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Friday, October 16, 2020

As City of Gaithersburg Takes $1.5M +/- "Gift" from MoCo Board of Education, Who Sits on City Ethics Commission But a MoCo Board of Ed. member. #Ethics

The City of Gaithersburg has cut a deal with the Montgomery County Board of Education to allow the Board of Education to build an elementary school on a public City park that serves 5 communities.  

The Board of Education had put forth that the land was being given over at no cost, but the actual contract reveals that the Board of Education will be spending over $1.5 million dollars +/- to pay the City of Gaithersburg what can only be described as gifts since the contract does not detail the actual cost of these items. The gifts to the City are to be paid for by the Board of Education and will include an artificial turf football field (and costs for the future replacement of that field), bleachers, lighting and a tot lot.  

Clearly, the land is not being handed over to the Board of Education at "no cost."  But what is the exact cost to the Board of Education and the MCPS Operating Budget? That number can only be estimated as no exact cost was included in the contract.  

If any any point in time there are ever allegations of unethical actions by the City of Gaithersburg elected leaders or their staff, any such complaint would go before the City of Gaithersburg Ethics Commission. 

Montgomery County Board of Education member Rebecca Smondrowski is a member of the City of Gaithersburg Ethics Commission. 

From Board member Smondrowki's online MCPS bio:  

Mrs. Smondrowski was reappointed as a Commissioner for the City of Gaithersburg Ethics Commission in January 2015.

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/boe/members/district2.aspx

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1 comment:

  1. Lynn N.October 16, 2020 at 4:03 PM

    It's like the fox in the hen house. Mind you this is the same City Council that a member only yesterday said that she had never visited Kelley Park, but had voted to give it away. Laurie-Anne Sayles said: "No, I've never been here before...but this place is amazing"...and later she agreed when I told her..."Now you understand why we are trying to protect it".

    So sometimes you have to scream and shout...and sometimes you need to vote with your feet. Both the Mayor and two City Council members are up for re-election. So are Smondrowski and BOE President Sebra Evans. Although Smondrowski has been helpful in the past in getting the BOE to agree to an earlier boundary study (which is still not complete and will be voted on AFTER construction is started, maybe it's time to put other people in who actually care about the residents of the East Side of Gaithersburg

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