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MCPS Board of Education
Testimony
January 12, 2011
By
Merle Cuttitta, President SEIU Local 500
Good Evening, Mr. Barclay and members of the Board of Education, my name is Merle Cuttitta and I represent the 8,500 SEIU Local 500 support staff of Montgomery County Public Schools and another 7,000 employees in Maryland and the District of Columbia who educate and advocate for children and adults in their care.
What makes an exceptional school system? Well, we’ve got buildings, buses, computers, etc. But the real value that this school system provides to the county, as you all know, comes from its staff and their dedication.
As school districts across this nation struggle with how to prepare students for college and the jobs of the 21st Century, here in Montgomery County, we’re continually raising standards and are being recognized nationally for our accomplishments.
So, what have we figured out that other school districts could learn from? We’ve actively cultivated trust, respect and a spirit of teamwork, so we are able to focus on what matters – the kids.
MCPS’s commitment and investment in its workforce is its hallmark. As Dr. Weast says, MCPS hires for attitude, trains for success and provides opportunity to learn and grow.
But what is this investment worth – and what will happen to all that we’ve built – when dedicated staff must choose between the jobs they love and supporting their own families? It may sound like hyperbole, but it’s not.
And what is the vision you have strategically planned for worth if it cannot be committed to or implemented by every employee in the school system? Not a plug nickel.
MCPS supporting staff – its paraeducators, bus drivers and attendants, security staff, food services, media assistants and MSTs and secretaries – are majority 10-month employees, and they are the operational infrastructure and educational support that keeps MCPS working. Many are facing financial challenges as well as a crisis of faith in their commitment to MCPS.
The choices you make this year – how you answer “What do we value?” and “What is a great education worth?” – will impact the decisions of MCPS employees, as the economy improves – how they answer “Was I valued, respected and supported for all I have been, and will be, asked to do and give up?” and “Can I continue to give 110% to MCPS’s mission and students?”
Trust in others to do the right thing, it’s part of what has brought us to where we are today – the highest graduation rate of any large school system in the nation, more students taking AP exams than ever before, continually narrowing the achievement gap, and the flagship county of America’s #1 state for public education.
In the face of the most difficult budget fight of our lifetime, I urge you to stay the course of the proposed budget and stand with your employees as they have stood behind your vision all these years.
Thank you for your continued commitment to work with us, the PTAs, and communities to develop the best possible budget in these difficult times.
