October 2008 was a typically busy time around MCPS. The news media was covering the issue of
illegal curricular fees being charged in schools, local school
audits were being released with
surprising revelations, and HSA's were threatening to
keep students from graduating. The MCPS Capital and Operating Budgets for FY10 were being prepared.
Where was our Superintendent during 7 days of the busy first semester of the 2008-09 school year?
The dates these pictures were taken were from October 11th through October 15th. Superintendent Weast missed a
Board of Education meeting on October 14th.
Posts
That was the week that the news outlets were reporting that Richard Montgomery HS spent student funds on a lavish retreat at the Chesapeake Hyatt Resort:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.wjla.com/news/stories/1008/561254.html
I am an MCPS employee and absolutely am not a Jerry Weast fan but I do have a question. Was Weast on leave (i.e. vacation) when he was on this safari? I believe he earns about 20 - 25 days of vacation per year. If he was taking a vacation, what's the problem? Doesn't he deserve vacation time off like the rest of us? He can't take all 4 or 5 weeks off in the summer as contrary to popular belief, a LOT goes on in the school system during the summer. I think posts like this do this blog a disservice as it comes across as yet another "gotcha." Does everything on this blog have to be conspiracy theories about the "evils" of MCPS?
ReplyDelete@anonymous - How long have you been a member of the Parents' Coalition listserv? If you have been around for a while you know that in Maryland we have a law called the Maryland Public Information Act. As a public employee, a Superintendent's schedule is actually public information. If you have a question about the Superintendent's use of leave, just ask! MCPS would be more than happy to give you that information as they are required to by law.
ReplyDeleteYou already seem to have read the Superintendent's contract. Where were you able to see that public document? We haven't found a copy of it, although many other Superintendent contracts are easily accessible online.
When an organization allows the sunshine in, there are no surprises. If a Superintendent wants to make his schedule public each month, as some do, there is no question about how he/she spends their time.
I find it very hard to believe that the middle of October while the Operating & Capital Budgets are being put together is the best time for a Superintendent of a $2.1 billion school system to be out of the country.