Bannockburn Elementary PTA

The BES PTA is doing something we rarely do: we are asking our families to directly advocate to elected officials on behalf of our teachers, students, and school.

Montgomery County leaders are currently making final decisions about the MCPS budget, and continued community advocacy is making a real difference. Thanks to strong outreach from families, staff, students, and community members across the county, the projected MCPS funding shortfall has already dropped significantly—but major cuts are still possible, including staffing impacts that could affect BES library/media services, specifically the Assistant Media Specialist position staffed by the wonderful Ms. Haddeland. 

Why it Matters: Eliminating this position would create significant operational and instructional challenges at BES. Because Ms. Chuk provides scheduled media instruction and technology integration lessons throughout the school day, the media center cannot remain fully open for student checkout during those instructional periods without dedicated support staff. As a result, BES would face difficult tradeoffs: reduced student access to library services and book circulation, or reductions to media instruction currently provided to all students, including digital citizenship, research skills, coding and robotics, and other technology-integrated learning experiences. The loss of this position would therefore impact both literacy access and instructional programming central to the School Library Media program.

1) Contact the County Council NOW Before Final Budget Vote TOMORROW May 21 

What you can do: Ask Councilmembers to fully fund the MCPS budget request and avoid school staffing reductions. 

Suggested message to send the councilmembers listed below, just copy and paste or customize to your liking:

“As a Bannockburn Elementary School parent/caregiver and Montgomery County resident, I urge you to fully fund MCPS and avoid staffing reductions that directly impact students, classrooms, libraries, and school services. Please prioritize protecting our students, teachers, and schools.”

District 1 (most BES families):
Andrew.Friedson@montgomerycountymd.gov

At-Large Councilmembers:
Councilmember.Evans@montgomerycountymd.gov
Councilmember.Jawando@montgomerycountymd.gov
Councilmember.Glass@montgomerycountymd.gov
Councilmember.Sayles@montgomerycountymd.gov

2) Contact MCPS Leadership & the Board of Education Before June 4 BOE Meeting!

Once the County budget is finalized, MCPS leadership and the Board of Education will make implementation decisions regarding staffing and reduction allocations.

What You Can Do: Send a message to the Board of Education and Superintendent’s Office using our suggested letter template HERE. You can customize it or just copy and paste, then email the below individuals:

Board of Education:
Graciela_Rivera-oven@mcpsmd.org
Brenda_Wolff@mcpsmd.org
Rita_M_Montoya@mcpsmd.org
Karla_Silvestre@mcpsmd.org
Laura_M_Stewart@mcpsmd.org
Julie_Yang@mcpsmd.org
Natalie_Zimmerman@mcpsmd.org
Anuva_C_Maloo@mcpsmd.org

Superintendent’s Office:
Thomas_W_Taylor@mcpsmd.org
Sandra_L_Napoli@mcpsmd.org

Questions? Contact our MCCPTA Cluster Reps Margaret Cantrell, margaretcantrell@gmail.com and Rosalyn Kumar, rosalynmkumar@gmail.com.