Butcher: The budget requested by the Superintendent and BOE has not been fully funded for years. There are several categories of teachers that have not seen step increases over the years. If the County Executive and County Council fully fund the Superintendent’s budget request then the Board of Education should take care of the teachers. Again, there is a lack of understanding as the BOE can only work with the money approved by the County Council.

Butcher: The money seems to be coming from the County and the State; this money should be used as the County Executive and Superintendent have indicated with more school resource officers, more secure doors, bulletproof shields and cameras.

Butcher: As a current Board Member we are listening to every parent/child that have wanted to speak about their experience of bullying during our open sessions during board meetings. All reports that are filed are investigated by school staff. The responsibility of the board is to act as a final arbitrator if a student and/or teacher is punished and they appeal that finding to he Board we either uphold, increase or decrease the punishment. In addition, we will be establishing a series of forums to discuss bullying and other issues to assist parents and students with understanding the process. Finally, the common sense definition of bullying does not meet the definition that the school system has to follow. We are working on more outreach to the community so there is a better understanding of the responsibilities of the Board. This information better allows for parents to arm themselves with the right information to advocate for their children.