From Harford County Public Schools:
June 27, 2016
The Board of Education of Harford County met for an open business meeting at 6:30 p.m. in the Board Room of the A. A. Roberty Building and took the following actions and received the following presentations:
– Spring 2016 HCPS State Interscholastic Athletic Champions & Sportsmanship Award Winners
– HCPS Educator Hall of Fame
Joan Cable
Barbara J. Douglas
– Miss Genae O. Hatcher, 2015-16 Student Representative to the Board of Education of Harford County
Board Committee Reports and Comments
Public Comment
Old Business:
Consent Agenda:
– Resolution – Miss Genae O. Hatcher, 2015-16 Student Board Representative
Decision on the Board of Education FY2017 Audit Plan:
– Board of Education Informational Report
– FY2017 Audit Plan
Decision on the Board of Education Office of Internal Audit Charter:
– Board Informational Report
– Internal Audit Charter
– Ratification of Negotiated Agreement with Harford County Education Association
– Monthly Report on Personnel – May 2016
Minutes of Previous Board Meeting(s): June 6, 2016, June 13, 2016
Affirmation of Monthly Contracts
– Contract Award: Purchase of Transit Vans – National Auto Fleet
– Contract Award: Palo Alto Firewalls
– Contract Award: Purchase of Dump Trucks – National Auto Fleet
– Contract Award: Annual Maintenance Plan for Storm Water Management Facilities
– Contract Award: Microsoft Campus Renewal
– Contract Award: Data Center Core Network Upgrade
– Contract Award: Computer Equipment Purchase for Youth’s Benefit Elementary School
– Contract Award: Electricity Supply Contract
– Contract Award: Maintenance on Video Surveillance Systems
Decision on 2016 Educational Master Plan, Mr. Cornell Brown, Mr. Chris Morton, Ms.Missy Valentino
– Master Plan Table of Contents
– Timeline of Capital Projects
Presentation of FY2018 Capital Improvement Program – Mr. Cornell Brown, Ms. Patti Jo Beard, Mr. Chris Morton, Ms. Missy Valentino
– FY2018 Proposed Budget Request
New Business:
– Recommendation of Harford County Public School Policies, Patrick P. Spicer, Esq.
– Test Administration and Data Reporting – Policy 04-0008-000
– Drama Production – Policy 04-0021-000
– Homework – Policy 04-0025-000
– Current Expense Fund Undesignated Fund Balance – Policy 16-0004-000
– Office of Internal Audit – Policy 21-0021-000
– Propose amendment to FY17 budget to reverse participation fee for students in the drama program
The next Board of Education business meeting will be held Monday, July 18, 2016 at 6:30 p.m. All Board meetings are held in the A. A. Roberty Building. To access all future meeting dates and agendas, log onto the school system website at www.hcps.org.
Just as there should be for sports…you want to sing and dance be my guest, but if you want to sing and dance associated with a public school also be my guest with one caveat – you pay for it. The public is not obligated to subsidize your hobbies or other extracurricular activities. $100 bucks isn’t that much to pay if you truly love something – maybe mom and dad make coffee at home for a month rather than buy that $6 latte every day. Presto – problem solved.
There are some considerable differences between sports and drama. The drama programs are all self-sufficient; sports are not. There are no umpires or referees that need to get paid in drama, donations and admissions to shows fully fund the programs and there are no transportation costs. Each production puts on three performances per show. This will cost each drama participant $33.33 per show where a baseball team may play 20 games which costs each participant, on average, $5.00 per event. The $100 fee does not go back to the drama or sports programs, it goes into the general fund.
HCPS is too top heavy administratively. Eliminate some of these ( I am not calling for layoffs but they can eliminate unnecessary positions by attrition) redundant upper echelon positions and invest these resources in the students.
Whether it be an athlete or an actor, the cost of not keeping these kids involved in extra-curricular activities and sending thing them home after school is a recipe for disaster. Kids that are involved in these activities perform better in school, are less likely to get in trouble, use drugs, etc. We are all too well aware of the heroin problems affecting our county. We should be not be creating barriers, financial or otherwise keeping kids out of school sponsored activities.
Harford County Parks and Rec offers many of the same opportunities and could take up the sports programs. Why should the school budget continue supporting this?
Drama is not self sufficient. Many shows lose money!
Many people probably don’t realize that to do a musical, you have to pay for a license for the rights to perform it. It can be very costly.
The Drama companies in each school pay these fees with monies raised on their own!!!!! The schools do NOT pay these fees!! Please get informed before you make comments like this.
As someone who sponsored one in a middle school we always lost money and ours was low budget!
The stipend comes from the school. Our school paid the royalties and we got all the sets and props with school money.
Right – for example, want to do a local production of “Annie?” Better send Paul McCartney a royalty check first. His company MPL Communications owns that and many other famous Broadway musicals. While he likely charges schools way less than a full-scale money making production, he still gets paid.
https://mplcommunications.com/home
Si de todo lo que ha acontecido desde ayer hasta hoy solo habéis sacado ese resumen… me parece demasiado pobre…Lo digo “sin acritú”, Rafa, que sabes lo que te quiero… pero ha habido nombres y cargos y movimientos demasiado importantes como para que solo veáis a Magdalena, la veetad.Cirrdo que IU solo ha sacado 2 diputados cuando deberÃa haber sacado muchos más… pero… porfa, mirad todo lo demás porque hay cosas de extrema importancia a las que se les ha dado la importancia que tienen…
sitesh sinha hi,Just gone through the above docs.its a really nice to get all info at d same place.thanks for all d above details.i have a query….today i saw in one of facebook group i had joined that…..there was a new button ….”seen by …” below the like button.i want to know how to get that button for our own group too.please reply..hoping for a kind reply reply from u soon..thanking you,sitesh sinha
The schools do not subsidize the productions. There is not any money allocated in the budget for drama productions like there is for athletics.
CDEV, The hearing addressed high school drama. You are comparing apples and oranges. Middle School productions can’t be compared to High School productions.
No it dealt with it all. Middle School pays to play
The State of MD considers middle schools as “secondary schools.”
So eliminate the top heavy positions and reduce the budget reducing those costs for the taxpayer. That still doesn’t mean the taxpayer should pick up the tab for singing lessons. There was a scene from the classic old film “Life w/ Father” in which the wife tries to explain to her husband how the newest purchase she’d made was free because she’d returned other purchases to get it…it was meant to be funny because it was absurd. Since when did the absurd become rational?
I heard it explained at the meeting that the fees go to the general fund but are specifically earmarked to offset expenditures for extra curricular activities.
Correct and they in no way cover ALL the costs.
Music and arts should be subsidized by the entire community, because the entire community benefits from these programs. Hence, these costs should be funded via a property tax increase to spread the burden across all county taxpayers.
I hope your post was an attempt at sarcasm because if not I would like to remind you that smoking crack is illegal.
I am totally serious. The arts in general benefit us all. I play multiple instruments as do our kids. We are all self-taught, but not everyone can learn on their own. Hence, I’d have no problem paying extra property taxes to fully fund the county schools music and arts program. We’re willing now, while our kids are in the schools, and will be willing to do so after they graduate. Great return on investment over the long term.
Well then for goodness sake, immediately halt the entire process associated with the Harford County Cultural Arts Center. I hope HCC is not receiving any state money, redirected to their performing arts center. Dramatic, comedic, and musical theater studies are just that, educational pursuits. I would love to to the financial schedule showing at what economic level students are exempt. Or, if you can’t afford to participate, is a student just out of luck? By the way, Fallston High School is down sizing its music program in a big way, percussion in particular. They are being sucked dry financially. But Hell, the parents of those privileged kids, many working two and three jobs, they deserve to keep paying, paying, and paying some more. There is way too much bloat at the central office of HCPS. Plus, many positions posted within the past two years are not for general classroom enhancement, only specific students. These positions pay on average $60,000. There is definitely fiscal budgetary inequality within our school public schools. In the mean time, we’ll just keep bleeding the parents dry.
Another boondoggle.
I completely agree with halting the entire process associated with the Harford County Cultural Arts Center. The rest… not so much.
Before you comment I would suggest you watch the entire meeting. Drama clubs support themselves through many different activities- ticket sales, concession (donated by the parents), car washes, bingos and ad sales to name a few. This is a tax and unfairly put on a select group of students. Our shows resonate with the communities and the Board of Ed is trying to fix a big problem with a fee on a group of people. They need to look at their own administration and make some reductions there, not the teachers or programs that help kids.
How do these programs benefit the entire community? Harford County has one of the highest median property taxes in the United States, and is ranked 255th of the 3143 counties in order of median property taxes. If not mistaken, a larger portion of property taxes paid, 38% is spent on education. I raised three children who attended Harford County Public Schools, didn’t have a problem that my property taxes were spent on education. Being a senior citizen now, don’t feel my property taxes should be increased for these public school programs.
I too oppose the wasteful spending but –
“I raised three children who attended Harford County Public Schools, didn’t have a problem that my property taxes were spent on education. Being a senior citizen now, don’t feel my property taxes should be increased for these public school programs.”
Ya you are the one who must be kidding.
So you didn’t have a problem with it when your kids were in school, but now that it is some other kids, you do? Boy that sounds like pretty F….. up reasoning to me.
But it is also 48th in wealth. Also, your kids benefited from the property tax paid by others.
You do realize that many other places have a separate”school tax.” So while Harford Co may have a higher property tax, that is the only tax that is used to pay for education. I am sure if you combine property tax plus school tax other jurisdictions you would get a better understanding of where Harford Co ranks.
In addition, EVERYONE pays the school tax – not just homeowners.
All of this bad press to raise a mere $50,000. How is that even helpful? These decisions continuously reinforce Harford County’s bad reputation in the state.
If anyone thinks property taxes are high here, trying moving to NJ and buying that same house. We paid double annual property taxes in NJ than we pay here for the same size house. MD taxes are a bargain.
Here is a great opportunity for free-market capitalists to advocate for the downsizing of public schools. There is no requirement for extracurricular activities to be provided by HCPS. Since HCPS appears to have difficulty funding them and are charging a fee on those who participate, maybe it’s time to turn over these activities completely to private organizations. Next year’s HCPS budget meetings will be a great time to start advocating for it. Think about. HCPS would require less money to operate and these activities would be run more efficiently and effectively by private associations.
I agree. Their entire focus should be on providing a high quality, academically competitive education. Parks and Rec can handle the sports or private clubs which many participate in anyway.
Agree. The board of education will probably oppose independent student drama productions because they will not be able to charge fees to balance the budget. They’ll probably try to fight it. But the students will be able to keep a drama program.
I don’t mind a pay to play. I don’t think drama is going to hurt a whole lot with $100 fee. I would be willing to contribute to my high school $50 or $100 to scholarship someone who can’t afford the fee. But, with all this attention to the budget it’s important to keep the attention there. There is most likely things that we pay for that are underused that can draw money back into the classroom and the arts. We spend a million dollars on a facilitator position that used to be done by principals. We really need to insist on zero based budgeting, if not every year, at least every 5 years. All great organizations do it. It’s makes you decide what is your real values are and where your focus needs to be. If you stop paying attention now, nothing will change long term.
You have no idea what you are talking about -“We spend a million dollars on a facilitator position that used to be done by principals.” The job used to be done by Elementary Supervisors and was changed by Haas to IF.
My inaccuracy in title and changes does not negate the need for zero based budgeting. We spend very little time asking does this still serve a purpose and too much complaining that Johnny needs a $100 to swim or sing.
The school board said that sports and theater (just theater- no other school sponsored clubs) are equal and both need to pay $100 but HCPS allots 3.7 MILLION in their budget for sports and ZERO for theater. HCPS school board recognizes and honors the achievements of athletes and never once recognizes thespians. This isn’t anything against sports, this is about making sure people realize that the arts are under funded and in some schools the theater programs are in danger. Drama clubs already pay for EVERYTHING from costumes to custodians and the school board even stated Monday night that not one penny of that $100 fee will go towards the drama clubs. Not a penny. They are taxing kids in a last minute decision and a llast ditch to cover a budget defecit they had at the 11th hour THE WEEK the budget was due. This shouldn’t sit well with any citizens of this county- not just drama families.
That’s right, thespian students should have the same rights! Being a thespian is not simply a lifestyle choice or simply how they act, but instead is what these students truly are, and they should not be treated differently because of it.
I see what you did there.
Brilliant. You have a way with words, a massive cunninglinguist.
I think you exagerate a bit much. it was not 3.7 million!!!! Try 2.9 million in expendetures and that does not include the offset in revenue of pay to play and gate costs!
Having Parks and Rec. take over all sports and drama sounds like a solution until I think it through. Parks and Rec. will need to use school fields for sports with the costs for operation and maintenance that goes with them, so no savings to the county there. Coaches will still have to be hired and paid, so again, no savings to the county.
P and R will need to use school auditoriums with the same lack of savings. The cost of these programs would just be shifted from the school budget to the P and R budget.
There are children whose parents pay for them to be in performing arts ensembles throughout the county. Lucky children. As for those children whose families can not afford these activities, I guess they will have to get used to what it is like to be poor economically and aesthetically.
Parks and Rec already uses the fields, maintains them and uses buildings. Where have you been?
P and R does not maintain the school fields they use!
Actually they do depending on the fields and use.
I am very sure that the building custodians care for any fields, pools and gyms on HCPS porperty. P & R just pays custodian overtime for weekend indoor use!
I think I can settle this issue for all of you. Both HCPS and P&R have in the past maintained aspects of the outdoor athletic fields which both use. The fields used only by HCPS are maintained by them. The buildings are maintained by HCPS and the custodian is paid extra to work some events and on weekends usually by the organization using the facility. How do I know you may ask? Answer: I have worked for and with both organizations where athletic field issues have been resolved cooperatively on more than several occasions. Maybe that is no longer the case with the current administration, but it was just a couple years ago.
The County Parks and Recreations Department provides little help when it comes to maintaining fields and nothing when it comes to school buildings. They help the school system with cutting the grass mostly. The individual community P&R programs do a lot of the work.
They use some school buildings not maintain them. I don’t think the other post said they maintain them. They do some minimal field maintenance such as cut grass, work infields and empty some trash. Basically, you have two taxpayer funded departments providing the same services when it comes to recreation and only one of those should. They other should be spending its resources educating students.
The drama parents, students and teachers were very respectful Monday night and repeatedly included sports in their areguements that NO child should have to pay a pay to play fee. This, despite the FACT that HCPS has a multi million dollar budget to support and maintain the fields, tracks, pools, etc. etc. that are used for sports and a $0 budget for any drama related activity.
The first item on the agenda at Monday nights meeting was to honor and recognize the numerous athletes and sports teams who had won various championships and honors this past spring. We all sat there and cheered and applauded these athletes, as we would expect them to do for us IF there were ever awards and accolades given out to drama students. Or musicians. Or artists. Dozens of music groups and individual students are recognized by the county and state each year for their participation and high scores in All County and All State. Does the school board recognize these accomplishments? Many of these same students receive scholarships and awards to attend college as music or theater majors. Does the local paper show pictures of these students and their parents accepting these scholarships like they do athletes? The answer to all of these questions is NO. So how are we the same??
While we believe that NO child or family should have to pay a pay to play fee (especially one as steep at $100) we also do not believe it is fair or equitable to charge these theater students a fee when we ARE INDEED self funded and supported. OR, if you want to charge us the same fee, put $3 million dollars in the budget to designate to all of the arts programs in HCPS and then we will gladly and happily pay our $100 fee.
If you do not know how our theater programs benefit the entire community, then I guess you are too busy staying home on a Friday night watching Jeopardy reruns to bother attending one of the dozens of theater productions being put on by our talented, hard working, underfunded theater companies in every high school in every corner of the county.
And by the way, if a drama company loses money, it still is at the cost of the company, NOT the school! We raIse our own money and if a show does not make as much as we had hoped, we “simply” do not have as much money as we would have liked for the next production! #morefundraisers #morecarwashes
I just looked at the HCPS budget and found this under the “Extra-Currucular Activities” section. Of the 3.7 million allocated almost 900K is for “student activities.” Among other things these funds are described in part as supporting “special events such as musicals…dramatic presentations…”
The school system regularly recognizes students and staff for their accomplishments, including students for non athletic related achievements.
Don’t have children if you can’t afford to raise them the way you believe is right.
And if you can’t afford to raise them the way you want stop complaining that other people won’t do it for you for free.
FREE? I pay taxes, so this programs in my children’s public schools are not FREE. Thank you so much for your parenting advice, however. I’m very certain that you have no idea what I can or cannot afford, my house hold income, the number of children I have or do not have, how or what I pay for their in or out of school activities, or how much I spend on or donate to these activities. I thank you greatly for your concern, however.
The median home value in Harford County is $298,000; the median property tax is $2582. Your child attends school for about 7 hours a day, for 180 days; about 1260 hours per year, not including bus tome or extracurricular activities.
That means that even if every cent of your property tax went to the school system, which it doesn’t, you would be paying TWO DOLLARS AND FIVE CENTS AN HOUR for your child’s education. And if you have more than one kid in school, the cost doesn’t multiply, it divided. Two kids? You’re paying a dollar and three cents. Have three in school and you are paying about fifty-two cents an hour.
So no, your kids education isn’t free. It’s just dirt cheap. Try to find a babysitter to watch your kids for the same rate you are paying for their education!
And that low cost is due in part to your neighbors who are paying the same rate as you, but don’t have any kids….and remember, the majority of property-tax-paying homeowners in Harford County do not have children in HCPS.
But many who don’t do have grandchildren who are
But when they had kids in school, they also paid a low rate.
The way I see it, most of the kids in extra-curricular activities come from tax-paying homes. Now we want the same people who already pay all the bills to pay more. We never get anything from the free-loaders but their problem children, with all their special needs (from lack of parenting), and their “free” breakfasts and lunches, “free” programs of all kinds. (nothing is really free) The same parents who pay all-along watch the poor and minority kids get all the college grants once all the B.S. of public schools is over, and it’s time for college. Give me a break.
Yep. My dad raised me by himself and we did not qualify for free or reduced lunch, but money was tight. We were strictly lower middle class. However, if I were in school today, I would be one of those kids who had to find $100 to play each sport…while those other kids would be able to play for free because their parents made a little less than my dad did. When I went to college, I hardly got any grants or need-based scholarships because the FAFSA determined that my dad should have been able to contribute $20,000 on his $40,000/year income. Yeah, right.
By the way…I work in a school now, and most of the kids who get breakfast and lunch complain about the food and throw it in the trash. Most of these kids get free or reduced lunch. It’s a joke.
By the way…most of
Most of the tax paying households of Harford county have no children in HCPS
But they all sure benefit from having kids in school all day, rather than out running wild through the streets of Bel Air, et al
The drama fee was nothing more than a last minute effort by the board of education to pretend to “balance” the budget. There was little thought put into it and the public had no chance to say anything until the last board meeting. Then the board felt they had to look tough by not revoking the drama fee after saving the swim programs.
The high fees may lead to lower participation in drama and sports so it is a farce for the board to say the fees will definitely balance the budget and prevent teacher cuts for one year. When they had a lower fee about two years ago for all activities, they did not get the money expected. The bottom line is the budget is not balanced.
They should vote on the drama fee again as one board member missed the meeting, and this member represents a district that definitely has schools with drama programs that are affected. They need to look elsewhere to balance the budget. That is their job. The entire board needs to be held accountable for their actions.
No, they should not vote again. An elected official should not miss a vote unless they are in the hospital. It was a 5-3 vote, so best it’s 5-4. We have to stop petitions and complaining every time we lose a vote. losing is part of life. Here’s you participation trophy.
The last board of education meeting was an important meeting so no board member should have missed it unless they were ill. Unfortunately a board member did miss the last meeting, and we need to know where everyone on the board stands. So they should do a revote. Someone else on the board could change their minds so it may not be the same result. Roberts rules allows for revotes.
Petitions and complaining is all protected by the First amendment. It’s the right to petition your government and the right to freedom of speech. People fought for these rights so I’m happy to see it exercised.
State law requires the BOE to pass a budget as off midnight on June 30. The member who was missing the last meeting voted to support the drama fee on the first vote. There is no way to say for certain how she would have voted this time so the vote could have been 5-4 or 6-3. Either way the fee would stand. All the BOE member who were former school teachers or administrators voted for the fee. The absent member is also a public school educator. That says a lot when all the educators favored the fee.
Play to pay fees are just another government imposed tax on your talents and time. Not much you can do about it, other than complain as you pay. But, here’s a thought…how about disbanding school drama departments altogether by students not participating at all. Then, form your own non profit performing company and just keep it outside of hcps purview (other than possibly renting performance space). If they are truly self funding then you would be that much better off financially by avoiding the performance tax charged by hcps. The school board and administration have proven themselves incapable of fiscal management, why would you want to be associated with them when you do not have to be. A $100 tax is just the beginning, you can expect this to only go up from there. Decouple from hcps and control your own destiny and costs.
then after you pay to play. You have to pay again to see your child play. It gets very expensive. What a scam
If you can’t afford your kids perhaps you should have not had them.
Yeah, what a scam! Actually having to pay for your child’s activities, while they are provided fields, stages, concert halls, coaches, teachers, advisors, and all the miscellaneous equipment required to maintain facilities your kid uses… Where does the injustice end?
Not every school drama community would be able to pull this off. I don’t see the drama community forming a countywide nonprofit that would support drama in every school and there isn’t enough interest at each school to form their own nonprofit.
Exactly! The board of education activity fees are a complete scam. You will be paying twice if you are a parent. And the board has still not “balanced” the budget. They are not going to get the revenue they need from the fees to make up for the shortfall. Extremely irresponsible on the part of the board of education.
How many hours does it take to put together a pay or musical? Four? Nine? Thirty-nine?
Take the number of hours your kid spends at rehearsals for his/her show. Divide that number by $100, plus whatever your ticket cost is.
That’s how much you are paying per hour for your child to have this experience.
Let’s say, 20 hours, and let’s say your ticket is 10 bucks. So at $110, you are paying $5.20 an hour for your kid to be in a show that is to be presented on stage, with real lighting and sound, and costumes, and props, and usually live musicians.
Boy, that sure is a scam! Only I think it is YOU who’s scamming the school system, not the other way around! If you can find a place that will give your kid this kind of experience for under $5 bucks an hour, let us all know!!!
Sorry but that’s wrong. The drama productions are self sustaining with most costs derived from fundraising, sponsors, and ticket sales. The scam is that the money from the fees goes into the general fund and not directly back to the activities. It’s not really “earmarked” as claimed by some board members because the general fund can be used for any purpose. It was also stated by board members the funds from the activity fees were needed to save positions. There would not be any need for earmarking even if it were true since drama productions are self funded anyway. So it is a scam. Let’s not insult students and parents by claiming that it’s the other way around. Everyone needs to know the scam.
So you are claiming that the salaries for drama teachers are funded by the proceeds of the production? Don’t think so. And not all shows turn a profit or break even. So there certainly are some funds that can end up coming from the school.
Go ahead. Take away drama. Take away sports while you are at it. Close down the schools at 2pm, 3pm and 3:30-4pm at the end of the academic day. No extra anything. Staff will have no opportunity to supplement their salary’s with coaching or adviser jobs. Custodians will be needed for less hours. We won’t be able to make extra money from the churches and other outside groups that we rent our buildings to. Only open the buildings for academics and take away ALL extra curricular activities so that your tax dollars are only funding academics. Then sit back and watch as not only no new families move here, but as teachers and families alike pack up and move to other counties and states where these opportunities and activities are offered. Then wait for your tax bill to come. It will go up of course, because there are far fewer residents to pay the taxes, most of which will still be needed to keep the schools open, maintain the roads and other infrastructure… Houses will be for sale and go into foreclosure at a higher rate.School buildings will close and sit empty. It will be awesome. Utopia. None of those “music and voice lessons” will clutter up the system. None of those ‘non-beneficial” play and musical productions will get in the way of your Jeopardy watching. Maybe we can even make some revenue back by selling off the expensive lights, bleachers, turf, sports equipment and instruments that have been cluttering the budget all these years. Yep, welcome to Harford County. Home of….nothing. Glad you’ve got it all figured out.
OMG this is too funny. Trying to sell the fear that if the teachers custodians aren’t allowed extra income not related to education, the educational system will implode and the world as we know it will no longer exist.
Sell the fear some where else dipshit and put every dime towards better educating the children. Clearly you were left behind foe a reason.
Pretty sure that wasn’t my only point “DEER”. If you are stupid enough to believe that if the county abolished all after school activities and only offered the 6-7 hour day for classes (which is what many of your genius fellow posters up above have suggested) that it wouldn’t have an adverse affect on enrollment you need to go back to kindergarten. Do you think all of those athletes who are hoping for scholarships are going to hang around in a county that doesn’t offer school sports??
Left behind. Good one.
You made me snortlle….. Oh how we should support those meat heads with athletic scholarships over academic because Harford county is a goldmine for professional athletes.. Seriously dumbass…. when you find yourself in a hole stop digging.
Are YOU an example of the academic excellence coming out of Harford County? God help us all.
Did you get an athletic scholarship and go on to be a professional athlete?
Bawahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
“be the change” are YOU an example of Harford County parenting?
Sounds like you have some real world stuff, the world’s going to end charging $100 for a non core educational activity?
If you want drama education, go to college or drama school
“Be the change”
You’re breathing my air. Id appreciate it if you move back where you came from.
Please, reply and “tell me how it is” I can’t wait to read your worthless reply.
The members of the board of education each get paid a stipend consisting of $300 a month. Since there are 9 members, that adds up to $32,400 a year. The student member does not get a stipend.
The $32,400 for the board of education stipends would be the perfect place for another HCPS budget cut. Being on the board should be a completely unpaid volunteer position, like the student member. So there was really no need for a $100 activity fee for drama.
But the board would not want to cut their own stipends. If they did it might lead to a decline in people running for the board or trying to get appointed to the board and fewer of them being involved in an important volunteer activity. How ironic.
The board needs to eliminate their own stipends if they are serious about making cuts.
A lot of drama being created by the dramatic over $100 bucks. One month of skipping the Starbucks latte, frappe, iced or fruity for a Folger at home gets you there.
That sounds like the same logic that was used to frame a proposed property tax increase to fix part of the mess. Can’t have it both ways Of course, it wouldn’t solve the the waste and management issues (the other part of the mess).
Yes you can and should have it both ways. The taxpayer is not obligated to subsidize administrative waste or singing lessons.
Missed that one – flew right by you.
But a lot of taxpayers WANT the kids to have experience in the arts. So please, until you’ve polled “the taxpayers”, don’t speak like you are representative of “the taxpayers”.
And while you are at it…figure iut how much of your property tax bill goes to HCPS, then figure how much of that is subsidizing the drama programs in HCPS. The amount of tax you pay annually that goes to the drama program wouldn’t buy you a ticket at Regal Cinemas.
Sorry Johnny some do want it but the vast majority don’t want their tax dollars going to little little Timmy prancing around the stage in leotards.
Realty
In dramatics, “Johnny” does not prance around in leotards. That’s dance.
Drama involves learning how to face a crowd of people without vomiting. It requires poise and self control to be an actor. It is no small feat to be able to remember 75 pages of dialogue and then present it in a manner that will captivate and enthrall an audience.
If you haven’t tried it, don’t knock it. Drama teaches people skills you don’t learn chasing a ball around a field.
“Drama involves learning how to face a crowd of people without vomiting. It requires poise and self control to be an actor. It is no small feat to be able to remember 75 pages of dialogue and then present it in a manner that will captivate and enthrall an audience.”
@Forever
Sounds like the early stage of training for our politicians. Especially those who don’t go on to become successful actors. The ones who do go on and become successful actors then tell the rest of us who we should vote for in filling our governmental leadership positions. We should listen to them because it was no small feat to be able to remember 75 pages of dialogue and then present it in a manner that will captivate and enthrall an audience, especially without vomiting.
Ms Moderate
Politics is not the only career that requires dramatic skills.
Anyone who has to stand in front of a large group of people and talk about things such as presenting a proposal for a new building, or convincing a group to see your way of looking at things, will benefit from some training in the dramatic arts.
Or suppose you must explain a difficult new medical procedure to a group of doctors in a warm auditorium on a hot August afternoon.
There are many instances where having previously learned how to make 76 pages of dialogue meaningful and interesting to a group of people is a good addition to your skill set..
If you want to look foolish in front of a group, that’s up to you.
I’m just saying that chasing a ball up in down a field will only qualify you for jumping over seating in a rental car commercial.
Dale Carnegie teaches the same thing and you can write a check to them if you want the experience. It’s not a taxpayer responsibility for getting an education.
Reality,
I beg to differ. It is every citizen’s responsibility to learn enough reading and math to fill out an IRS 1040 form. That’s why we have public education and why they emphasis reading and math.
WTF Ali Khat?
Clearly you lack the reading ability to understand what is being discussed. Is your reading finger broken? Can’t mouth the words?
Seriously…..
Reality,
It is my understanding that what is being discussed is the new $100 fee for after school drama. If you are having problems with my comment, maybe it’s because you don’t know what is being discussed.
I was merely responding to your remark that “It is not a taxpayer’s responsibility for getting an education.”
If it’s not the taxpayer’s responsibility to get an education, why do you think the government spends so much money trying to educate a person such as yourself (who I assume is a taxpayer.)
“I’m just saying that chasing a ball up in down a field will only qualify you for jumping over seating in a rental car commercial.”
@Forever
Of course folks like Bill Bradley, Jack Kemp and J C Watts would disagree with your very biased statement. Why you feel the need to denigrate individuals who played sports is telling of your own bias.
But a lot of taxpayers WANT the kids to have experience in the arts. So please, until you’ve polled “the taxpayers”, don’t speak like you are representative of “the taxpayers”.
And see? See what having no education in the arts has done to you? It turned you into a blubbering idiot who makes nonsensical statements like “Timmy prancing around the stage in leotards”. That’s not a drama production, sweetheart; that’s ballet. Ballet and plays/musicals are different things. Maybe you could go on Youtube, find samples of each, and revel in the enlightenment that accompanies becoming a wellrounded, educated human being.
But thank-you! Your demonstration of ignorance regarding these art forms has rendered your opinion null and void.
After school dramatics is not about “singing”. That is for the choir. Dramatics is for building character and presence while in front of an audience. It reduces the fear of public speaking.
If any after school activities should have a participation fees it is sports. God only knows how many tax dollars are spent to maintain recreational (varsity and pre-varsity) sports equipment. Yet, no “athlete” is required to pay extra to participate.
Until the “athletes” are required to pay their share of maintaining equipment and the expense of producing an after school extracurricular (sporting) activity (how about all those bus trips to other schools for games? Who funds this little pork barrel?), no drama student should be charged for using the school stage or funding the costs of staging a production.
School sponsored sports eats up a lot of public school budget. If anyone should have to pay a use fee it is those who play sports. When was the last time you bought a ticket to a Friday night game?.