Jay Thirunarayanapuram, a gifted artist who had just completed his freshman year at Albert Einstein High School, died five days after he turned 15.

...When she opened the door and saw two Metro Transit police detectives standing outside, a wave of panic swept over her.

“Can we come in and visit with you?” one asked.

The detectives sat down on a couch and quietly told her that Jay was found next to the Metro tracks near the Rhode Island Avenue station that afternoon. They said it appeared he had been videotaping himself for social media when he slipped while riding atop a Metro train, a practice known as subway surfing — an escalating problem for some major transit agencies...

...The 15- and 16- year-olds interviewed for this article, who attend high schools in Fairfax County, Montgomery County and the District, said they had been riding on top of or between trains for the past year or so...

Jay Thirunarayanapuram, 15, died while subway surfing this summer. - The Washington Post

BOE has $318,581 for Commercial Lease for Classrooms while Existing School Space is Unused

4 Choke Cherry Road, Rockville

Ever been to 4 Choke Cherry Road in Rockville?  Next time you are in the neighborhood drive by and say hello to the MCPS administrators that are housed at that office building.  You'll be able to find them by their reserved parking spaces and MCPS paid for SUVs.

The BOE has decided that they can spare $318,581 each year for administrators to have spacious offices and for classrooms for training.  Yes, you read that correctly.  MCPS is leasing CLASSROOMS.  Meanwhile, existing, paid for, rent free MCPS public school buildings are not in use by the Board of Education.  An entire wing of Sligo Middle School is even unused and available!  But, the MCPS budget is so flush with cash that the Board of Education has no problem spending these funds on perks for administrators.

Teachers, you still buying your own classroom supplies?    

   Commercial Ofc Space Lease Ext by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland

4,057 Empty Seats: The Truth About MCPS Middle School Capacity #unusedClassrooms

Enrollment/Capacity/Utilization

If you watched the August 20, 2015, Board of Education discussion of the dire need for a new middle school to be built on a Kensington park site, you would think that MCPS middle schools were simply bursting at the seems. 

In fact, MCPS has approximately 4,000 unused, existing seats in middle schools today.   The image to the left highlights all of the MCPS middle schools with available classroom space. The actual available space varies depending on which MCPS chart you use.  

That's right, available middle school classroom space.

MCPS has so much empty middle school space that at Sligo Middle School they have given an entire wing of the school to a private company.  

Are Board of Education members simply unable to understand the basic math of classroom capacity?  

Let's take one set of MCPS numbers.

MCPS states that they have middle school classroom space to accommodate 36,315 middle school students.

Last year, MCPS enrolled 33,169 actual middle school students. 

Even using this set of MCPS numbers, there are still 3,146 EMPTY middle school classroom seats. 

That's at least the equivalent of THREE entire middle schools of empty classroom space.  

If you use the chart shown in the image above, there is the equivalent of FOUR entire middle schools of empty classroom space.

Capacity Crisis? Then why give away Classrooms?

The Superintendent and Board of Education are currently singing the "capacity crisis" song.
If the Superintendent and BOE actually believe there is a capacity crisis in MCPS, then why are they giving away MCPS classrooms to private businesses?

This picture shows a wing of Sligo Middle School in Silver Spring.

The awning imprinted with the name of a private business just went up on the outside of the school this year.

Why are those classrooms not being used for MCPS students? 

Sligo Middle School principal resigns amid changes at school

Parents had been concerned about school environment, success

By Jen Bondeson Staff Writer

Sligo Middle School will have a new principal next year, as current principal Richard Rhodes announced his resignation to parents on Tuesday.
Rhodes has accepted an administrative position for a national charter school organization in Michigan, and his resignation is effective July 1, according to a May 8 letter from community superintendent Bronda Mills to parents.
Rhodes and Mills have been working with parents this school year to address their concerns about the Silver Spring school’s atmosphere and student achievement.
A few parents had written to the superintendent at the beginning of the school year with concerns regarding the poor quality of the school grounds, teacher retention, a lack of discipline at the school and poor academic performance, said Alice Witt of Silver Spring, who has a seventh-grader at the school.
Since, the school system’s department of family and community partnerships hosted four meetings with the community related to the school’s improvement plan, according to a document on the school’s website.
A meeting was set for Wednesday night to discuss the feedback that Rhodes received at the community meetings.
Rhodes did not return a phone call to talk about his resignation.

continues:
http://www.gazette.net/article/20130508/NEWS/130508883/1124/sligo-middle-school-principal-resigns-amid-changes-at-school&template=gazette

Patch: Parents Await Appeal to State in Protest of School Cell Phone Towers

Some Montgomery County parents are awaiting a response from the Maryland Board of Education on their appeal that protests cell phone towers in school yards... 

...Lesli Maxwell, Montgomery County Public Schools spokeswoman, said about the Parents Coalition’s appeal to block the towers at schoolyards, “We believe it is without merit.”
Nevertheless, the Parents Coalition has supporters on the Montgomery County Board of Education.
Among them is board member Laura Berthiaume, who said she was concerned that cell phone towers could threaten the health of schoolchildren.
“My recent vote against a cell tower at an elementary school was based on the lack of any peer-reviewed scientific study proving that having a cell phone tower within a close proximity is safe for children under 12,” she said.

Read Germantown Patch article at this link.

T-Mobile Withdraws Petition for Sligo Middle School Cell Tower

Cell Tower Compound on Daly Elementary School playground.

Petition for Special Exception S-2795 before the Montgomery County Board of Appeals to place a telecommunications tower compound (cell tower) on the Sligo Middle School playground has been withdrawn by T-Mobile.

T-Mobile Withdraws Petition for Sligo Middle School telecommunications tower

MCPS Board of Education Reverses Position on Placement of Cell Tower on Playground

Petition for Special Exception to build a cell tower compound on the Sligo Middle School cell tower is "no longer" supported by Montgomery County Public Schools.

Board of Education Reverses Position on Sligo Middle School Cell Tower Compound

Gazette article:  http://www.gazette.net/stories/06012011/silvnew200435_32563.php

Breaking News from the Gazette: Silver Spring community stops cell tower placement at school

Montgomery superintendent denies application for Sligo Middle School cell tower
Decision based on community opposition, school official says
by Jeanette Der Bedrosian | Staff Writer

Wheaton Patch: Neighbors, Parents' Coalition Fighting Proposed Cell Phone Pole on Sligo Middle School Property

T-Mobile special exception hearing was on Feb. 11th, will be discussed at PTA meeting on Mar. 8th.

By Taylor Kate Brown March 2, 2011

Residents near Sligo Middle School are hoping the special examiner will rule against MCPS’ and T-Mobile special exception request to put a 130-foot cell phone monopole on the property of the school.
The special exception hearing, held on Feb. 11th, garnered the attention of a number of residents in the areas north of the school. In addition to concerns that they were not properly notified, residents think the pole will lower property values, become a safety hazard to the nearby school and impact the open space near Sligo Creek Park...

Leggett: Cell towers Adversely Affect Neighbors

Hear what County Executive Ike Leggett has to say when asked about a plan to put a 130 foot tall cell phone tower on a public school playground in Silver Spring. 

Weast's Legacy: More Silver Spring Trees Coming Down

From the Friends of Sligo Creek website we learn that Superintendent Jerry Weast's plan to build a cell tower compound on the Sligo Middle School/Oakland Terrace kindergarten playground will require the removal of established trees. 


More established trees coming down on a public school site in Silver Spring.


From the plans for the construction of the cell phone tower at Sligo Middle School we learn:

Forest clearing for this telecommunications facility is approximately 3,567 square feet...

This is not forest clearing to build a school, this is forest clearing so that a commercial for-profit company can use public school land. 


Here are images of the types of trees that will be taken down at Sligo Middle School to make way for this commercial use of public school land. 

 

MCPS Staff Petition for Cell Tower that Superintendent Weast Hasn't Approved

Did MCPS staff get a bit ahead of themselves?  MCPS staff have signed a Petition for Special Exception to place a cell phone tower on the Sligo Middle School playground without the approval of the Board of Education or even the Superintendent. 

We know the Board of Education hasn't taken up the placement of this cell tower in an open meeting, and according to this Gazette article, even Superintendent Jerry Weast hasn't yet approved the placement of a cell tower at Sligo Middle School. 

So why are MCPS staff signing off on a Petition for Special Exception and taking up valuable county government time to evaluate this Petition? Can MCPS staff just act on their own to build cell tower structures on public school property without the direction of the Board of Education or the Superintendent? 

Gazette: T-Mobile defends proposed cell phone tower at Sligo Middle

...Many residents say it is an inappropriate use of school grounds and that it will lower area home values and possibly have negative health impacts.
"It seems like a school site would be the last place — the last venue — you'd want this put," said Gary Lattanzio, a neighborhood resident who attended the meeting with his seventh-grade daughter. "If there's any controversy — any question — why put it on a school site?"
...T-Mobile must get a special exception to allow a commercial structure on school property, and MCPS Superintendent Jerry Weast must approve the tower and lease amount...
...All residents who asked questions at the meeting were against the tower, though Sligo PTSA president Lisa Feldmann said she is still undecided on the issue...

T-Mobile Presentation on Playground Cell Tower Installation

Date: Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Time: 7 pm
Place: Sligo Middle School Media Center

Representatives from T-Mobile will be in attendance to address the cell phone tower that may be installed on the playground at the site of Sligo Middle School and the Oakland Terrace kindergarten. They will also be available to take questions related to this. This meeting is open to the community so please feel free to pass along this invitation to your neighborhood list servs.

TBD News: Cell Tower for Sligo Middle School and Oakland Terrace Kingergarten

http://www.tbd.com/articles/2011/02/silver-spring-residents-concerned-about-proposed-t-mobile-cell-tower-55472.html

Barclay Board wants another cell tower compound at a Silver Spring school

Just for the record, there are 7 public schools in Silver Spring (Down County Consortium, Blake and Springbrook) that have cell tower compounds on their playgrounds. Please note that cell tower compounds are HAZMAT locations and must be registered with the Montgomery County fire department. 


How many cell phone towers are there at schools in the Whitman Cluster? Churchill Cluster? Wootton Cluster? Richard Montgomery Cluster? Zero*. The Whitman, Wootton and Richard Montgomery Clusters have said "no" to cell tower compounds being installed at public school sites. The Churchill Cluster has never been asked to install a cell tower compound. 


And the Board of Education under President Christopher Barclay wants one more cell tower compound on a Silver Spring - Down County Consortium playground...

Gazette: Residents upset over proposed cell tower at Sligo Middle School site

Neighbors say T-Mobile tower will lower property value

...They said they didn't receive notice of opportunities for public comment until December, years after the application process started.
"I didn't hear anything from T-Mobile, I didn't hear anything from the county, it was a piece of paper from my neighbor that alerted me," said Julia Wisniewski, a resident of nearby Gridley Lane in Silver Spring, referring to a note from a concerned neighbor.
Neighbors said around Christmas, they were given a notice of the special exception hearing...
..."We can't lease out our backyard if we're having financial woes, so why can MCPS do that?" asked Andrea Crenich, 41, of Gridley Lane. "The whole point of zoning laws is to protect property values of the homes in an area. ... Would you buy a home that backs up to a 130-foot cell tower with an 8-foot chain-link fence and chopped down trees?"

------

* Since the Board of Education has not made public a comprehensive list of school properties with cell towers installed, the Parents' Coalition looks forward to a MCPS Public Relations release listing all of the locations of cell phone tower compounds at all public school properties in the County, along with a list of the co-locations of vendors at each location.

Delegate Proposes to Ban Cell Towers on School Property

In Prince George's County, Delegate Jolene Ivey has proposed legislation to prohibit wireless telecommunications towers on public school property. 


The bill is PG 404-11.


Congratulations to Delegate Ivey for reminding everyone that public school land is dedicated for the use of public school children. HAZMAT facilities on a playground are really no fun for kids. 

PG 404-11

Ex-MCPS Employee Petitions for Cell Tower at Middle School in Silver Spring

How do Montgomery County Public Schools end up with cell phone towers on the playgrounds? 


Here is the Petition for a Special Exception that is before a Montgomery County Planning Board Hearing Examiner tomorrow to place a cell tower compound at Sligo Middle School. Sligo Middle School includes the Oakland Terrace kindergartens and an Infant and Toddler's Program. 


You can see that the Petition to place a cell phone tower compound at Sligo Middle School is signed by Joseph J. Lavorgna.   The date on this Petition is November 23, 2010. Who is Mr. Lavorgna? Someone named Joseph J. Lavorgna retired from MCPS in 2005.  See page 5 at this link for the retirement celebration announcement. 


Cell tower applications require the signature of the property owner.  What legal right does a former MCPS employee have to sign a Petition to place a cell tower on a Montgomery County Public School site that is owned by the Board of Education?


February 11, 2011 
9:30 AM 
100 Maryland Avenue 
Rockville, MD 2nd Floor hearing room  
Public Welcome

Sligo Middle School T-Mobile Petition

CNN iReport: Video of Cell Tower Fire in Wall, NJ

Cell Tower Fire in New Jersey
January 22, 2011 | Wall, New Jersey |

Cell tower for Silver Spring Kindergarteners!

Superintendent Jerry Weast is installing a cell phone tower right next to the current location of the Oakland Terrace Elementary School kindergarteners. The school building on Dennis Avenue also houses Sligo Middle School and a MCPS Infants and Toddlers Program. 


Here's what this school playground has to look forward to: click here!


Does it seem like Silver Spring and Wheaton schools get more cell towers than other parts of the County? Dont' Blair HS, Northwood HS, Einstein HS, Springbrook HS, Kennedy HS and Wheaton HS all have cell towers? And then there is Daly Elementary School where the PTA and the community were opposed to the placement but Superintendent Jerry Weast signed the lease anyway. 


How is it that Whitman HS, Pyle Middle School and Julius West Middle School were all able to successfully oppose the placement of a cell tower on those school sites? 


Cell phone tower for Sligo Creek Middle School and Oakland Terrace Elementary School Kindergarteners