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Monday, October 31, 2022

Julie Yang Opinion: We need more than business as usual to mitigate staff shortages

MCPS should consider innovative and time-tested efforts to attract and maintain a qualified workforce

It will take more than business as usual to solve the staffing shortage crisis facing our public schools, including in Montgomery County. As a long-time educator, I know firsthand the physical, emotional and mental demands needed to ensure students have every opportunity to succeed. The invisible work carried out by staff inside and outside of the classroom, such as overseeing student clubs or serving as a trusted adult, often goes unnoticed or unappreciated. Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) has operated too long on the same hiring processes and mechanisms to maintain school staffing. I believe we can do better with the staffing situation. What we need is to apply innovative strategies to achieve quality staffing for future years to come...

Opinion: We need more than business as usual to mitigate staff shortages | Bethesda Magazine & Bethesda Beat

Maryland Audit: Transportation Employees Used 'Off the Books' Account


Maryland state audit report indicates that transportation management personnel in Montgomery County Public Schools may have used an “off the books” account to spend about $649,000 on goods and services “purportedly on behalf of MCPS from October 2017 to November 2021.”

An ‘Off the Books’ Account

Last November, as School Bus Fleet reported, MCPS put then-Transportation Director Todd Watkins and his assistant director, Charles Ewald, on administrative leave pending an investigation into those purchases.

“One of the employees was subsequently terminated in February 2022 and the other employee resigned in March 2022,” the report stated.

The account, maintained by a transportation vendor “outside the control of MCPS’ Office of Finance,” apparently was funded with about $1.2 million due to the school district for liquidated damages because the vendor hadn’t delivered goods on time “and credits for certain items included in the original bus procurement contract and paid for that were subsequently cancelled.”

After an internal audit and the account’s discovery, the district reported the situation to the Montgomery County Police Department and hired an accounting and advisory firm to conduct an independent forensic investigation.

The firm reviewed about $572,000 in spending by transportation department employees “that were considered questionable or required additional review,” the report stated.

Some reported purchases included gift cards and furniture shipped to the management employee’s home, according to the district’s Internal Audit Unit.

The audit report indicates that the MCPD and State Attorney’s Office were investigating the issues.

“The two individuals associated with this matter no longer work for MCPS, but police may still apply charges as part of their investigation,” said Christopher Cram, director of the school district’s communications office. “Because there is still an investigation and work to be done, we cannot comment further at this time.”

The report also delved into irregularities with the procurement of a school bus safety camera system. Wrote legislative auditor Gregory Hook:

“Our audit also disclosed that MCPS did not competitively procure or establish a fixed cost to be paid on a contract to use a vendor’s school bus safety camera system to assess violations against drivers that illegally pass a stopped school bus. In addition, the contract lacked sufficient details to enable effective monitoring of the amounts invoiced and paid to the vendor, which totaled $21.9 million as of June 30, 2021.”

Brawls erupt between Whitman, B-CC students after rivalry football game despite new security measures


By Grace O’Halloran

A B-CC student allegedly “jumped” a Whitman senior in downtown Bethesda after last night’s football game between the rival schools, sparking a series of brawls that involved at least eight students and a Montgomery County Police officer.

At approximately 7:49 p.m., a B-CC senior struck a Whitman senior from behind on a sidewalk outside the Chipotle on Old Georgetown Road, according to the Whitman student and a bystander. Then, at least eight other students pushed the Whitman student to the ground and proceeded to punch, kick and curse at them, the student said.

In 2019, The Black & White reported on a pattern of increasingly violent altercations outside the Bethesda Chipotle in the hours following football games between the two schools. After police removed 12 students from Whitman’s homecoming game due to aggressive behavior, Whitman and B-CC administrators announced on Monday that this year’s Battle of Bethesda would take place an hour and a half earlier than in previous years.

Football player Jacob Gaum, a junior, said that the fight didn’t shock him and he believes that the altercations will remain popular after intense games...

Brawls erupt between Whitman, B-CC students after rivalry football game despite new security measures – The Black and White

Friday, October 28, 2022

Parents' Coalition Obtains Financial Disclosure Forms for 11 Planning Board Applicants from MD State Ethics Commission

Under Maryland Land Use law, the public was to have 3 weeks to review the list of applicants for the Montgomery County Planning Board. [That didn't happen.]  

Applicants were to file financial disclosure statements with the State Ethics Commission with copies to the chief administrative officer of the county and the county council. [We don't know if all that happened.]

These financial disclosure statements were to be filed 5 days before the applicant was interviewed.  [That didn't happen.]

During that 5 day period, the financial disclosure statements would have been available for the public to review.  

Obviously, in this recent appointment process for Montgomery County Planning Board the 5 day period between filing of the financial disclosure statements and interview did not happen.  At best, the public had one day to view the financial disclosure statements of the applicants.  And that would have only been possible if a county resident traveled to Annapolis to the office of the State Ethics Commission.  

In the interest of transparency and accountability, and with a look at how this process was supposed to be run under Maryland law, the Parents' Coalition has obtained the financial disclosure statements of the 11 applicants, and we are making them public now. The public should have been able to view these documents before the interviews, but nothing in this appointment process has followed the timeline established by Maryland law. With that, we give you the financial disclosure statements of the 11 applicants: 



Individual                                 Year            Date Filed

 
Raj Barr-Kumar                        2021            10/22/22    (amended 10/26/22)

Cherri Branson                          2021            10/24/22    (original 10/22/22)

Francoise Carrier                       2021            10/23/22

Norman Dreyfuss                     2021             10/22/22    (properties do not have addresses and does not disclose membership on board of Affordable Housing Conference of Montgomery County) 

Barbara Goldberg Goldman      2021            10/23/22    (does not disclose Quora business or board membership on nonprofit Affordable Housing Conference of Montgomery County)

David Hill                                2021            10/22/22

William E. Kirwan III               2021            10/22/22    (Did not list Silver Spring property)

Vincent Napoleon                     2021            10/21/22  

Roberto Pinero                         2021            10/23/22

Amy Presley                             2021            10/21/22

Jeff Zyontz                               2021            10/21/22    

Thursday, October 27, 2022

Email from my pediatrician’s office today saying Shady Grove, Holy Cross, Suburban and Children’s ERs so full they are closed to ambulances due to surging RSV cases

MCPS parents frustrated with busing issues as district faces driver shortage

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. (7News) — Kids were cold and crying, parents were late for work, unclear if buses were coming and no notifications -- These are just some of the complaints this week in Montgomery County.

The same week Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) announced the purchase of a fleet of electric buses, but many parents are asking who is going to drive them. The public school webpage that gives a list of all the school bus routes shows dozens of “uncovered” routes each week. Some parents say they are not getting calls or emails and the webpage they say doesn’t always update correctly...

MCPS parents frustrated with busing issues as district faces driver shortage | WJLA

Bethesda Beat tricked by Fani-Gonzalez defense against property tax fraud claim by PCMC

In an amazing case of failure to comply with a fundamental rule of news reporting -- interviewing all involved parties to ensure fairness and impartiality --  Bethesda Beat released an incredibly biased story about our discovery of Natali Fani-Gonzalez's property tax fraud on October 24.  

Not only did Bethesda Beat fail to even attempt to interview anyone from the Parent's Coalition, but they even patched up their story two times in the space of two hours after Fani-Gonzalez wasn't happy about its content.  The story was initially released at 5:10 PM on October 24, then modified and re-released at 6 PM, then modified again and re-released at 7 PM.  

The Parents' Coalition has attempted to contact the reporter, Ginny Bixby, numerous times by email and by telephone, but we have not received a response. 

Ms. Bixby failed to ask Fani-Gonzalez the most important question of all:

If Mr. Gonzalez has had a 100% disability rating since 2017, why did he appeal his rating?  It's not possible to get a rating higher than 100% so appealing makes no sense.

Fani-Gonzalez's defense makes no sense, yet reporter Bixby fell for it.  And apparently so did SDAT.

We were able to reach the editor of Bethesda Beat and she indicated that BB might ask Fani-Gonzalez the above question and do a follow-up story.  So far, though, there has been no follow-up story or further response.

Perhaps Fani-Gonzalez would like to answer our question in the comment section below.  We aren't holding our breath, though, while we wait for her to respond.

Prior related stories:
https://parentscoalitionmc.blogspot.com/2022/10/fani-gonzalez-attempts-to-deflect-tax.html

https://parentscoalitionmc.blogspot.com/2022/10/pcmc-exclusive-county-council-candidate.html

Breaking: @mcps Under Investigation by Montgomery County Office of Inspector General (OIG)

  The OIG currently has four announced engagements in progress: 

o Audit of the Department of Environmental Protection 

o Audit of the Office of Intergovernmental Relations 

o Emergency Procurement Practices 

o Accountability at Montgomery County Public Schools 

Microsoft Word - October 27 Audit Meeting_v1 with karen edits (montgomerycountymd.gov)

Wednesday, October 26, 2022

Atty General Brian Frosh Responds to Parents' Coalition. The General Assembly, Governor, Comptroller, Treasurer, State's Atty, Marc Elrich or Gabe Albornoz can request an Opinion on Planning Board Appointments

On October 23, 2022, the Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, MD wrote to Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh and asked the Attorney General to answer the question: Can the Montgomery County Council change the statutory term for Planning Board appointments so that they are only temporary appointments?

Today the Attorney General's office responded:  

OAG <OAG@oag.state.md.us>
  • You
Wed 10/26/2022 12:58 PM

Dear Ms. Sartucci,

Thank you for contacting the Maryland Office of the Attorney General.

The Attorney General is the legal counsel for the State of Maryland and its agencies. As such, this Office provides legal advice to state agencies, boards and commissions and investigates and prosecutes crimes against the State. The Office further represents the State in all cases pending in the Appellate Courts of the State, and in the U.S. Supreme Court and lower Federal Courts. To learn more about the Office of the Attorney General, follow this link: http://www.marylandattorneygeneral.gov/ 

Under the longstanding policy of the Attorney General’s Office, we are unable to respond to requests for advisory legal opinions from private citizens.  We simply do not have the resources to undertake the many hours of legal research and writing that would be necessary to respond in the form of an official opinion to the hundreds of inquiries that our Office regularly receives from private citizens.  Instead, we must limit ourselves to opinion requests from the various State government agencies and officers that, by law, we are required to represent as well as, on occasion, to requests from local governments. See http://www.marylandattorneygeneral.gov/Pages/Opinions/faq.aspx (explaining our Office’s policy regarding official opinions). 

Thank you again for contacting our Office.

Sincerely,

Citizen Response Coordinator

Office of the Attorney General


************************************


Who can request an Opinion from the MD Attorney General's office:


...The Maryland Constitution directs that the Attorney General is to give an "opinion in writing whenever required by the General Assembly ... the Governor, the Comptroller, the Treasurer or any State's Attorney on any legal matter or subject." Article V, §3...


...a request by a local government for an Opinion of the Attorney General must be made by the chief executive of the local government or by the presiding officer of the local legislative body on behalf of the entire body...

Tuesday, October 25, 2022

Let's Discuss the Planning Board Candidates Right Here. Right Now.

10/27/2022:  UPDATE:   Planning Board Chair and Commissioners that the Montgomery County Council picked by violating MD Land Use law are highlighted below.

The Montgomery County Council has apparently taken a secret vote to defy Maryland Land Use law and is only giving the public about 48 hours to review the list of candidates for Planning Board chair and commissioner seats.   

Montgomery County residents are already doing their own due diligence to research these candidates.  We are getting lots of information from various sources.  We are opening up this blog post as a clearinghouse for filling in missing information on the candidates.  We will update this post as new information comes in and the comments are open.

The candidates' resumes are part of the packet released by the County Council at 5 PM on Monday, October 24, 2022. However, the packet did not reveal which candidate applied for which position, chair or commissioner, and party affiliations were not available for all candidates. We are also finding out additional information about the candidates and posting here.

Candidates: Feel free to update your information, that is, if you are a fan of transparency. 

All candidates must be residents and registered voters of Montgomery County § 15-102 (a)(2)(i).  Are they? 

Maryland law also requires: 

Restrictions on commissioners

(c)(1) Of the commissioners from each county, not more than three shall be members of the same political party.

But the Montgomery County Council didn't put any Republicans on the interview list so that's not going to happen. But wait! Party affiliations appear to be changing by the hour.

 

D = Democrat   R = Republican   I = Independent 


Raj Barr-Kumar (D)

  • Potomac
  • Council packed misspelled last name as Kuma

Cherri Branson (D)

  • Silver Spring

Francoise Carrier (D)

  • Rockville
  • Currently a registered lobbyist - lobbying MNCPPC Planning Board

  • Previously on Planning Board with Planning Board Chair Casey Anderson

🔻Norman Dreyfuss (not a registered voter in Montgomery County)

🔺Barbara Goldberg Goldman (D) 

David Hill (I)

  • Rockville
  • City of Rockville Planning Commission 2006-2016

William Kirwan (D)

  • Silver Spring
  • only a Redacted Resume was made public
  • campaign contributions to Councilmember Hans Riemer
  • campaign contribution to Councilmember Andrew Friedson
  • Council packed misspelled last name as Kirwin
  • Previously applied for Planning Board 
  • MCPS is a client of his firm

Vincent Napoleon (D)

  • Potomac
  • Treasurer for CERG 2.0 PAC which endorsed Councilmember Gabe Albornoz, Evan Glass, Will Jawando and Sidney Katz. 
  • See Maryland Judiciary Case Search

Roberto Pinero (D)(I)(D)

Amy Presley (R) (D) (R)

  • Clarksburg
  • Previously on Planning Board with Planning Board Chair Casey Anderson
  • Presley Facebook: "masks are a farce" 

Jeff Zyontz (D)

  • Rockville
  • 2006 - 2020 Montgomery County Council Staff
  • 1974 to 2006 Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission, attorney

MoCo County Council Forgets to Check Backgrounds on Top Candidates for Planning Board.

This week the Montgomery County Council is setting a really bad example for students. They forgot to do their homework.  

In this case that means that the County Council released a list of the names of their "top" candidates to fill the vacant Montgomery County Planning Board seats without researching the candidates.

Just a few simple Internet searches would have yielded important information, such as tax liens.   

Why do personal liens matter on candidates for Planning Board positions? It's always a concern to put someone in a position of power that might have some vulnerabilities related to their personal financial status.  

Not only did they County Council forget to do their homework on their "top" candidates, but they are also blatantly violating Maryland law with regard to the appointment process for Planning Board vacancies.  

This week the Montgomery County Council is hell bent on showing the next generation how to violate the law, eliminate transparency and ignore ethics. Is their goal to show future generations what not to do? 

Montgomery County Board of Education Candidates 2022: Responses to Questionnaires

The Local News Network at the University of Maryland sent questionnaires to every school board candidate in Montgomery County, and compiled their responses below in our Board of Education Voter Guide. Follow the link to learn more about the people you'll see on the ballot this year. Let us know if you have any questions.


Montgomery County Board of Education candidates 2022 – CNS Maryland

Monday, October 24, 2022

Tues. 10/25 Rally at County Council

 YOUR ATTENTION, PLEASE!

There will be a rally tomorrow morning (Tuesday, Oct. 25th) starting at 8:30am at the County Council Office Building to tell the Council to DISAPPROVE THRIVE 2050. This rally will be held outdoors in front of the building, so please bring your signs!
There will be a second rally at 9:25am inside the building, and everyone will meet just outside of the Council hearing room (i.e., by the big screen). Please allow yourself plenty of time tomorrow, and if you intend to go into the building, you'll need to plan on time to get through security.
We'd like to thank our friends at EPIC of MoCo - Empowering People In Communities of MoCo & Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, and the many, many others who are working for sensible planning that follows the law, engages the public in a meaningful way, and that doesn't tear our communities apart!
Please spread the word, and we look forward to seeing you there!
Address:
100 Maryland Avenue
Rockville, MD 20850
Parking may be available in the County Office Building garage, but given the intense interest in this issue, spaces may go quickly, so please plan accordingly.

Opinion Montgomery needs a permanent Planning Board

 

...If the council’s lack of confidence in the board warranted dismissal, then how can it have confidence in the important land-use issues that were either written by, recommended by or moved forward with board support?

The council should act on the editorial’s conclusion that “character and maturity count” and appoint permanent board members in accordance with the Maryland land-use code. If there are overriding practical reasons for a temporary board, then this hastily appointed board should be limited in authority and prohibited from voting on land-use amendments...

Opinion | Montgomery needs a permanent Planning Board - The Washington Post

Breaking (sort of): @mococouncil Releases List of Names of Candidates for Planning Board Chair and Commissioners

 FYI: There is no such position as a Temporary Acting Planning Board Chair or Commissioner.  Montgomery County citizens should look on this list as candidates for PERMANENT Chair or Commissioner positions.  

Maryland law does not provide for Temporary Acting Planning Board appointments.  Once 5 of these people are appointed, they can stay for years. 

Montgomery County Council Agenda packet that does not cite Maryland law and does not note which of these candidates is applying for the Chair position and which is applying for a commissioner position.

Resumes of candidates included.  

20221025_10.pdf (montgomerycountymd.gov)


Sunday, October 23, 2022

Who Owns the Electric School Bus your Child Rides to School? It's not @MCPS. Is it one of these 3 companies or another company?

MCPS owns their diesel school buses.  When your child rides on a diesel school bus you can know that the bus is owned, operated and maintained by MCPS.

But when it comes to electric school buses, it's anybody's guess as to who owns them and who is paying for liability insurance.  

The Board of Education decided to use electric school buses owned by a private company. They picked one company, contracted with another company, and is now holding a press conference with a third company.    

Shouldn't parents know who owns the school bus their child rides to school each day? 

December 4, 2020:  MCPS sent a Pre-Award Notification letter to Highland Electric Transportation Inc.

February 23, 2021: Montgomery County Board of Education awards  $168,684,990 contract to HET MCPC, LLC, a Maryland Corporation formed on January 8, 2021. 

October 24, 2022: MCPS holds press conference with entirely new company named Highland Electric Fleets, Inc

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Media Advisory: MCPS Leads the Nation in School Bus Electrification

October 20, 2022

Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) and Highland Electric Fleets, Inc. will celebrate the recent addition of 61 electric school buses (for a total of 86) to the MCPS bus fleet. This gives MCPS the largest electrified school bus fleet in the nation.

MCPS is committed to being a good steward of natural resources and doing its part to protect the environment. 

On a typical school day, MCPS diesel buses use approximately 17,000 gallons of diesel fuel, emitting greenhouse gasses and harmful matter from tailpipes. Replacing the diesel bus fleet with electric buses brings MCPS one step closer to its pledge of cutting greenhouse gas emissions from its bus fleet to 80% by 2027 and 100% by 2035.

WHAT: Press conference and reception.

VISUALS: 15 electric school buses will be available to tour and rides will be available to the nearby Bethesda Bus Depot to examine the electric charging infrastructure.

WHERE: Walter Johnson High School, 6400 Rock Spring Drive, Bethesda

WHEN: 10:30 a.m.–11:30 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 24, 2022

WHO:

Dana Edwards, Chief of District Operations, MCPS

Brenda Wolff, President, Montgomery County Board of Education

Dr. Monifa B. McKnight, Superintendent of Schools, MCPS 

Jamie Raskin, Representative, U.S. House of Representatives Maryland’s 8th Congressional District

Marc Elrich, Montgomery County Executive

David V. Fraser-Hidalgo, Maryland State Delegate 

Duncan McIntyre, CEO, Highland Electric Fleets, Inc.

RSVP: This briefing is only for members of the media and invited guests. To RSVP, email Christopher_C_Cram@mcpsmd.org.