Friday, June 19, 2015

Breaking News: MCPS May Shut Down "Infamous" Secret Database of Staff Suspected of Sexually Abusing Students. Kauffman calls it the "infamous" database, Smondrowski laughs.

MCPS Elem. Music Teacher Mug Shot
On Monday, June 15, 2015, the Montgomery County Board of Education's Policy Committee met and discussed changes to the extremely outdated BOE Child Abuse Policy.  BOE Committee meetings are now videotaped, yet there has been no press coverage of this important discussion.

Below is the video of the June 15th BOE Policy Committee meeting. At minute 17:50 you can hear BOE member Phil Kauffman talk about the "infamous" secret MCPS database of staff suspected of sexually abusing students.

Phil Kauffman:  "...In the past, I think that's where we were collecting this database, I guess, called the infamous database, um [ BOE member Rebecca Smondrowski laughs out loud] where I would say that these were innocent things being collected in a database and, but, maybe if you have 20 innocent incidents this looks like this isn't so innocent anymore.  It looks like we are not planning to keep this database anymore..."

MCPS staff, Josh Civin:  "We took out of the Protocols references to an Inappropriate Interactions Database while we are looking into that, with some concerns on that..."
Mr. Kauffman seems to think that the Infamous Database was used for innocent incidents. Maybe Mr. Kauffman should talk to some of MCPS elementary school teacher Lawrence Joynes' 15+ victims (here, herehere, and here and see if he still considers those incidents "innocent."

As to Rebecca Smondrowski's outburst of laughter during this discussion, in what society is harboring sex offenders in public schools for decades anything to laugh about, ever? 


9 comments:

  1. Protocols and formalities
    Disguise the abnormalities
    Using stuffy personalities
    And redacted grim realities.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Why are the vocal Child Abuse experts absent from this meeting?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The weren't absent. The Board of Education just didn't let them speak.

      Delete
  3. Why the mug shot resembles Planchet of The Three Musketeers fame.

    ReplyDelete
  4. If you would have watched the full video, the sarcastic laugh was followed by a serious question regarding our children's safety. Looks like the parents coalition is trying to skew reality, again.

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    Replies
    1. Watched the full video. Thanks for confirming there was a sarcastic laugh when the Secret Database of Suspected Sexual Abusers of Public School Children was mentioned. Please explain how that Database would EVER be funny?

      Have I seen you in the courtroom when the dozens of hearings have been held over the last 2 years? NO, I haven't. You haven't been there and neither has Rebecca Smondrowski or ANY of the Board of Education members. No one from MCPS, MCCPTA or the public has been there to hear the testimony of the victims or hear their sobbing during the hearings. The Parents' Coalition has been the ONLY organization to show up to witness these hearings.

      You think the dozens of victims of these crimes find ANYTHING to laugh at about a public school system that systematically hides teachers who sexually abuse students?

      Anything to laugh at about a school system that hides teachers for over TWO DECADES and allows repeated abuse to go on and on and on and on?

      What part of REALITY and the FACTS do you think we are skewing?

      Let us know when you have spoken to the dozens of victims of these crimes and tell us when you think a laugh would EVER be acceptable.

      Delete
    2. And, oh, where exactly do we find your submitted typed comments on this Policy? See, ANYONE could comment on this Policy. Even anonymous cowards. So, your comments are where?

      Delete
  5. The sarcastic laugh is a reflection on BOE's performance record as a responsible body that is laughable indeed!

    ReplyDelete
  6. At the time of this Board of Education meeting, MCPS Cloverly elementary school John Vigna was still in his classroom and a letter telling him not to put little girls on his lap was in his file.

    http://parentscoalitionmc.blogspot.com/2017/08/2013-joshua-starr-others-cc-on-letter.html

    Does that letter look like it refers to "innocent" actions?????

    As the Board of Education was discussing the issue of not reporting suspected sexual abusers in schools, John Vigna was still in the classroom with years of internal complaints against him for inappropriate interactions with children.

    ReplyDelete

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