Breaking**Inspector General: "Actions of MCPS senior leaders do not demonstrate either accountability or transparency." Report on MCPS Failure to Background Check Staff/Contractors/Volunteers.

Today, the Montgomery County Office of the Inspector General issued a report entitled, "Review of MCPS Background Screening Office."

The IG's Report details disturbing gaps in the MCPS background checks of staff, contractors and volunteers.

The MCPS Superintendent, Thomas W. Taylor, responded to the Report and criticized the IG's process.

The IG responded to the Superintendent's criticism with a response letter that included the following statements:  

...OIG staff met with members of the Superintendent’s leadership team on June 25th and in response to that meeting made corrections to address the concerns raised and provided a revised draft report on July 7th. On July 16th we held another meeting to discuss MCPS’s proposed corrective actions and address any other questions or issues. At no time during or after that meeting did MCPS leadership request additional changes to the report, raise wording discrepancies, or identify any inaccuracies. The Superintendent did not attend either of these  meetings, and despite his claims, MCPS leaders did not exhibit or invite an authentic collaboration. In fact, during our last meeting with MCPS leadership, they repeatedly refused to discuss specifics of certain planned actions which would assist the OIG in determining if the proposed steps would address observed deficiencies or offer alternative considerations. It was only in the Superintendent’s July 25th formal response that we learned of the nature and extent of discussions with the State regarding CPS checks...

...Lastly, in contrast to their statements, the actions by MCPS senior leaders do not demonstrate either accountability or transparency. The fact remains that thousands of individuals with unsupervised access to MCPS schools and students have not had a criminal history check in more than five years and thousands more have not completed a CPS check. In the end, only one entity is tasked with and has accepted the responsibility for obtaining these background checks to safeguard employees and students, and that is MCPS.  

The full IG Report is reproduced below: 

Montgomery County Public Schools, Maryland screening of employees by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland on Scribd