is for four years with a $250K base salary.
Joshua P. Starr came to Rockville on Wednesday to make it official, signing a four-year contract that will pay him a base salary of $250,000 annually as the superintendent of Montgomery County Public Schools. Starr will succeed Jerry D. Weast, who steps down on June 30 after 12 years at the helm of the largest school system in Maryland. He inherits a school system that grew its budget significantly and reached great heights under Weast, including a graduation rate that ranks first among the nation's largest school districts as ranked by Education Week magazine. Asked about his charge to improve upon a school system that is already a nationally recognized leader, Starr said that he is up to what he called “the best kind of challenge.” “…
Friday, April 29, 2011
Schools could lose $29 million in state aid for the 2012-2013 school year as a result.
Montgomery County will not pursue a waiver from a school funding requirement and faces a $29 million penalty from the state. County Executive Isiah Leggett joined with the County Council in sending a two-sentence letter to the state school board on Thursday saying that the county would not pursue a waiver from the state mandate. The mandate requires that per-pupil funding of schools by county governments remain the same or increase from one fiscal year to the next. The decision represents an about-face for Leggett (D), who had pursued a strategy of not funding county schools at the level necessary to meet the state requirement while pushing for a waiver and a legislative remedy. Leggett said Thursday that he signed on to the letter in …
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Joshua P. Starr has been superintendent of Stamford (CT) schools since 2005.
Joshua P. Starr, the Stamford (CT) Public Schools superintendent, will be the next Montgomery County Public Schools superintendent, pending final contract negotiations and state approval. The county school board announced Starr as the finalist in a public meeting on Monday evening. “We are pleased, we are in fact delighted, that Dr. Starr is joining us,” said board President Christopher S. Barclay (Dist. 4) of Takoma Park, adding that the new superintendent will come to Montgomery County and have several public meetings before officially assuming the job on July 1. Starr has been superintendent of Stamford Public Schools, a 15,000-student system with similar demographics to Montgomery County, since 2005. He worked in the New York City …
Thursday, March 17, 2011
The county seeks a waiver from a state funding mandate as schools officials prepare for a fine.
In unveiling his fiscal 2012 operating budget proposal on Tuesday, County Executive Isiah Leggett did what he said he would: The $4.35 billion spending plan does not include any increase in county aid for the 144,000-student school system. In December, county schools Superintendent Jerry D. Weast proposed a $2.16 billion budget plan for the 2011-2012 school year that called for an $82 million increase in county aid over the current budget. The increase would keep the county in compliance with the state's maintenance of effort law, which requires that per-pupil spending remain the same or increase from one fiscal year to the next. Leggett’s plan assumes a 3.5 percent increase of state and federal spending for county schools—about $67.7 …
Friday, February 18, 2011
Montgomery County school board president makes the case for 2012 school funding.
On February 14, the Montgomery County Board of Education approved a $2.2 billion FY 2012 operating budget request for Montgomery County Public Schools. Mindful of the economic climate, the board adopted the minimum funding level mandated under the state’s maintenance of effort (MOE) law, which requires counties to fund education at the same per student level each year. In order for Montgomery County to meet MOE, it must increase local education funding by $82 million to address increased enrollment of more than 3,300 students. If the county fails to meet its minimum funding obligation under MOE, as a penalty, the school district may lose at least $22 million in additional state aid. The board’s adopted budget request, which includes no new…
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Weast renews call for county aid, says programs are in jeopardy without it.
A $2.2 billion operating budget request approved by the county school board on Monday sets the stage for what could be contentious budget negotiations between the board and the County Council. “I’m just really concerned what it means for the long-term future of [Montgomery County Public Schools],” board President Christopher S. Barclay (Dist. 4) of Takoma Park said on Tuesday. The fiscal 2012 operating budget request includes no new programs or initiatives but increases spending by $82 million in order to keep up with enrollment growth of more than 3,300 students this school year. The spending plan would put the county in compliance with a state mandate that dictates that per-pupil spending remain the same or increase from one fiscal year…
