Does MCPS General Counsel Review Resolutions Sent to the Board of Education? A Glaring Error in a Resolve for 4/20/23 Board of Education vote.

 To:  MCPS General Counsel Stephanie Williams

Re:  Board of Education Agenda Item 11.11 on April 20, 2023

On the Board of Education's April 20^th Agenda Item 11.11 Delegation of Authority to Execute Permanent Easements, Utility Easements, Rights-of-Way, Rights-of-Entry, Memoranda of Understanding for Land-Related Issues, and Land-Related Agreements of a Routine Nature contains a glaring error. 

In the whereas paragraph listing Board of Education authority and control. The paragraph states:

WHEREAS, The Board of Education has authority and control over the granting of ...not including telecommunication-related items, 

But the Board of Education does have authority and control over matters relating to telecommunications items on Board of Education land.  

It appears that the 11.11 Memorandum was never reviewed by the MCPS General Counsel's office.  The reference initials at the end of the Memorandum do not show review by anyone from the General Counsel's office.   

The Resolve of this Memorandum is exactly the same as was proposed in August of 2022.  The August 2022 Resolution was removed from the Agenda without discussion.  Changes have been made to the Memorandum and the Whereas paragraphs, but not to the actual Resolve that the Board of Education will be voting on.  

The actual Resolve allows the delegation of controversial, fee simple land issues to MCPS staff.  In the 2014 Resolution that was passed by the Board of Education, land issues that were controversial or involved fee simple land transactions were not permitted to be delegated to the superintendent or staff.  Agenda item 11.11 would rescind that prior Resolution. 

To make the glaring mistake clear, here is the whereas paragraph written as a list delineated by each of the commas in the paragraph.

WHEREAS, The Board of Education has authority and control over the granting of 

permanent easements, 

utility easements, 

rights-of-way, 

rights-of-entry, 

memoranda of understanding for land-related, 

not including telecommunication-related items, 

issues, 

and other land-related agreements that encumber or impair Board of Education-owned property; and  

We request that Board of Education Agenda Item 11.11 be removed from the Agenda pending review by the MCPS General Counsel office. 

Thank you for your prompt attention to this urgent matter. 

Janis Zink Sartucci

Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, MD