By Adam Pagnucco.
On Tuesday, the county council issued a proclamation recognizing Education Appreciation Week. Several educators appeared in the council chambers to comment on the proclamation. Among them was Montgomery County Education Association (MCEA) President David Stein, who issued a blistering denunciation of the council’s supportive words as “hollow.”
It wasn’t as tough as MCEA’s notorious sit-in three years ago, but it was not an enjoyable moment for council members. And this is not just Stein as an individual. The union is concerned that if MCPS gets enough money shaved from its budget request, the school system will have to go into its collective bargaining agreements to look for savings. No union would ever support such a prospect.
Let’s turn it over to Stein. The comments below are transcribed from his appearance at the council on Tuesday.
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MCEA President David Stein.
Thank you, Chair Jawando and Council Member Mink and Evans. Thank you.
On behalf of the 14,000 educators that I work with and I represent, we appreciate the words and we appreciate the proclamation because those 14,000 educators who are right now, even as we speak, in the classrooms, in their buildings, work sites, in students’ homes, they are – they are miracle workers. They are performing miracles every day. They are meeting students with all sorts of challenges. They are nurturing them. They are loving them. They are inspiring them. They are educating them. Even in the conditions that we face with underfunded schools, with buildings that are really falling apart in many cases, they’re doing the work. And in our nation’s environment in which teachers are under attack, in which unions are under attack, and so teachers unions are really under attack.
And it’s in that environment that our teachers are, and our educators, every single day are performing miracles. And so we really do appreciate the words that you’re saying.
But I have to say that for a lot of my members, for most of my members, these words are – they see these words as hollow. When you are at the same time giving sincere words of appreciation, when at the same time you’re considering budget scenarios that may devastate our schools. They ring hollow, our members, when on one hand you’re decrying Donald Trump for firing public educators, for firing public employees, but at the same time you’re considering budget scenarios that will force the school board into a situation where we have to fire public employees.
It rings hollow when on the one hand you’re decrying Donald Trump attacking public employee unions when at the same time you’re having budget scenarios that are going to force the school board to look at our collective bargaining agreements.
And so that’s why yes, we appreciate the words, but the words are not enough.
And we need this council, council members. We need this council to stand up to those words, to do what’s right for our students, for our educators, for the schools. Find a budget solution that supports the crown jewel of Montgomery County, which is MCPS.
So, thank you very much for the words.