Just send the bill to . . .

Jen Taylor at Wootton HS.

Jen is such a great person.  She is the guidance counselor without equal at Wootton HS in Rockville, the Student Government Association Sponsor, and she has a connection with BBYO!  So - she decided to use all these talents and agreed to run the big Tuned In Concert at Wootton High School on April 28, 2012.  Look at the signatures - all appear to be from BBYO.

Phil Hill?  He's the Wootton Business Manager, but that's not his signature below the line listing him as the contact.  Looks like the same signature from BBYO.

BBYO signed all the contracts - thus skipping that annoying provision of MCPS policies requiring that all contracts over $25,000 be approved by the Board of Education.  Just send the invoices over to Wootton. 

Don't you wish you could spend money and just send the invoice to someone else?

Note that this blogger asked for copies of all contracts and agreements involving the concert - and was not supplied with any agreement between BBYO and MCPS.  Jen is also creative - don't sign anything but the checks.

But - is this really a school supported activity or just a sham to let BBYO use the facilities and let Wootton HS front the facilities?

What a great lesson in civic disengagement we are teaching the kids.  Thanks MCPS and the Board of Education for turning a truly blind eye!


Send the Invoice to Jen


TEB TEB1 Timeflies Having Fun

TunedIN - Wootton HS Opens Up

Gotta hand it to those folks at Wootton HS in Rockville.

Dr. Doran and his ace guidance counselor really know how to throw a party.

And, they are so creative with the limited parking at the venue  - even though kids from all over the DC metropolitan area are now coming, for an extra $10 you can get transportation and a tour of the monuments too.

Don't you wish your child could also be a Northern Virginia VIP?

Wootton HS Rock the Vote VIP Package

Tune In at Wootton continues

The Tuned In Wootton HS BBYO event become more curious the closer we get to the event.

This blogger can't figure out what is happening, so I'll be sharing the information as it becomes available.

We know that the school did not apply for a waiver from the noise ordinance in the county.  "Its in the works," according to one source.  Really?  This needs to be filed a month in advance and the community needs to have some notice.

Here is the letter from the SGE and Jennifer Taylor, the SGE sponsor, inviting one group to join in the fun.

This raises another question - is Ms. Taylor getting paid from school system funds to run this event? 

Her contact information is at the bottom of the letter.  The letter says to contact her for more information.

So Ms. Taylor - here is my question - shouldn't a school sponsored civic engagement event play by the rules?  Or are you teaching civil disobedience, by flagrantly flouting the rules that apply outside of the Wootton HS protectorate?

So many questions, so little time.

Service and Advocacy Invitation

How did they do that?

Are you interested in a concert with Third Eye Blind and Timelines?

Sorry, only Wootton students or those connected to a Wootton student can attend this concert.

In an unprecedented partnership, for the second time, Wootton and B'Nai Brith Youth Organization are joining forces to bring this concert to your backyard.

Bring your picnic blankets and camp out on Frost Hill.

Wait, isn't BBYO a faith based organization?

You've got that one right. Here is what the organizers had to say at the first concert in 2008:

The event apparently was unique in another respect as well, according to Ian Kandel, program director of BBYO's D.C. Council. He said it was probably the first partnership in U.S. history between a faith-based organization and a public high school. For that reason, organizers strove to avoid First Amendment problems, in part, by consulting with the organization Americans United for the Separation of Church and State.

Wootton was chosen because many of its student leaders are also active BBYO participants, according to Kandel, who said the concert reflected a major change in BBYO's outreach philosophy.

The 84-year-old organization . . . is expanding its horizons in an attempt to engage greater numbers of unaffiliated and marginally affiliated Jewish students.

One way of doing that, Kandel explained, is by melding students' core interests (such as social justice-related activities) with the pop-culture scene via the presentation of "exciting social events" in secular venues, such as Wootton.

Thursday's concert culminated a weeklong campaign at the high school aimed at raising students' political awareness and encouraging them to get involved in worthwhile causes in the nonprofit sector.

So - here are my questions.

1. How are the costs and profits divided between MCPS and BBYO?
2. Who holds the liability insurance for the event and is responsible for any damage to Wootton's athletic stadium?
3. Are the permits in order?
4. What about security?
5. Did Americans United for the Separation of Church and State sign off on the 2012 concert?
and most important
6. Will our own Josh Starr be in attendance with all the political hotshots planning to attend?

Students will be arriving at Wootton by shuttle bus that day, so there should be plenty of onsite parking for tailgaters.

Watch those speed cameras on Wootton Parkway and see you on April 28 at Frost Hill.

Inquiring minds want to know - how did they do that?
Wootton High School Online Store

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