Montgomery principal shuts down consulting side business

Montgomery principal shuts down consulting side business, Leah Fabel, The Examiner, 2008_04_05, http://www.examiner .com/a_1322126~ Montgomery_ principal_ shuts_down_ consulting_ side_business. html

A Montgomery County principal who was running pricey private seminars, including one scheduled at his school on a weekday, shut down his consulting company Friday after The Examiner discovered that his side business may violate the Board of Education's code of ethics. Since incorporating the business in 2006, Moreno "Mo" Carrasco, principal of Rockville's Richard Montgomery High School and Maryland's 2007 High School Principal of the Year, has held several "Breakthrough Principal" seminars at schools around the region, often scheduled during the week. Minutes after an interview with The Examiner, the company Web site, savetheprincipal. com, was taken down and all future events were canceled. Earlier versions of the site listed a "One Day Refresher Institute" open to members of his $399 "Principals' Network" to be held Monday at Richard Montgomery between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. Though a day off for students, Monday is a professional day for staff.

District spokesman Brian Edwards said Superintendent Jerry Weast knew nothing of Carrasco's business activities. "We will investigate the matter and take appropriate action as warranted," Edwards said. Carrasco's two_day institutes cost $469 for each administrator and a secretary, with a minimum of 20 "teams." The site advertised outcomes such as "Do the principal's job in 8 hours a day." "If it's during the school day, this would be highly inappropriate, " said Pat O'Neill, a member of the school board. "Being a principal is a rather time_consuming job, and I'd be surprised if he had the time to be doing this."

Board ethics code forbids school officials from "any employment that would affect their usefulness as employees" or "would make time and/or energy demands upon the individuals that could interfere with their effectiveness. " Carrasco said he wasn't able to say how much he had made with his venture. Three glowing testimonials on the site included two from principals at Montgomery County's Beall Elementary and Roberto Clemente Middle School, and one from Carrasco himself, whose role in the company is apparent only on incorporating documents registered with the state. In an interview with The Examiner, Carrasco said seminars within the county were free of charge, and he was no longer pursuing the business. "I want to clarify for the record that this is not a conflict of interest, and I have looked at the ethics policies," Carrasco said. "The story that should be written is how innovative my practices are."