Local 500 members crowded into the auditorium of Richard Montgomery High School to hear about Superintendent of Schools Joshua P. Starr’s budget recommendations for Montgomery County Public Schools. They proudly wore their purple and held signs and expressed their conviction that the county cannot put the local community and economy at risk by cutting corners at schools by cutting support services.
Brothers and sisters from Local 500 who do not work for the school system also came to show their support.
“This isn’t just an issue that affects union members who work in the schools – school funding is something that affects everyone in the community,” said Nathaniel Wallace, a member of the Local 500 Executive Board and employee at the National Children’s Center (NCC), where he works with children with developmental disabilities.
In a press release, Superintendent Starr seemed to share their concerns and made the case against more cuts to schools, saying, “While I understand the circumstances facing the county, we cannot continue to absorb these types of cuts without risking the quality and high performance our community has come to demand.”
