Roger Stenersen, Communications Director for RTL, read the following comments during public comment at the 5/20/25 business meeting:
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Dr. Zentmeyer, Board Members and Dr. Sovine,
My name, as I shared at your last meeting, is Roger Stenersen. I am representing the organization, Rising to Learn (RTL), a grassroots group which has as its mission to share your actions with as many people as possible who are vested in the decisions you make as the Board of Education which governs the school system delivering educational programming to their children. We currently have over 560 followers to our Facebook page, considerably more than the number of individuals commenting on the Board’s web site about the most recent policy changes. and the number is rapidly growing. Individuals interested in learning more about our organization may go to Risingtolearn.com. That’s Risingtolearn.com.
Last month I urged that you not only SAY you value public input, but that your ACTIONS reflect such an interest. It is RTL’s current assessment that, making the new meeting time during the workday for most constituents and requiring that they sign up a day in advance if they wish to address the Board, your ACTIONS do NOT reflect your stated interest in receiving public input, as these changes to policy further limit constituents’ input. It is a matter of Board Policy (ABA) that “all persons are encouraged” to present input to the Board; the policy changes you have adopted and are considering are in direct opposition to this statement. Wouldn’t it behoove you to be more inviting of public comment than to further restrict it?
RTL has surveyed the public to share their views about recently approved and considered policy changes via the survey website, SurveyPlanet. We received over 200 responses, here are the questions and results:
Q1: The Board of Education changed the start time of its monthly Business meetings from 6:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. This makes it more difficult for working parents, WCPS staff, and other stakeholders to attend these meetings. Which start time do you favor 6:00 p.m. or 4:00 p.m.?
6pm: 198 (94.7%)
4pm: 11 (5.3%)
Q2: Previously, the Public Comment portion of the BOE’s monthly Business meeting was at the beginning of the meeting. This allowed stakeholders to share their concerns and suggestions regarding any agenda items that the Board would be voting on or discussing during the meeting. Public Comment has been moved to the end of the meeting and now occurs after both Old Business and New Business agenda items. Do you think Public Comment should be at the beginning of the meeting or at the end of the Business meeting?
Beginning: 197 (93.4%)
End: 14 (6.6%)
Q3: Board of Education Policy KD has been under review by the Board’s Policy Committee and a revised version of the policy had an approved first reading. The Board of Education decided to not have a second reading of the policy. The policy will undergo further review and possible revision by the Board’s Policy Committee and possibly brought back for a first reading by the Board. One revision under consideration would change the current policy and would require anyone wishing to speak during Public Comment to sign up by 4:00 p.m. the day before the meeting. Under the existing policy, speakers are encouraged to sign up in advance or they may sign up upon arrival at the meeting. Current practice under the existing policy has been to allow anyone who wishes to speak to be able to do so after those who signed up in advance have spoken. Do you think Policy KD should be written to maintain the current practice or be changed to require signing up by 4:00 p.m. the day before the meeting?
Maintain: 174 (83.3%)
Change: 35 (16.7%)
Rising to Learn knows the value of stakeholder input and feedback in the decision making that will occur and expects that you will consider these survey results as you discuss and deliberate.
Any annual budget is an amazingly complex undertaking, and we certainly commend staff who assisted you in providing the data to help guide your decision-making; their work in providing clarity is indeed, very impressive. But there are aspects of the school system’s budget development which, we believe, were missed opportunities. For example, the Budget Advocacy and Review Advisory Committee commended the Board for including in its original draft budget funding earmarked for safety and security; that funding, despite such recognition, was removed. Indeed, given the testimony of behavioral management staff at your work session on May, school safety and security personnel are one of the most valuable factors which limit untoward behavior on the part of students; your elimination of the proposed safety and security positions from the budget which, perhaps, reflects a contradiction in values - that is, you say you want to curtail untoward student behavior, but, on the contrary, you cut the positions which you are told can make a difference in reducing such behavior. Furthermore, if the Board is going to employ a Budget Advisory Committee, it should be incumbent upon you to acknowledge the suggestions and be transparent when not following the suggestions made by the committee. It’s RTL’s recollection that during the election campaign, several of you even shared an interest in strengthening safety and security, but then you eliminated the proposed expansion of safety and security officers which would have provided equitable resources among all high schools as reflected in the superintendent’s proposed budget.
RTL is quite concerned about your elimination of the position of Supervisor of Equity and Excellence. It is our understanding that each school system in Maryland is mandated to have an individual who bears the responsibility of administering this program, and we ask, “who will address this responsibility?” Will those responsibilities be added to the job description of another staff member, whose workload is already barely manageable? Will that work be delegated to others whose plates are already full? When will the Board update this COMAR-mandated plan and share it publicly; when will the annual report be published and made public?
RTL thanks you for your kind attention, and we look forward to our continuing dialog with you.