Cultural and Linguistic Diversity of MCPS Students and Staff
at the link below:
http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/OLO/Resources/Files/OLO%20Report%202015-1Final.pdf
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Council Report: Whites accounted for 76% of all MCPS school-based professionals in 2012-13
Cultural and Linguistic Diversity of MCPS Students and Staff
at the link below:
http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/OLO/Resources/Files/OLO%20Report%202015-1Final.pdf
Whitman HS to get an Addition
...Whitman High School was remodeled in 1992 and has an existing capacity of 1,882 students. It’s already overcapacity, with a projected 1,910 students this school year and 1,921 students last school year....
http://www.bethesdanow.com/2014/09/29/mcps-exploring-options-for-whitman-high-school-addition/
MD State Superintendent to Join BOE Members at Ocean City Vacay!
Public Schedule of Maryland State Superintendent of Schools Lillian Lowery
For Immediate Release Contact: William Reinhard, 410-767-0486Baltimore, MD (September 26, 2014)
The week ahead: September 29-October 3(Information and schedule are subject to change)
Monday, September 29-Tuesday, September 30
No Public Schedule.
Wednesday, October 1
1:30 p.m., Maryland Association of Boards of Education, Clarion Fontainebleau Hotel,
1001 Coastal Highway, Ocean City, MD 21842
Dr. Lowery will address MABE’s annual meeting.
It's BOE Party Week in Ocean City!!! .@MABE_News #allnightlong
 |
| 2013 MABE Vacation in Ocean City Superintendent Joshua Starr, BOE Shirley Brandman, Laura Steinberg (BOE staff) and BOE Phil Kauffman |
Grab your MCPS credit cards and fill out your expense account forms and head to Ocean City this week to join Board of Education members from every single Maryland public school system! This is how we spend "education dollars" in Maryland!
http://www.scribd.com/doc/241369015/2014-Conf-Brochure-Website" style="text-decoration: underline;" >2014 Conf Brochure Website
Monday, September 29, 2014
Off Camera on Sept 30th - County Council and Board of Education
September 30, 2014
9:00 AM Montgomery County Council MEETING with Board of Education (6th floor Council
Conference Room)
 |
| Previous County Council and Board of Education Lunch/Meeting |
No clue what will be discussed.
No television or web coverage of this meeting.
Stop by if you want to find out what your elected Board of Education and County Council members are up to tomorrow!
http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/council/resources/files/agenda/col/current_agenda.pdf
UPDATE: Video of this event provided to the public by the Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, MD
Walter Johnson HS principal used student funds to pay for staff smartphone service
MCPS internal auditors are reporting that the Walter Johnson High School principal used student activity funds to pay for additional smartphone service for eight staff members.
The Independent Activity Fund, or IAF, is comprised of money that has been collected from students.
The complete audit report can be found at:
The Independent Activity Fund, or IAF, is comprised of money that has been collected from students.
The complete audit report can be found at:
http://audits.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/school/wjhs
Sunday, September 28, 2014
Investigations into teacher misconduct can take more than a year
By Baltimore Sun reporter Liz Bowie. Read the full story here.
Many area school systems send those teachers to warehouses during the investigation.
Williams, who had been accused of touching a girl on the cheek with a yardstick, was paid his full salary plus benefits for more than a year to show up at the warehouse when school was in session. At his school, Woodlawn Middle, a substitute was hired to teach his class.
"The county doesn't move on anything quickly. They let people sit there and rot," said Williams, who denies having touched the girl. He made $67,000 a year as a teacher.
Every year, hundreds of school system employees are immediately escorted out of Baltimore-area schools when they are accused of misconduct and are told they can't return to the school until an investigation is completed. Those investigations can take more than a year to be concluded, and in the meantime taxpayers pay the bill for both their salaries and the substitute teachers'.
Many area school systems send those teachers to warehouses during the investigation.
While Baltimore County officials were deciding whether Michael Williams was fit to continue teaching, he was assigned to a dusty, windowless room at a Pulaski Highway warehouse that held old textbooks, surplus computers and other materials. He, along with a dozen or so employees, sat at a long table reading detective novels and playing Trivial Pursuit.
Sometimes they would fall asleep until supervisors, watching from a security camera, came in to wake them up.
Williams, who had been accused of touching a girl on the cheek with a yardstick, was paid his full salary plus benefits for more than a year to show up at the warehouse when school was in session. At his school, Woodlawn Middle, a substitute was hired to teach his class.
"The county doesn't move on anything quickly. They let people sit there and rot," said Williams, who denies having touched the girl. He made $67,000 a year as a teacher.
Every year, hundreds of school system employees are immediately escorted out of Baltimore-area schools when they are accused of misconduct and are told they can't return to the school until an investigation is completed. Those investigations can take more than a year to be concluded, and in the meantime taxpayers pay the bill for both their salaries and the substitute teachers'.
Why a leading professor of new media just banned technology use in class
...This problem is especially acute with social media, because on top of the general incentive for any service to be verbose about its value, social information is immediately and emotionally engaging. Both the form and the content of a Facebook update are almost irresistibly distracting, especially compared with the hard slog of coursework. (“Your former lover tagged a photo you are in” vs. “The Crimean War was the first conflict significantly affected by use of the telegraph.” Spot the difference?)
Worse, the designers of operating systems have every incentive to be arms dealers to the social media firms. Beeps and pings and pop-ups and icons, contemporary interfaces provide an extraordinary array of attention-getting devices, emphasis on “getting.” Humans are incapable of ignoring surprising new information in our visual field, an effect that is strongest when the visual cue is slightly above and beside the area we’re focusing on. (Does that sound like the upper-right corner of a screen near you?)...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/09/25/why-a-leading-professor-of-new-media-just-banned-technology-use-in-class/?tid=sm_fb
Worse, the designers of operating systems have every incentive to be arms dealers to the social media firms. Beeps and pings and pop-ups and icons, contemporary interfaces provide an extraordinary array of attention-getting devices, emphasis on “getting.” Humans are incapable of ignoring surprising new information in our visual field, an effect that is strongest when the visual cue is slightly above and beside the area we’re focusing on. (Does that sound like the upper-right corner of a screen near you?)...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/09/25/why-a-leading-professor-of-new-media-just-banned-technology-use-in-class/?tid=sm_fb
Friday, September 26, 2014
BOE President on how $140,000 Legal Bill was needed to defend "expenses incurred during official business"
Board of Education President Phil Kauffman attempting to re-write history with a letter to The Washington Post explaining why the $140,000 bill from the Board of Education's lawyers on retainer was acceptable. Mr. Kauffman says the $140,000 was needed to defend "expenses incurred during official business."
No, Mr. Kauffman, actually the issue was, and still is, expenses that in no way, shape or form had anything to do with official business!
The public was easily able to review Board of Education and select MCPS administrators use of MCPS credit cards to see the numerous charges that were unrelated to official business. The Parents' Coalition requested and made public those documents.
Apparently, Mr. Kauffman would like the public to forget about those charges and pay the $140,000 bill without question.
Why the Montgomery County Board of Education hired outside lawyers
No, Mr. Kauffman, actually the issue was, and still is, expenses that in no way, shape or form had anything to do with official business!
The public was easily able to review Board of Education and select MCPS administrators use of MCPS credit cards to see the numerous charges that were unrelated to official business. The Parents' Coalition requested and made public those documents.
Apparently, Mr. Kauffman would like the public to forget about those charges and pay the $140,000 bill without question.
Phil is so phunny
Phil Kaufman, President of the Montgomery County Board of Education, still doesn't get it. In the Washington Post, Phil once again defends his use of outside counsel to review the allegations of credit card misuse by Board of Education Members.
Its not the review that gives us heartburn. Its the approximately $140,000 charge for Venable and Karl Racine.
From the article:
Did you really need fancy lawyers to tell you to tear up the cards?
Did you really need fancy lawyers to tell you to get real policies in place?
What on earth could a $500 per hour lawyer do to run up a charge of $140,000?
Do the math - at an average rate of $500 per hour that is 280 lawyer hours.
You've got to be kidding if you think that anyone believes that this took seven weeks of lawyers to review this mess.
Some more questions for Phil.
Will Venable continue to rack up oops, I mean, monitor the BOE members continued use of their expense accounts?
What about the other credit card holders in MCPS? A while back, we estimated that over 1000 MCPS employees have school system credit cards. Who is watching them?
Wait - we have the Maryland Association of Boards of Education meeting coming up this week in Ocean City.
You'll have a great opportunity to demonstrate your fiscal responsibility at that meeting.
Note to our readers: Stay tuned for a blog posting once the expense logs are submitted.
Its not the review that gives us heartburn. Its the approximately $140,000 charge for Venable and Karl Racine.
From the article:
When concerns were raised last spring about Montgomery County Board of Education member expenses and credit card usage, the board and I knew it was important that we undergo a swift and thorough process to understand the scope of the issue and look for ways to improve our procedures. We also knew that an external review would be needed to assure the community that the board was taking this matter seriously.
Some are questioning the cost of hiring lawyers to conduct this external review, but I believed then — and I believe now — that it was the right thing to do.
Did you really need fancy lawyers to tell you to tear up the cards?
Did you really need fancy lawyers to tell you to get real policies in place?
What on earth could a $500 per hour lawyer do to run up a charge of $140,000?
Do the math - at an average rate of $500 per hour that is 280 lawyer hours.
You've got to be kidding if you think that anyone believes that this took seven weeks of lawyers to review this mess.
Some more questions for Phil.
Will Venable continue to rack up oops, I mean, monitor the BOE members continued use of their expense accounts?
What about the other credit card holders in MCPS? A while back, we estimated that over 1000 MCPS employees have school system credit cards. Who is watching them?
Wait - we have the Maryland Association of Boards of Education meeting coming up this week in Ocean City.
You'll have a great opportunity to demonstrate your fiscal responsibility at that meeting.
Note to our readers: Stay tuned for a blog posting once the expense logs are submitted.
MCPS Teacher Lawrence Joynes in Court Today 1:30 PM
| Docket Date: | 09/17/2014 Docket Number: 38 |
| Docket Description: | DATE CONFIRMED |
| Docket Type: | Docket Filed By: Court |
| Docket Text: | COURT (BAIR, J.) CONFIRMS A MOTIONS HEARING DATE OF SEPTEMBER 26, 2014 AT 1:30 P.M. FOR TWO (2) HOURS. |
| Docket Date: | 09/17/2014 Docket Number: 39 |
| Docket Description: | COURT ORDERS/DIRECTS/DETERMINES |
| Docket Type: | Docket Filed By: Court |
| Docket Text: | COURT (BAIR, J.) ORDERS DEFENDANT BE TRANSPORTED FOR MOTIONS HEARING ON SEPTEMBER 26, 2014 AT 1:30 P.M. |
| Docket Date: | 09/19/2014 Docket Number: 40 |
| Docket Description: | SAO NOTIFIED VICTIM(S) OF UPCOMING HEARING |
| Docket Type: | Docket Filed By: Court |
| Docket Text: | STATE'S ATTORNEY NOTIFIED 1 VICTIMS OF THE FOLLOWING EVENT (S): EVENT #0001 RULE 4-252 HEARING 09/26/2014 at 01:30 pm, EVENT #0002 MOTION FOR PROTECTIVE ORDER 09/26/2014 at 01:30 pm, EVENT #0003 TRIAL - JURY 10/06/2014 at 09:30 am. REFER TO THE STATE'S ATTORNEY'S OFFICE |
Wootton HS: Should students be permitted to access Wi-Fi?
Yes and No from Wootton High School students:
http://woottonnews.com/should-students-be-permitted-to-access-wi-fi/
http://woottonnews.com/should-students-be-permitted-to-access-wi-fi/
Petition: Support Safe Internet Access at Montgomery County Public Schools
by Laura Simon
I recently learned of The Strategic Technology Plan for all MCPS schools which is well in motion: robust Wi-Fi through the schools and a lap top or similar device for every child. I couldn't believe that our schools could be blanketed with radiation without parents knowing and signing off on it. There is mounting evidence that we are harming our children, especially their brains. No one can assure you that the radiation level today in schools is safe: the Internal Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) explicitly stated, " the electromagnetic radiation standards used by the FCC continue to be based on thermal heating, a criterion now nearly 30 years out of date and inapplicable today." While we are increasing our use of wireless devices in the school, countries all around the world have realizing the danger to our children and have banned Wi-Fi at the schools along with other measures.
I started this petition because I believe that our children and the staff have the right to go to school in a safe environment. It is better to err on the side of caution until we know more. As Peter Limbrick of Team Around the Child wrote in February of 2014 "My heart, head, and all my instincts, my education in science and my past experiences as teacher and parent of young children tell me that we should not subject children to microwave radiation unless for a very good medical reason...This is not the first environmental threat to children's welfare but it is probably the biggest on yet."
If you agree that we need to explore this issue further and that Wi-Fi in the schools may not be in our kids best interest, please sign my petition to the Montgomery Count Public Schools Board of Education:
Click link for Petition: MoveOn.org Petitions
Thursday, September 25, 2014
A question about a possible age requirement to buy condoms has a Howard County BOE member facing discipline from her colleagues
Howard BOE member Vaillancourt accused of sexual harassment
VIDEO of Ms.Vaillancourt's statement and more information about the actual incident from the BOE President.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1SkDkQcvMs&list=UUe0tEnIynI_9Hv0yFAgEWvQ
VIDEO of Ms.Vaillancourt's statement and more information about the actual incident from the BOE President.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1SkDkQcvMs&list=UUe0tEnIynI_9Hv0yFAgEWvQ
Unprecedented Move, D-11 Board Votes Yes on Plan to Opt Out of Standardized Testing | KOAA.com |
A school district that takes action, unlike MCPS that just Tweets.
Unprecedented Move, D-11 Board Votes Yes on Plan to Opt Out of Standardized Testing | KOAA.com |
Unprecedented Move, D-11 Board Votes Yes on Plan to Opt Out of Standardized Testing | KOAA.com |
Board of Appeals approves hearing for cell tower next to Nix Elementary School
Montgomery Board of Appeals approves hearing for Silver Spring cell tower facility
...Susan Present of Silver Spring, who asked for the hearing, said she first wants, in part, to see the pool property in better condition if changes are going to be considered.~~~
Among other reasons for her request, Present said she thinks the changes “do not constitute minor modifications” and are rather “substantial.”
“They deserve public notice and a public hearing,” she said.
Present said she also thinks Cellco incorrectly interpreted federal law to say it supported the company’s request to add equipment and expand the compound. She is concerned the board’s approval of this interpretation could result in changes to other cell towers and compounds on or at area schools, such as higher monopoles and larger compounds.
Previous Parents' Coalition posting on this issue.
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
Schools Get Invoice for Fake School Supplies
When oversight of spending is not in place its easy to miss getting ripped off by vendors.
The Better Business Bureau issued a warning about school systems getting invoices for fake school supplies.
The question for our lovely Montgomery County Board of Education is -
A better question is
I have my own thoughts on this, but I'd love to get an assurance from the MCPS Board of Education and its financial gurus that they are taking their responsibilities seriously and protecting precious and limited taxpayer dollars.
Care to comment, Phil?
The Better Business Bureau issued a warning about school systems getting invoices for fake school supplies.
From the article:
September 11, 2014
Better Business Bureau is warning schools and school districts across the country about possible fake invoices for educational supplies. In the past few weeks, there has been a rush of complaints filed with BBB against “Scholastic School Supply,” which claim either a Nevada or New Jersey address that turn out to be mail drops.BBB Serving Southern Nevada received its first complaint against Scholastic School Supply on August 20, 2014, and since then has received nearly 70 complaints from schools across the country. The company’s online BBB Business Review has also received more than 3,000 inquiries; there is an Alert posted there so that visitors are able to confirm the suspicious nature of the invoice. The company maintains a mail drop in Sewell, New Jersey, as well as Las Vegas, and BBB New Jersey has received more than 20 complaints so far.The bogus invoices have been for $647.50 for the bulk purchase of “English-Language Arts Practice Books” or $388.50 for math workbooks (although the amounts and products could change at any time). Complainants say they cannot reach the company to inquire about the products or amounts allegedly owed, and all have denied ever doing business with the company previously. . . .
So far, none of the complainants have sent money; however, BBB has no way of knowing if any schools have unknowingly paid the invoice, since they would not have filed a complaint.
The question for our lovely Montgomery County Board of Education is -
- Have we received one of these fake invoices?
A better question is
- Would our accounting systems be able to detect a fraudulent invoice?
I have my own thoughts on this, but I'd love to get an assurance from the MCPS Board of Education and its financial gurus that they are taking their responsibilities seriously and protecting precious and limited taxpayer dollars.
Care to comment, Phil?
WPost: Springbrook HS football parents fuming after misused disinfectant causes player burns
Halfway through practice later that day, there was a new problem. Junior defensive lineman Matthew Robinson started to feel something burning on his chest and back. Other players were in pain, too, and it became difficult for them to focus on football.
By the next morning, the Silver Spring school and coaching staff were flooded with calls about players suffering from first- and second-degree burns that forced them to seek medical attention. Robinson spent three days in the hospital when his burns became infected...http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/highschools/springbrook-football-parents-fuming-after-misused-disinfectant-causes-player-burns/2014/09/23/57d7468e-4337-11e4-b47c-f5889e061e5f_story.html?hpid=z3
In 8 Days All Boards of Education will be in Ocean City with Milestone Communications
 |
| Prince George's BOE President and Superintendent at 2013 MABE reception. |
Below is public comment that details what Prince George's County parents got from the MABE - Milestone partnership.
How many Montgomery County parents want 3 cell towers on every public school playground? Get ready, our Board of Education could come back from their Ocean City vacation with the very same "deal."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Prince George's County Public Schools - Board of Education Meeting - Public Comment
September 23, 2014
Good
evening. My name is Janis Sartucci and I am a member of the Parents'
Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland. I am here this evening
because over the summer I began researching the deals that Maryland
Boards of Education had made with a company called Milestone
Communications Management III, Inc. to place cell towers on each and
every public school property in the State of Maryland. As part of my
research I did a Maryland Public Information Act request for the
agreements between the Prince George's County Board of Education and
Milestone Communications. Through that research I received and made
public documents that were not available on the Board of Education
website.
The documents revealed that the Board of Education approved a Master Lease with Milestone on
November
11, 2010, in an agenda item that took up just 40 seconds. While
the BOE vote was in November, the actual document was not signed
until February 7, 2011, and the signature is not that of the
Board President, but of only the superintendent.
On
page 11 of the Master Lease at Section 17.1 it calls for Milestone
Communications Management III, Inc. to be qualified to do business in
the State of Maryland. However, Maryland corporation records seem to
show the date of registration for that company in Maryland to be
April 5, 2011.
My
research also revealed a lease for a cell tower at Flowers High
School signed by Superintendent Kevin Maxwell on August 5, 2014.
The lease had not been made public. The lease was approved by
Monica E. Goldson and James E. Fisher, but the lease was with a
different company. It was not with Milestone Communications
Management III, Inc.
By making these documents public, parents now know that the Board of Education has approved a deal to built up to 3 cell towers on each of 73 public school sites in the county.
The
County process to build a cell tower includes a review by the Tower
Commission. The Tower Commission met in July without public notice.
Applications for building permits have now been filed for cell towers on some sites. These applications are not going through the Special Exception process. A building permit can be obtained without a Special Exception if the cell tower will have 4 or fewer site visits per year. However, we know that in Fairfax County, Milestone Communications cell towers on public school sites require one to two site visits per month. With 12 to 24 site visits per year, I believe that the cell tower proposals for Prince George's County Public Schools should be going through the Special Exception process.
I ask, how can parents track construction projects at their schools when companies are switched, documents are signed in secret, and building permits do not go through the Special Exception process?
How
is the Board of Education serving school communities by placing these
commercial structures on school playgrounds without public notice,
without parent input, and without community input.
I
know that in 8 days the Board of Education will be in Ocean City for
the annual Maryland Association of Boards of Education (MABE)
conference. I know that Milestone Communications will also be there
as a sponsor of that conference. Milestone representatives will have
more than 3 minutes to talk to each of you in Ocean City. They won't
be on the clock.
Heroin Action Coalition
http://heroinactioncoalition.com/
Heroin Action Coalition of Maryland
Mission Statement: Heroin Action Coalition of Maryland seeks to ensure that appropriate opiate addiction treatment is available to all who request it or need it without regard for that individual’s income or insurance plan.
Goals
Treatment:
- Provide pre-admission screening and referral for opiate addicts seeking detox and case management services following post inpatient treatment;
- Work to remove obstacles to medically assisted treatment, including buprenorphine and vivitrol, and assist patients in accessing and receiving these treatments;
- Link individuals in recovery from opiate addiction to programs in the community –facilitating wrap around services and ensuring a continuum of care;
- Organize support groups for those in recovery and their families.
Education
- Seek to educate local communities on addiction as both a medical disease and a mental health disorder and the effectiveness of treatment;
- Provide information to state and county legislators, agency administrators, judges, and others to educate them on opiate addiction and to urge them to support evidence-based treatment goals;
- Advise local, county, and state elected officials about unmet community needs regarding the continuum of care in addiction treatment;
- Disseminate evidence-based standards and best practices to Maryland treatment providers and gather data on patient outcomes and success rates;
- Disseminate information on drug addiction to local doctors and urge them to provide screening and brief intervention practices and to make appropriate recommendations for treatment when necessary;
- Work with Maryland Public Schools to implement the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) where it pertains to recovering students within their school community;
- Educate attorneys and public defenders on addiction and the effectiveness of treatment and urge them to recommend drug courts for their substance impaired clients, instead of incarceration.
Advocacy
- Build a coalition of concerned citizens, recovering individuals, their families, community leaders, spiritual advisors, business leaders, educators, medical practitioners, police, etc. to create a grass-roots solution to end opiate addiction within local communities;
- Work with other anti-drug coalitions within the state to strengthen the message of “treatment on demand” and to create a unified policy agenda in support of treatment;
- Focus public attention on the lack of adolescent treatment in Maryland and work to raise the priority for additional treatment facilities;
- Work with legislators, state agencies, and treatment providers to ensure that evidence-based standards and “best practices” are being implemented by all Maryland treatment providers and ensure enforcement of existing insurance parity laws.
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
WTOP: Group fights siting of cell towers on schools' grounds
WASHINGTON -- More and more cellphone towers are going up on the grounds of schools, but a new group has formed to fight the trend in the D.C. region.
Citizens, homeowners and parents from Montgomery, Prince George's, Anne Arundel and Baltimore Counties have formed a group called the Maryland Coalition Against Cell Towers on Schools. They want all cellphone tower construction on school grounds in the state to stop immediately.
article continues at link:
http://www.wtop.com/41/3708161/Group-fights-siting-of-cell-towers-on-schools-grounds
Citizens, homeowners and parents from Montgomery, Prince George's, Anne Arundel and Baltimore Counties have formed a group called the Maryland Coalition Against Cell Towers on Schools. They want all cellphone tower construction on school grounds in the state to stop immediately.
article continues at link:
http://www.wtop.com/41/3708161/Group-fights-siting-of-cell-towers-on-schools-grounds
Capital Gazette: New coalition resists cell towers at schools
New coalition resists cell towers at schools
Multiple counties and organizations have banded together to oppose the construction of cell towers on school grounds, forming the Maryland Coalition to Halt Cell Towers at Schools.
Groups from Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Montgomery and Prince George's counties along with Baltimore City created the coalition. It will lay out its goals at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Prince George's County Board of Education in Upper Marlboro, according to a statement released by the coalition.
The coalition was formed after Prince George's County education officials partnered with Reston, Virginia-based Milestone Communications for cell tower construction on school grounds. Seventy-five locations have been proposed as possible construction sites, which include Bowie High School and Benjamin Tasker Middle School, according to Prince George's County education officials.
Anne Arundel County also has plans for cell tower construction, with one already built at Broadneck High School, and three other proposed properties at Annapolis Middle School, Severn River and Magothy River Middle schools and Center of Applied Technology North, said Bob Mosier, Anne Arundel County Public Schools spokesman. - See more at: http://www.capitalgazette.com/bowie_bladenews/community/ph-ac-cn-cell-tower-092414-20140923,0,2964938.story#sthash.mCHpqoBb.dpuf
Multiple counties and organizations have banded together to oppose the construction of cell towers on school grounds, forming the Maryland Coalition to Halt Cell Towers at Schools.
Groups from Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Montgomery and Prince George's counties along with Baltimore City created the coalition. It will lay out its goals at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Prince George's County Board of Education in Upper Marlboro, according to a statement released by the coalition.
The coalition was formed after Prince George's County education officials partnered with Reston, Virginia-based Milestone Communications for cell tower construction on school grounds. Seventy-five locations have been proposed as possible construction sites, which include Bowie High School and Benjamin Tasker Middle School, according to Prince George's County education officials.
Anne Arundel County also has plans for cell tower construction, with one already built at Broadneck High School, and three other proposed properties at Annapolis Middle School, Severn River and Magothy River Middle schools and Center of Applied Technology North, said Bob Mosier, Anne Arundel County Public Schools spokesman. - See more at: http://www.capitalgazette.com/bowie_bladenews/community/ph-ac-cn-cell-tower-092414-20140923,0,2964938.story#sthash.mCHpqoBb.dpuf
WPost letter: An unsatisfying school breakfast menu
What the Sept. 21 Metro article on school breakfast in Montgomery County missed [“Schools are challenged to leave no child hungry” ] is that the quality of these breakfasts is often appalling.
Read letter here.
Read letter here.
School Board Challengers - Good Governance Forum
Tuesday, September 30, 20147:00 -9:00 pmRockville Memorial Library, 1st Floor Conference Room21 Maryland Avenue, Rockville, MD 20850
Speakers: Larry Edmonds, Shebra Evans, Laurie Halverson, Jill Ortman-Fouse,
Kristin Trible
As we are aware of the views of the School Board incumbents, here is an opportunity to hear from the challengers. We will send them 3-5 questions ahead of the meeting. However, most of the forum will be open to questions from the floor - from you.
Co-sponsored by the Montgomery County Taxpayers League, the Montgomery County Civic Federation, and the Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County.
Monday, September 22, 2014
1/2 of MCPS High Schools had Failure Rates of more than 70% even with 15 points added
A little more than half of Montgomery County’s 25 high schools had failure rates of more than 70 percent for the final exam in Algebra 1 in June, even after the district added 15 percentage points to exam grades, according to newly released district data.
The figures also show that eight middle schools, including six in the Silver Spring area, had Algebra 1 exam failure rates from 20 percent to 43 percent after the points were added. By contrast, 18 other middle schools recorded failure rates of 5 percent or less.
The new numbers provide a more detailed picture of June’s poor exam results, which led to a mass grade recalculation and the delay of student report cards districtwide.
Open Letter to MABE Executive Director Frances Hughes Glendening #mabe #celltowers
The Parents' Coalition has asked Executive Director Glendening and the MABE staff to please explain why they have partnered with a company whose goal is to take away public school playground space? As of today, there has been no response to this question from anyone at MABE.
~~~~~
Subject: Why does the Maryland Association of Boards of Education (MABE)
want to Take Away Playgrounds from Children?
Date: Sun, September 14, 2014
To: sbarry@mabe.org, kbennett@mabe.org,kblumsack@mabe.org,
sbounds@mabe.org, fglendening@mabe.org,sjames@mabe.org,
toldaker@mabe.org, jwoolums@mabe.org,mbrickley@mabe.org,
rgaston@mabe.org, dlomax@mabe.org, jmagoon@mabe.org,lspencer@mabe.org,
jodonoghue@mabe.org
The Maryland Association of Boards of Education (MABE) has partnered with Milestone Communications to put cell tower compounds on every public school playground in the State of Maryland.
Milestone Communications doesn't just want ONE cell tower compound on a public school playground, they want up to THREE cell tower compounds per playground! That's right, three! This fact is revealed in the Milestone Communications Master Leases that have been made public by the Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland.
Why does the Maryland Association of Boards of Education (MABE) think THREE cell towers on every public school playground is in the best interest of children? A cell tower compound takes away precious green space and replaces it with a commercial HAZMAT facility. What adult wants children playing on a HAZMAT facility?
Public school playgrounds are set aside for the use, exercise, and enjoyment of public school children. Why is an organization funded with public tax dollars partnering with a company designed to take away playground space from public school children?
The answer lies in MABE's own statement. Nowhere in the MABE partnership statement is the health, welfare and well being of public school children mentioned.
"MABE partners with select companies, providing member districts the services that enable them to operate more efficiently, offer benefits to staff, or generate revenue. MABE Partnership Services contribute to the mission of serving and supporting Maryland boards of education."
Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, MD
Saturday, September 20, 2014
WPOST: Disinfectant on Springbrook HS football equipment causes rashes and burns
The football game between Sherwood and Springbrook, originally scheduled for Friday, has been moved to Monday at 6:30 p.m. after a disinfectant used on Springbrook’s football equipment caused players to experience rashes and burns.
Springbrook athletics director Rob Wendel said Springbrook staff members cleaned the locker room with “an appropriate disinfect inappropriately used.” He said the rashes and burns on the players’ necks and shoulders were serious enough for some players to seek medical attention.
Wendel said the school will be purchasing new equipment and is borrowing some for Monday’s game.
Friday, September 19, 2014
Did the PG Tower Committee Violate the MD Open Meetings Act and Leave Out Community Notice and Input? #celltowers
This is the Open Meetings Act complaint that was the subject of the September 18, 2014, NBC4 report.
Maryland Coalition Press Conference Calling for Halt to Construction of Cell Towers on Md School Playgrounds
Update 2/23/14: Our supporters are growing and so our name has changed! We are now the Maryland Coalition.
Tri-County Maryland Coalition to Halt Cell Towers at Schools
Press Conference
Tuesday, September 23, 2014 - 6 PM
14201 School Lane, Upper Marlboro, Maryland
Organizations from maryland counties AND BALTIMORE CITY have formed a coalition to call for a halt to the construction of cell towers on public school playgrounds
Upper Marlboro, MD –Organizations from Anne Arundel County, Baltimore City, Montgomery County and Prince George's County have joined together to form a coalition to call for the immediate halt to the construction of cell towers on public school playgrounds. The newly formed Maryland Coalition will hold a press conference on Tuesday, September 23, 2014, at 6 PM on the steps of the Prince George's County Board of Education, 14201 School Lane, Upper Marlboro, Maryland to announce the formation of the coalition and present the coalition's goals.
The
following organizations and individuals have joined together to
form the Maryland Coalition:
- AACo Acts (Anne Arundel County Against Cell Towers at Schools)
- Anne Arundel County NAACP
- Belvedere Assisted Living & Real Care Providers Network, Baltimore
- Broadneck Community Against Cell Towers at Our Schools, Anne Arundel County
- Campfield AME Church, Pikesville
- Citizens Against a Cell Tower at Julius West Middle School, Rockville
- Coalition of Central Prince George's County Community Organizations
- Liberty Pride Volunteer Training Academy, Baltimore
- Liberty Rec and Tech Center, Baltimore
- Maryland Smart Meter Awareness
- The Intersection, Baltimore
- The Men and Family Center, Baltimore
- The Committee of Concerned Citizens, Baltimore
- Montgomery County NAACP
- Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland
- Prince George's County NAACP
- Resurrection Ministries, Baltimore
- The Roots of Scouting, Baltimore
- Safe Schools Prince George's
- Kim Trueheart, Activist, Baltimore City
- West End Citizens Association, Rockville
- Westport Improvement Association, Baltimore
- Youth Volunteer Council of Greater Baltimore – Baltimore City
- Youth Volunteer Council of Greater Baltimore – Baltimore County
The Maryland Coalition
is raising the following concerns about
cell
tower construction
projects
at
Maryland schools:
-
Lack of transparency and community involvement in the decision making process.
-
Safety Issues from the industrial machinery: fires, tower collapse, and worker accidents.
-
Environmental Issues such as paving over green space and cutting down trees.
-
Hazardous Materials (HAZMAT) such as diesel fuel and lead acid batteries on school grounds.
-
Increased carcinogenic air pollution: Diesel generator exhaust and biocides.
-
Health issues related to daily long term exposure to microwave radiation.
The Maryland Coalition believes that cell towers are a bad investment
for our children. We call for an immediate halt to cell tower
construction at Maryland schools.
#
# #
Thursday, September 18, 2014
WTOP: Teen sues over phony Montgomery County school psychologist
WASHINGTON - An 18-year-old Montgomery County man is suing the county and the estate of a man who masqueraded as a school psychologist for more than a decade.continues at link:
Brandon Hall, of Rockville, Md., has filed a lawsuit claiming the Board of Education of Montgomery County hired and retained a fraudulent psychologist, Duane Donald Flemmer, who in addition to counseling Hall and his family in school, was instrumental in a contentious custody battle between Hall's parents.
"Flemmer was a fraud and a charlatan," says attorney Ronald Karp, who filed the suit on Hall's behalf.
The suit claims intentional misrepresentation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and negligent hiring, retention and supervision seeks compensatory and punitive damages against Flemmer's estate and the county school board...
http://www.wtop.com/?nid=41&sid=3705004
Breaking News: Student Sues Montgomery Co. Board of Education Over Phony Psychologist David Flemmer
A Rockville lawyer has filed a lawsuit against the Board of Education of Montgomery County on behalf of an 18-year-old man, who claims he was emotionally damaged by a phony psychologist employed by the school district.
Ronald Karp told News4 told News4 Montgomery County Public Schools had employed "Dr. David Flemmer" for more than 10 years based off fake credentials. The man's real name was Duane Flemmer, according to Karp.
"If they had looked into this man's credentials, they would have known he was using a bogus name," Karp said. "They would have known he wasn't a Ph.D., they would have known that he forged all those documents."
Flemmer counseled Karp's client for two years, beginning when he was 8 years old while his parents were going through a divorce.
"Once you can walk into a courtroom and look the judge in the eye and say, 'I am Dr. David Flemmer and I am a Montgomery County Schools psychologist,' you have instant credibility and you can create havoc for all kinds of people," Karp said.
In 2006, the judge removed the boy from his mother and gave custody to his father, allegedly, based on Dr. Flemmer's testimony.
Cell Phone Towers Continue To Cause Concerns
While plans to place cell phone towers continue to move forward, parents and activists say they think the company building the towers needs to file for a special exception because it will make more than four maintenance visits a year.
“It’s simple math,” said Thea Scarato, a Greenbelt resident and parent of two children in PGCPS. “There are going to be more than four visits. It should need a special exception.”
In a previous report by The Sentinel, county planning department officials said the cell phone tower applications do not need a special exception because the towers will only be 151 feet high—lower than the county’s zoning ordinance requirement limitation of 199 feet. However, according to Scarato, cell phone tower applications should go through a process to get a special exception because there will be at least four maintenance site visits per year, according to the leasing agreement between Prince George’s County Public Schools and Milestone Communications....
article continues at this link.
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