On the August 23, 2012, Board of Education Consent Agenda (No discussion item) is authorization for MCPS to spend $625,000 on outside attorneys to fight families of children needing special education services.
For over a decade, the Board of Education has been spending huge sums every year to fight families without any public discussion to justify this spending.
This year, for the first time in over a decade, the Board actually put out a Request for Proposals seeking bids for law firms to provide these services. As was expected, the same firms that have worked for the Board for over a decade were awarded the contract after the bidding. One new firm was added to the list, but it is unclear if they will actually do any of the work for the Board.
The primary outside lawyer in MCPS special education litigation has been Jeffrey Krew, LLC. That firm, was included on the list of "winners" after this year's bidding.
But, a fundamental discussion is absent. Why? Why does the Board of Education feel that over $600,000 of education funding should be spent in a year fighting families of children that need special education services? As we have posted to this blog on numerous occasions, this litigation is often abusive and a flat out waste of precious education resources.
Board of Education, step up and explain to Montgomery County parents and guardians why you continue to authorize this abusive litigation?
Carney, Kelehan, Bresler, Bennett & Sherr, LLP
Nussbaum Law, LLC
PK Law
Total $625,000
Carney, Kelehan already works for BOE.
Jeffrey Krew, LLC already works for BOE on special education cases.
Nussbaum Law, LLC looks to be same firm that has worked for BOE before.
PK Law appears to be a new firm.
The County Council must approve these funds. To be clear, maybe the header should say, "County Council to spend $625k fighting children, no discussion." Members of the County Council that approve this funding: Phil Andrews, Marc Elrich, Roger Berliner, Valerie Ervin, Craig Rice, Hans Riemer, Nancy Navarro, George Leventhal, and Nancy Floreen.
ReplyDeleteAlso, Board of Education agrees in a closed session to continue abusive legal tactics against families seeking special education services.
ReplyDeleteKrew demonstrates his willingness to use any issues to win his case. His ignorance of AIDS and its causes is unbelievable. Yet, the ALJ did not even make any comments. Krew saw no ethical problems with using an older sibling's journal entry, without parents' permission, to breech the sister's privacy . Again, any effort, even sleazy, to win at any cost. And, MCPS promotes these outrageous discretions by rehiring the perpetrator and pay him well for the "service." What a dysfunctional system! Notice that the special education administrators remain silent and continue, in silence and secrecy, the attack on these families. Yet, attend a public forum on special education, and the families are told there is a major effort to form a mutual partnership with the families of special needs children. The partnership effort remains intact as long as the child does not require expensive services.
ReplyDelete