In 2004, the Board of Education adopted a set of recommendations from its Research and Evaluation Committee to change the process for public involvement in the development of the Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) strategic plan and operating budget. The Board's goals included greater public involvement in long-range strategic issues and emphasizing public involvement in the development phase of the strategic plan and operating budget.

As a result of the initiative, the Board of Education sponsored three community forums in the fall of 2004, each held in the auditorium of the Carver Educational Services Center. Based on the input from these first forums, MCPS decided to hold three forums in the fall of 2005, in school locations in different parts of the county. Participants in each of the forums were asked to address three principal questions:

1. What strategies and initiatives are on target to meet the goals?
2. What is missing or falling short?
3. How can we communicate the goals and objectives of the strategic plan more effectively to the community?

Substantial feedback on a wide range of issues involving the strategic plan was presented at each of the forums. A summary of the comments from each forum is provided below.

Testimony from the 2008 community forums

• Testimony from the Sept. 18, 2008 forum

Testimony from the 2007 community forums

• Testimony from the Sept. 20, 2007 forum
• Testimony from the Oct. 11, 2007 forum

Testimony from the 2006 community forums

• Testimony from the Oct. 12, 2006 forum

Public comments from the 2005 community forums

• Public input from the Sep. 8, 2005 forum (148KB PDF)
• Public input from the Sep. 22, 2005 forum (128KB PDF)

Public comments from the 2004 community forums

• Public input from the Sep. 9, Sep. 23 and Oct. 7, 2004 forums (23KB PDF)
• Additional public comments received by the Board of Education (27KB PDF)