MCPS History: The curious case of John Q. Porter [Carey Wright took John Q. Porter to Mississippi when she became State Superintendent] @MdPublicSchools

"Federation Corner" column 

The Montgomery Sentinel - January 17, 2008 

The curious case of John Q. Porter 

by Wayne Goldstein

To many in this county, the name John Q. Porter may be no more recognizable to them than John Q. Public, although Mr. Porter has had and continues to have an extremely interesting life compared to Mr. Public. 2000 was a big year for Mr. Porter. In August 2000, 400 guests watched as he was chosen for a second term as chairman of the Chamber Workforce Corporation's (CWC), a merger of the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce and the county Workforce Development Corp., a job training agency. Problems in the Chamber organization before the merger had become more serious after the merger took place in June 1999, a few months before Mr. Porter first took the helm of CWC. These problems then became so severe that the county government stepped in and broke up the merger in October 2001, taking charge of the job training agency itself, shortly after Mr. Porter completed his second term.

In March 2000, Mr. Porter was hired by Superintendent Weast as interim head of the schools' Office of Global Access Technology (OGAT) after his predecessor was fired because a $4 million computerized student information system did not work properly. Weast was so pleased with Mr. Porter's performance that he soon made him the permanent chief information officer of OGAT. In July 2004, Weast also made him the new deputy superintendent for strategic technologies and accountability

Events continued to go very well for Mr. Porter, such that on April 26, 2007, it was announced: "The Oklahoma City Public Schools (OKCPS) has successfully concluded its national search for a new superintendent with the selection today of John Q. Porter, an accomplished national leader recognized for his breakthrough initiatives in the use of technology to transform student learning, improve academic performance and increase accountability." Cliff Hudson, Chairman of the OKCPS Board of Education, stated: "John is the right person at the right time and his broad experience in law, business and education will be of great value in his new position with our district."

Mr. Porter started his new job on July 2, 2007. Barely six months later, on January 7, 2008: "After a two-hour executive session, the Oklahoma City school board voted to suspend its superintendent immediately with pay pending an investigation into accusations against him. The board voted to appoint [an] acting superintendent until an open hearing is held on Feb. 6. ...The allegations include that Dr. John Q. Porter improperly agreed to a $365,000 contract for the school district without getting bids. [He] also took about $2,400 from the school district's activity fund for personal expenses and was reimbursed about $5,000 for personal air travel."..

fedcorner20080117.pdf (montgomerycivic.org)