Squarely in the pocket of MCEA, Rita Montoya took to X today to showcase her support for MCEA protests and educate the general public on budget cuts.
In a somewhat snarky, and very self-assured manner, she provided a citizen the dictionary definition of a budget cut.
When MCPS & BOE decide to allocate less funding to a category of the MCPS budget than they did previously, it’s a budget cut. Have a good night. pic.twitter.com/QoIoBjItHh
— Rita Montoya (@Montoya4MCPS) June 11, 2024
This is a definition that a majority of the MoCo populace has become very familiar with as they manage household budgets in the face of rising taxes and policy induced inflation. However, she quickly found out that t-shirt slogans don’t typically make the best policy positions as she gets corrected that the budget isn’t actually cut….it’s MORE. So she pivots to:
The reduction of teachers; cutting the medical office; cutting MVA—those are allocations which are less than they were previously. I agree the overall budget allocated by the County Council is not less (or a “cut”) but the categorical allocations by MCPS & BOE are.
— Rita Montoya (@Montoya4MCPS) June 11, 2024
So what Rita is really protesting under the guise of “Don’t Cut our Budget” is the allocation of resources within a budget. This means that something received more money and something less money. That is basic, and very healthy, financial management. In fact, if something on a year over year basis is not receiving less money in your budget, you are probably not actually managing your budget.
But here comes the real tickler, Rita then adds:
Yes it would seem so which is why we need all of the information to see where it’s going.
— Rita Montoya (@Montoya4MCPS) June 11, 2024
This is a repeated tactic she (and other MCEA endorsed candidate Laura Stewart) uses when discussing budget with the community, reiterating that “we really need a more transparent budget”. They then find their red shirts and start marching with whatever slogans the MCEA president hands out.
So, in one hand Rita is carrying a sign that says, “don’t cut the budget” and in the other a sign that says, “make the budget transparent”. Am I the only once making a sign that says, “make it make sense?”
It is time to stop being governed by slogans meant to deceive, manipulate, and empower certain groups, and start being governed by facts and truth. Is Rita up to that challenge?
If she would like to give it a try, here are some questions:
- What is a fully funded MCPS?
- Should the MCPS budget ever be lower year over year, or should it always increase?
- What expenditure, if cut, would MCEA not protest against?
- If the community is purchasing something and not getting value, should it keep purchasing it?
- Should MCPS funding be tied to performance metrics?
