It's a Miracle! Two @mcps Elementary Schools have ZERO COVID-19!! How did they do it? Are Great Seneca Creek ES and South Lake ES Telling the Truth? Spoiler: No.

 

Take a look at the Montgomery County Public Schools COVID-19 School Dashboard.  Order the school list by cases and scroll on down to the bottom of the list.

Look at that! Two elementary schools haven't had one single case of COVID-19 among staff or students! Great Seneca Creek Elementary ( approximately 538 students) and South Lake Elementary (approximately 790 students) have never reported a single case of COVID-19 among staff or students.  

How can this be?  What's their secret?

Their secret is that they aren't reporting.  The Parents' Coalition has learned that COVID-19 reporting is being suppressed at some schools.  Why would principals and school nurses suppress this information during a pandemic?  

How can school opening/closing decisions be made if the true impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is being suppressed by individual schools?  

Public Hearing on Amended Board of Health COVID Regulations Tues Jan 4th at 9AM

 Sign up to testify by Monday January 3rd at 2 pm to testify. Residents can sign up to testify via Zoom here.

Public Hearing Notice on First Amended Board of Health Regulation to Prevent the Spread of COVID-19 and Update Indoor Masking Guidance

---

Council meets on Jan. 4 to introduce, hold a public hearing and vote on an amended Board of Health regulation

For Immediate Release

ROCKVILLE, Md., Dec. 30, 2021—The Montgomery County Council will meet virtually via Zoom as the Board of Health on Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2022 to introduce, hold a public hearing and vote on a First Amended Board of Health Regulation to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and to update indoor masking guidance in Montgomery County. The public hearing on the First Amended Board of Health Regulation will be held at 10 a.m. The Council meeting will begin at 9 a.m. with public health updates. 

Montgomery County's current Board of Health regulation, which was issued on Nov. 2, 2021, required face coverings to be worn indoors in public areas of the County, with some exceptions, during periods of substantial or high COVID-19 transmission.  The Nov. 2 Board of Health Regulation terminates without further action when 85 percent of the total Montgomery County population is fully vaccinated.

Unfortunately, the COVID-19 omicron variant has pushed the County and other areas of the country into an extended period of high COVID-19 transmission. Consequently, Acting Health Officer Dr. James Bridgers requested that the Board of Health rescind the automatic termination of the indoor mask mandate at its meeting on Jan. 4, 2022. 

The First Amended Board of Health Regulation to prevent the spread of COVID-19 would continue the indoor masking requirements at any location accessible to the public in Montgomery County by doing the following:

• rescinding the automatic termination of the indoor mask mandate upon reaching 85 percent of the population being fully vaccinated;
• removing the requirement to end the indoor mask mandate when the County moves into moderate transmission;
• continuing the indoor mask mandate until the Board of Health rescinds it in a formal order;
• requiring the Board of Health to meet every two weeks to review data on community transmission and consider whether the indoor mask mandate should continue; and
• eliminating the outdated language requiring the County Executive to provide status updates on the County's employee vaccination mandate.

If adopted by the Board of Health, the amended regulation would become effective on Jan. 5, 2022 at 12 a.m. 

Students are still required to wear face coverings in schools based on requirements from the Maryland State Department of Education. Moreover, face coverings are still required on public transportation as required by the Transportation Security Administration.  

The deadline to sign up for the virtual public hearing is Monday, Jan. 3 at 2 p.m. As soon as the Board of Health regulation is available it will be posted on the Council's web page.

Residents can sign up to testify via Zoom here. If you are not available for the public hearing but want to provide testimony to the Council you can do so by submitting written, audio or video testimony here. More information can be found at the Montgomery County Council's webpage at www.montgomerycountymd.gov/council. 

The Council meeting is being conducted remotely via Zoom and will be televised live on County Cable Montgomery (Xfinity channels 6 and 996, RCN channels 6 and 1056; and FiOS channel 30). The meeting is also available live via streaming through the Council website at http://tinyurl.com/z9982v8, Facebook Live (@MontgomeryCountyMdCouncil or @ConcejodelCondadodeMontgomery), or YouTube (@MoCoCouncilMD).

###

Council Public Hearing Information Line: 240-777-7803

 

View all Council press releases: https://www2.montgomerycountymd.gov/mcgportalapps/press_List.aspx?id=01

Contact:           
Sonya Healy
240-777-7926, Sonya.Healy@montgomerycountymd.gov

Additional Contact:
Benjamin Sky Brandt
240-777-7884, Benjamin.Brandt@montgomerycountymd.gov

Stay Connected:
Council Website, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube , Instagram

Press Release: High School Track Coach Wanted for Sexual Assault Arrested at Airport; Additional Victims a Concern

 For Immediate Release: Thursday, December 30, 2021

Gaithersburg, MD - On Oct. 27, 2021, the Special Victims Investigations Division began an investigation into the sexual assault of a now adult victim by her former track coach and school security assistant, 31-year-old Giovanni Di Angelo Reumante of Takoma Park, MD.

The assaults took place while the victim was a student at Northwood High School where Reumante had been a track coach since 2013.

The investigation revealed that Reumante allegedly engaged in sexual contact with at least one student during and after school hours. A warrant was obtained for Reumante’s arrest on Dec. 23, and attempts were made to serve that warrant.

On Dec. 29, 2021, investigators learned that Reumante returned to the United States on a flight from the Dominican Republic.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection at Dulles International Airport placed Reumante under arrest for his active arrest warrant.

Investigators are concerned that Giovanni Di Angelo Reumante might have targeted additional students. Anyone with additional information is asked to contact the Montgomery County Police Special Victims Investigations Division at 240-773-5400.

 

Currently, the only online school that has been approved by the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) to award diplomas recognized by the state of Maryland is Pearson Online Academy (formerly International Connections Academy). If you choose to enroll your child, full-time in this private online school it is not considered home-schooled.

ONLINE SCHOOLS

• There are many nonpublic online education vendors.  Most, but not all, online instruction falls under the category of Home Instruction in the state of Maryland.  When parents homeschool they have the freedom and responsibilty to select their child's curriculum. 

  OPTION 1:  Parents may choose to enroll their students in online courses from any provider and bring information about that coursework to their twice-yearly program reviews. Printouts summarizing the courses, percentage of course completed, and grade or level of mastery are part of the documentation for online instruction.  Be aware that online schools do not necessarily provide instruction in all of the required subject areas.  Parents may need to supplement online instruction with core and/or elective courses which meet the COMAR requirements for home instruction in Maryland.  

  OPTION 2: Currently, the only online school that has been approved by the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) to award diplomas recognized by the state of Maryland is Pearson Online Academy (formerly International Connections Academy). If you choose to enroll your child, full-time in this private online school it is not considered home-schooled...

• https://www.aacps.org/Page/2287

Missed warning signs and bad judgment abound in case of Maryland coach accused of sex abuse

 By Editorial Board

December 10, 2021 at 3:07 p.m. EST

The sordid history of scholastic and college team coaches or doctors who ignore boundaries with student-athletes, and sometimes commit crimes in crossing them, is often a story of warning signs missed. In the case of Kirk Shipley, a longtime teacher and rowing coach at Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda, Md., who was charged this summer with sexually abusing two former student-rowers, the warning signs were abundant...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/12/10/kirk-shipley-bethesda-maryland-bad-judgment/

Nassau Community College president quits - three days after faculty leaders submitted a "letter of discontent"- takes job in as president of Montgomery College in Maryland, also a community college.

 By Craig Schneider

craig.schneider@newsday.com  @Scraigo

Updated December 17, 2021 8:15 PM

The president of Nassau Community College resigned Friday, three days after faculty leaders submitted a "letter of discontent" to the school's Board of Trustees requesting his removal.

Jermaine Williams, president since July 2019, will become the president of Montgomery College in Maryland, also a community college.

Williams' time with the Nassau County college was marked with difficulty between himself and the faculty, said Faren Siminoff, president of the Nassau Community College Federation of Teachers.

"He was not a very responsive person. We spoke, but he didn't hear," Siminoff said in an interview.

The faculty leaders sent the letter to the Board of Trustees on Tuesday, asserting that, "The student leaders, faculty and staff have lost faith and trust in the college president. … We call for his immediate removal as Nassau Community College President."

The letter added, "Our constituents report that morale across campus is at the lowest point in decades."..

...The three-page letter said Williams' administration failed to correct health and safety issues such as mold infestation, air quality and unsafe passageways. It cited a textbook policy that left students without textbooks for weeks during the fall 2020 semester. And it questioned the administration's spending of millions of dollars in COVID/Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund money...

https://www.newsbreak.com/news/2464330989625/nassau-community-college-president-quits-takes-job-in-maryland

Ryan Sprouse @RSprouseNews · #Breaking Dulles CBP Arrest 2 wanted Men on Felony Child Molestation Charges today One of those men, Giovanni Di Angelo Reumante 31yo from Takona Park, MD was a MCPS security assistant and track & field coach who is currently on admin leave from Northwood HS per schools. @wusa9

#Breaking Dulles CBP Arrest 2 wanted Men on Felony Child Molestation Charges today One of those men, Giovanni Di Angelo Reumante 31yo from Takona Park, MD was a MCPS security assistant and track & field coach who is currently on admin leave from Northwood HS per schools. @wusa9 pic.twitter.com/2VOMQN132f

— Ryan Sprouse (@RSprouseNews) December 29, 2021

Julie Zauzmer Weil @juliezweil · DC public schools will *require* students and staff to show proof of a negative coronavirus test in order to return from winter break, rather than just recommend a test.

DC public schools will *require* students and staff to show proof of a negative coronavirus test in order to return from winter break, rather than just recommend a test. Students can pick up rapid tests at schools January 3 and 4.

— Julie Zauzmer Weil (@juliezweil) December 29, 2021

***376 Schools*** on MD COVID-19 Outbreak Dashboard. 21 in @mcps with Blake HS at 92, Clarksburg HS at 90, Poolesville HS at 64, Magruder HS at 61

Previous weekly reports at this link.

Blake High School Montgomery 92 12/22/21

Clarksburg High School Montgomery 90 12/22/21

Our Lady of Good Counsel High School Montgomery 67 12/22/21

Poolesville High School Montgomery 64 12/22/21

Magruder High School Montgomery 61 12/22/21

Quince Orchard High School Montgomery 55 12/22/21

Damascus High School Montgomery 42 12/22/21

Paint Branch High School Montgomery 32 12/22/21

Georgetown Preparatory School Montgomery 31 12/22/21

Spencerville Adventist Academy Montgomery 17 12/22/21

Walt Whitman High School Montgomery 15 12/22/21

Clarksburg Elementary Montgomery 10 12/22/21

Goshen Elementary School Montgomery 8 12/22/21

Sargent Shriver Elementary School Montgomery 6 12/22/21

St. Martin of Tours School Montgomery 4 12/22/21

Wheaton High School Montgomery 4 12/22/21

St. Andrew's Episcopal School Montgomery 3 12/22/21

Ashburton Elementary School Montgomery 2 12/22/21

Cashell Elementary School Montgomery 2 12/22/21

Stedwick Elementary School Montgomery 2 12/22/21

Takoma Academy Preparatory School Montgomery 2 12/22/21

 Note: This dataset reflects public and non-public K-12 schools in Maryland that have COVID-19 outbreaks. Data are based on local health department reports to MDH, which may be revised if additional information becomes available. This list does not include child care facilities or institutes of higher education.

Schools listed meet 1 or more of the following criteria:

Classroom/cohort outbreak definition:

    1) At least two confirmed COVID-19 cases among students/teachers/staff within a 14-day period and who are epidemiologically linked, but not household contacts; or

School-wide outbreak definition:

    2) Three or more classrooms or cohorts with cases from separate households that meet the classroom/cohort outbreak definition that occurs within 14 days; or
    3) Five percent or more unrelated students/teachers/staff have confirmed COVID-19 within a 14 day period (minimum of 10 unrelated students/teachers/staff).

Cases reported reflect the current total number of cases. Schools are removed from the list when health officials determine 14 days have passed with no new cases and no tests pending. Archival data is available through the COVID-19 open data catalogue.

These data are updated weekly on Wednesdays during the 10 a.m. hour. MDH is continuously evaluating its data and reporting systems and will make updates as more data becomes available.

https://coronavirus.maryland.gov/pages/school-resources

12/21/21 Message to @mcps Staff from Interim Superintendent Monifa McKnight

 December 21, 2021

Dear MCPS Staff, 

At this time, Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) continues to take necessary precautions to minimize the spread of COVID-19 while also maintaining full operational status for all of our school buildings.

 We continue to collaborate with our state and local partners to monitor the changing conditions and adjust accordingly. While no changes to MCPS school operations are anticipated at this time, this communication is to provide you with information to prepare

 you, your staff and students in case conditions merit a shift in in-person learning.

Maintaining in-person instruction provides students with the best environment for addressing the learning disruptions that resulted from virtual and hybrid learning in the 2019–2020 and 2020–2021 school years.

 Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, much has been asked of our students and staff. As an institution, we are grateful for all you have done in the face of this pandemic. Due to the efforts of everyone in our community, we have been able to return

 to in-person learning five days a week. However rising positive case numbers have required restrictions for athletics and extracurricular activities.

The risk presented by the COVID-19 pandemic remains and positive cases are rising. So we are asking our community to Remain Vigilant and to continue to follow the guidance from local health officials that

 is meant to keep you safe and healthy. Vaccines, face coverings and social distancing are safe, easy, simple and necessary to keep the number of cases low.

Our commitment to our students, staff and families is to keep MCPS schools open, focus on our mitigation strategies so we are working together for safety.

STUDENTS

As we near the start of winter break, please ensure students go home with:

Technology: 

A working Chromebook and charger.

Access to the internet. All MiFi devices that were distributed over the last 20 months are still with families. If a new family needs help with connectivity, please complete this form: MiFi Request Collection

 Form and families will be notified via email when one is ready for pickup at Sandburg distribution site.

Books, workbooks, and other instructional materials that may be helpful to continue instruction without disruption.

Here are other resources:

Item

Information and Resources

Resources

*Make sure Google Docs are “published to the web” to allow for higher volume of users

Zoom for Students

Student Accounts and Access 

Parent/Guardian Accounts and Access

Accessing myMCPS Classroom via Clever

Support

Community Tech Support Portal

Search Knowledge Base (English and Spanish) for troubleshooting guides, screencasts

Email communitytechsupport@mcpsmd.org

STAFF

Please bring home all technology (Laptop/Chromebook, charger, document camera, microphone or external camera if needed) and curriculum resources that you may need for virtual teaching;

Please ensure your Canvas page is updated

Here is other pertinent information:

Item

Information and Resources

Staff Devices and Equipment

Support Materials:

Teacher Laptop & Monitor Support Guide

Document Cameras for Instruction

Classroom Equipment

Support

For fastest service (even if remote), fill out Hardware specific ticket form

PD and Resources

Winter 2022 Instructional Technology Professional Development Sessions

Return to Instruction YouTube Playlist

Virtual Instruction Resources

Staff Accounts and Access

Zoom Support Guide

Zoom and Access for Guest Speakers

Change in Teacher of Record - Synergy & myMCPS Classroom

Support

Help Desk Portal

Search Knowledge Base for troubleshooting guides, screencasts

Submit/Monitor Tickets 

Call Help Desk at 301-517-5800

Email Help Desk at 

help_desk@mcpsmd.org 

Applications

Zoom

All staff have a Zoom Meeting license that can support up to 300 participants.

Each school’s principal/primary administrator is assigned a Zoom Webinar license that can support up to 1,000 participants.

myMCPS Classroom (Canvas LMS)

Courses and enrollments sync from Synergy to myMCPS Classroom (Canvas LMS) daily; courses are currently available for staff to setup if they have not already.

Clever

Clever Portal provides staff and students with access to many of the instructional applications procured and supported by MCPS.

GoGuardian Teacher

If we move to a virtual model, staff will no longer be able to use GoGuardian teacher since students will be using their Internet connection at home.

Windows Virtual Desktop

When connected via VPN, users can access Windows Virtual Desktop to get to Filemaker and other applications not accessible via chrome or outside the firewall.

Other

Ensure VPN access continues for staff without renewal

Montgomery County Public Schools

NY: Albany schools first to shift remote as COVID-19 cases soar

ALBANY -- All Albany public schools will shift to distance learning Wednesday and will resume in-person learning on Jan. 3, according to a memo from the district.

The district is the first in the region to end in-school instruction early before the winter break as schools see their highest infection rates since the COVID-19 crisis began in March 2020.

Staffing considerations were a factor in the Albany district's decision, according to school officials.
  
Positive COVID-19 cases and related contacts in recent days have affected at least 21 First Student drivers and 12 additional employees for the bus company, a letter to Albany parents states...

https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Albany-schools-first-to-shift-remote-as-COVID-19-16720279.php

Guest Post: To Montgomery County Board of Education - Concerned MCPS staff member asks the BOE to have MCPS implement a clear and transparent COVID reporting dashboard.

To: boe@mcpsmd.org

Hello, 

I am writing today, as a concerned MCPS staff member, to ask the BOE to support MCPS in implementing a clear and transparent COVID reporting dashboard for the school system.

Currently, the MCPS COVID dashboard and case reports are not following a universal standard. Many schools' email notifications of positive cases never make it to the MCPS website, such as the cases reported at Sherwood HS, William H. Farquhar MS, and Lois P. Rockwell Elementary School, just to name a few.

Also, many case reports have multiple cases listed, so it is difficult to see where individual schools stand with recent cases and outbreaks. For example, Magruder HS, Blake HS, and Bethesda-Chevy Chase HS have used this notification method within the few last weeks. In fact, since December 7, Magruder HS has sent four community letters reporting 46 cases. Yet when you look at the MCPS website, there is no indication at all that there are so many cases at Magruder HS.

Lastly, MCPS is not reporting all of their schoolwide outbreaks to the state health department. Only 9 MCPS schools have been listed on the state dashboard as having outbreak-associated cases for the month of December. You can download the data here: https://data.imap.maryland.gov/datasets/md-covid19-schooloutbreaks/explore. Yet MCPS lists 452 total COVID cases on their own website. While all of these cases may not meet the school-wide outbreak definition, according to the state many schools should meet the criteria for an outbreak and be listed on the state dashboard.  

Howard County Public School System has clear and transparent COVID dashboard. HCPSS provides daily case totals among elementary, middle and high schools: https://covid.hcpss.org/

You can see each individual schools’ daily case numbers, which are categorized by student, staff, contractor, or visitor. For example, this is the case reporting for Oakland Mills HS: https://covid.hcpss.org/school/omhs

MCPS has approximately 100,000 more students than HCPSS, yet we have no idea of the number of current cases or the schools that have current cases. We do not know if there is an increased number of cases in recent weeks, and without the state/county health department reporting a current positivity rate, we need MCPS to act now to get this information to all of its community members.

It is time for the BOE and MCPS to set clear, transparent guidelines for school administrators to report and publish COVID case information.

It is also time for the BOE and MCPS to implement a clear and transparent COVID dashboard for all members of the community so that we can track the number of cases in our schools, which is especially important for both holiday/seasonal surges and new variants. At this point in the pandemic, our current method of publishing COVID cases in our school system is unacceptable.

Thank you for your time and consideration. 

As covid surges, D.C.-area schools cancel activities and go virtual again

As coronavirus cases climb across the D.C. region, schools scrambled to adjust Wednesday, with several moving online ahead of the winter break.

The resurgent pandemic is gripping a raft of local institutions: D.C. reported 32 percent more cases than last week, the Kennedy Center canceled two weeks of a touring musical because of cast infections and the Washington Football Team grappled with its own outbreak. And while area schools were laboring to get to their breaks safely by implementing testing and giving extra days off, this week has brought omicron-variant fears and more drastic measures.

On Wednesday afternoon, Prince George’s County in Maryland announced that it was halting in-person instruction at two middle schools and a charter school until at least Jan. 3.

“I am alarmed by the rising numbers across our schools,” the system’s CEO, Monica Goldson, wrote in an email to the community. “A two-day total last week consisted of fewer than 100 cases. This week, we saw a high of 155 cases reported in a single day.”..

...Montgomery County school officials said Tuesday they have tightened protocols for sports teams, as suggested by local health officials, to minimize spread of the virus. Now, if a team has five or more active cases, the team’s activities — including practices and games — will be suspended for 14 days.

Five Montgomery County high schools are currently affected: Paint Branch, Magruder, Poolesville, Sherwood and James Hubert Blake.

The rising caseloads have alarmed parents like Amy Creel, mother of a student at Blake, where she served for six years as a PTSA officer. One of her daughter’s classes had 19 students absent Wednesday morning, Creel said.

“There’s a real sense of fear in the community,” she said. “The kids are just really freaked out, and the parents as well.”

School system officials said Blake had 26 new cases from Dec. 4 to Dec. 12, nearly matching the previous total for the school year, with seven of the cases related to a sports team. Chris Cram, a spokesman for the school system, said that while school officials are aware of the increase, the only change in guidance from local health officials relates to sports teams.

Creel asked that her daughter, who is immunocompromised, be allowed to learn virtually until the holiday break but was turned down. “It feels very out of control,” Creel said...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2021/12/15/dmv-school-omicron-outbreaks/

Exclusive: MCPS COVID-19 Dashboard is not accurate representation of COVID-19 Case Letters.

In October of 2021, MCPS staff and parents were relying on the MCPS COVID-19 Dashboard to show when COVID-19 Community Notification Letters were being sent out.  

However, the Parents' Coalition was increasingly hearing from staff and parents that the Dashboard was not accurate.  We particularly heard that Lois P. Rockwell Elementary School in Damascus had COVID-19 cases but that the school was not showing up on the MCPS Dashboard at all.  

We filed a Maryland Public Information Act request to see if there had been any Community Notification Letters sent out for Lois P. Rockwell Elementary School. 

What we received from MCPS was a surprise.  There had been 5 Community Notification letters sent out for Lois P. Rockwell Elementary School from September 3rd to October 5th and not one of those letters was recorded on the MCPS COVID-19 Dashboard.

From: Parents Coalition

Sent: Thursday, October 7, 2021 12:02 PM

To: mpia@mcpsmd.org <mpia@mcpsmd.org>

Subject: Lois P. Rockwell Elementary School

This is a Maryland Public Information Act request for all of the COVID-19 Community Notification Letters for Lois P. Rockwell Elementary School for 2021 from January 1st through October 7th. 

Thank you for your prompt attention to this request. 

On October 7, 2021, here is what the MCPS COVID-19 Dashboard looked like.  Note, Lois P. Rockwell ES would come after Little Bennett ES.  It's not there. 

MCPS COVID-19 Dashboard October 7, 2021

Here is the October 26, 2021, response we got from the MPCS public information office:  5 Community Notification Letters for Lois P. Rockwell ES.  

None of these letters had been posted to the MCPS COVID-19 Dashboard. 

2021 Oct. 7 Lois P. Rockwel... by Parents' Coalition of Montg...

Here is what the MCPS COVID-19 Dashboard looked like on October 26th, after we received the above response to our Maryland Public Information Act request.  Suddenly Lois P. Rockwell ES was listed and 5 Community Notification Letters were shown. 

***293 Schools*** on MD COVID-19 Outbreak Dashboard including 14 in Montgomery County. Magruder HS & Paint Branch HS Tied at 32 cases. Highest 110 cases in Harford Co. Elementary School.

Previous weekly reports at this link.

Magruder High School Montgomery 32 12/15/21

Paint Branch High School Montgomery 32 12/15/21

Georgetown Preparatory School Montgomery 31 12/15/21

Poolesville High School Montgomery 19 12/15/21

Spencerville Adventist Academy Montgomery 17 12/15/21

Goshen Elementary School Montgomery 6 12/15/21

Clarksburg Elementary Montgomery 6 12/15/21

Quince Orchard High School Montgomery 4 12/15/21

Saint Raphael School Montgomery 3 12/15/21

St. Martin of Tours School Montgomery 2 12/15/21

Stedwick Elementary School Montgomery 2 12/15/21

Takoma Academy Preparatory School Montgomery 2 12/15/21

Ashburton Elementary School Montgomery 2 12/15/21

Cashell Elementary School Montgomery 2 12/15/21

Note: This dataset reflects public and non-public K-12 schools in Maryland that have COVID-19 outbreaks. Data are based on local health department reports to MDH, which may be revised if additional information becomes available. This list does not include child care facilities or institutes of higher education.

Schools listed meet 1 or more of the following criteria:

Classroom/cohort outbreak definition:

    1) At least two confirmed COVID-19 cases among students/teachers/staff within a 14-day period and who are epidemiologically linked, but not household contacts; or

School-wide outbreak definition:

    2) Three or more classrooms or cohorts with cases from separate households that meet the classroom/cohort outbreak definition that occurs within 14 days; or
    3) Five percent or more unrelated students/teachers/staff have confirmed COVID-19 within a 14 day period (minimum of 10 unrelated students/teachers/staff).

Cases reported reflect the current total number of cases. Schools are removed from the list when health officials determine 14 days have passed with no new cases and no tests pending. Archival data is available through the COVID-19 open data catalogue.

These data are updated weekly on Wednesdays during the 10 a.m. hour. MDH is continuously evaluating its data and reporting systems and will make updates as more data becomes available.

https://coronavirus.maryland.gov/pages/school-resources

Memo to New Member of the Montgomery County Board of Education Scott Joftus

Mr Joftus: We have never met, but I just read your piece from 2012 that contained the following:

"My daughter’s kindergarten class included a troubled boy who was going through the foster-care placement process. He is exactly the type of child that can benefit most from an excellent education, but he regularly disrupted class. One day, when I was in the classroom, the teacher—talented, but inexperienced—spent more than half of her time trying to keep this boy on task. I feel for children like him; my company works with schools and districts to improve outcomes for these kids. But I was angry. The other children were clearly uncomfortable. His disruptions reduced learning time for my daughter, and seemed to steal some of her innocence and excitement about school."

I noted that your essay did not contain a solution, just your anger over "children like him" disrupting learning time for your own daughter. I have been a special education advocate for over 25 years. I have been in a meeting where an MCPS school principal told me that once a particular child left her school, he would be "someone else's problem." Attitudes like that do nothing to solve the issues of children with emotional and learning challenges. Believe me that their caregivers are unhappy with the situation, teachers are unhappy with the situation, school administrators are unhappy with the situation. But the answer lies WITHIN THE POWER OF THE BOE TO ADDRESS: staffing and training. Prompt referral and evaluation if disability is suspected. Instead, what usually happens is escalating discipline and suspensions. It will take a true advocate for children to turn around this system of blame and punishment for students with behavioral and emotional challenges. I have not seen that any of the current BOE are that person. Are you? Lyda L. Astrove Esq.

Delegate David Moon wants to spend stop-arm school bus camera citation revenue, but there is no indication there is any revenue.

Montgomery County Delegation

Bill Hearing

December 15, 2021

MC 3-22 Montgomery County – Speed and School Bus Monitoring Systems

Janis Zink Sartucci - Parents’ Coalition of Montgomery County, MD

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on MC 03-22. This bill seeks to use the revenue from school bus stop arm camera citations to build medians on busy roads.

Are these medians needed at this locations? If so, what revenue?

The public used to be able to track the revenue from the stop arm camera citations on the MCPS Funding Accountability and Transparency Reporting Database. But MCPS stopped reporting any revenue on that database in October of 2020. Not one single thing has been posted on that database since then. Fiscal Year 2022 isn’t even an option on the drop down menu. As you recall, the legislature changed the reporting requirement in2019, and MCPS took that opportunity to stop posting to that database all together. We know there is a rumor that MCPS still “voluntarily” posts to the database, stop spreading the rumor and stick to the facts. The database is dead.

On March 7, 2019, I spoke to the House Ways and Means Committee and documented that stop arm school bus camera citation revenue could not be tracked.

In December of 2019, Montgomery County’s Office of the CountyExecutive, Office of Internal Audit released a Financial ComplianceReview of Bus Patrol America, LLC, the vendor handling the stop arm citations. Here’s a copy of that financial review. [Delegation shown blank piece of paper.]

Yes, the entire document has been redacted and withheld for two years. Who knows if there is any revenue from citations? We have filed a Maryland Public Information Act request for this report to be made public, but 46 days later nothing has been released. We have requested the the assistance of the Maryland PIA Ombudsman.

Montgomery County Internal Audit (MCIA) conducted a financial compliance review of BusPatrol for transactions occurring from July 1, 2016 through August 31, 2019, with the following objectives: 

1. Obtain supporting documentation and verify the validity of charges billed to the County; 

2. Calculate the total amount of payments made to BusPatrol and compare to the “Cost of Investment” reconciliation prepared by BusPatrol defined in the Agreement;

3. Confirm if (or when anticipated) the break-even point would be reached; 

4. Perform analysis of any payments owed by the County to BusPatrol. This report summarizes the review performed. 

THIS REPORT CONTAINS PROPRIETARY INFORMATION AND IS CONSIDERED CONFIDENTIAL. THE REPORT IS NOT AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC .

https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/exec/internal_audit.html

This bill seeks to spend stop arm school bus camera revenue that can’t be documented and may not even exist.

This bill doesn’t address that school bus stops on multi-lane roads are inherently dangerous. The Federal Highway Administration has said that school systems should minimize or avoid multi-lane roads where pedestrians are most at risk of injury.

Finally, what happened to stop arm school bus cameras as part of a public safety campaign around Montgomery County school buses? What happened to that? Has even $1 of citation revenue been used to do anything to help keep County children safe around school buses?