MSI Gets 3 MCPS Fields, Has $5.2 Million to Spend on Plastic Grass #nobid

Three Montgomery County schools will get new artificial turf athletic fields as part of a legal settlement that will provide field access to the county’s largest recreational youth soccer organization.

Montgomery school officials announced the agreement Thursday, saying Montgomery Soccer Inc. will contribute as much as $5.2 million toward the construction of fields at Walt Whitman High School, Albert Einstein High School and Julius West Middle School.

In return, MSI, a nonprofit with more than 900 teams and nearly 15,000 youth players countywide, will get access to the fields when the schools are not using them...

...The plan comes two years after MSI sued the school system, claiming school officials used a flawed and unlawful process to grant the use of fields “to elite clubs that serve only a limited fraction — the wealthiest — of the County’s youth.”...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/legal-settlement-calls-for-new-turf-fields-at-montgomery-county-schools/2016/06/30/d465cebe-3ecb-11e6-80bc-d06711fd2125_story.html

BOE Handing Over Closed Schools and Vacant Land to County for Future Use as Schools #forgotAboutSolarPanels

MCPS Planner at work.*

Here is a perfect example of how Board of Education long range planning is based on which way the wind is blowing on any given day.  

In the letter shown below from MCPS we learn that the Board of Education is now offering up closed school sites and vacant school land for use as future school sites in Montgomery County planning.

That means that any organization currently using a closed school site should be prepared to vacate the property in the future.  For example, the Montgomery County Health Center on Dennis Avenue in Silver Spring should get ready to move when the school is needed back by MCPS.  In addition, the Washington Waldorf School, Acorn Hill School, Interages, The Woods Academy, Yeshiva of Greater Washington, Centers for the Handicapped, Clara Barton Day Care Center, The Ivymount School, Crossway Community, YMCA and all of the other users of closed public schools should be prepared to find new locations in the future.

What is amazing about this letter is that the Board of Education seems to be completely forgetting that they are in the process of handing over 60 ACRES of public school land to a private company for use as solar panel installations.  

At the three public meetings on these open pieces of BOE land, the MCPS position was that these 60 ACRES would not be needed for public school use in the next 20 years.  

Yet, at the same time, the Board of Education is offering up these vacant public school sites for use in County planning over the next 20 years. 

   2015 December 10 Letter Berliner Roger Et Al Mstr Plan Collab by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland

*Photo Credit: New York Public Library

No Mention of Early Termination Fee in $5 Million + Solar Panel Deal

On November 17, 2015, MCPS held the third and last meeting on their plan to turn 3 future middle school sites into solar power plants.  
During the first meeting, the public learned that the lease for these properties will include an early termination clause.  That means that if after say 6 years, the Board of Education wants to use one of these properties for the education of public children, the Board of Education will have to pay a fee to end the lease early.  To date, the early termination clause fee has not been announced by MCPS or the solar panel companies. 

Potomac Residents Decry School System Plan to Install Solar Panels at Former Organic Farm

...Sean Gallagher, assistant director of the school system’s Department of Facilities Management, told a crowd of about 70 people Tuesday night at Seven Locks Elementary School that together with proposed solar panel fields on future school sites in Gaithersburg and Rockville, MCPS could save about $2.5 million in electricity costs over the next 10 years...
...The solar panels at Brickyard would cover 12 acres of the site, cost about $5 million to build...

BOE Shuts Down Driving Range to Make Way for Solar Panels #laytonsvillegolfcourse

Bad news this evening for the Laytonsville Golf Course.  The Montgomery County Board of Education is putting solar panels on the golf course's driving range.  That's the end of practice swings for golfers, and lessons for thousands of county public school children. 

The Board of Education only sent two MCPS administrators to this evening's meeting to discuss the plan to put solar panels on the Laytonsville Middle School site in Gaithersburg.

Neither of those administrators had any clue that half of the Laytsonville Middle School site is leased to the Laytonsville Golf Course.

Take a look at the Google Earth image of the middle school site.  See all that really green land? That's the driving range.

Now take a look at the plans for the solar panels.  This is a copy of the plans that MCPS sent out to neighbors of this site.  See how the solar panels on the right are on the really green part of the land?
No one in MCPS noticed that?  

Now, if the lease of half of this property was a secret, well then, we could understand how no one in MCPS knew that half of this property was the driving range for the Laytonsville Golf Course.  But, the lease of this land was not a secret.  In fact, MCPS mentions this lease in their very own site selection report that they put out in 2011.

The MCPS administrators at this evening's solar panel meeting wanted the public to trust and believe that everything about the 60 acre solar panels on future school sites plan had been thoroughly vetted and reviewed by MCPS staff.

It's a little hard to believe that this plan has been thoroughly reviewed when MCPS staff didn't even notice an entire driving range on one of the properties!

FORE!! 

   Upcounty Holding Facility Recommendation by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland

Exclusive Video: Board of Ed and Annapolis Delegation Discuss Construction, Solar Panels, Interrupted Education, Equity and More

Today, the Montgomery County Board of Education met with some members of the Annapolis Delegation. The Agenda for this meeting is at this link.

The Board of Education does not video tape this meeting and does not record minutes for this meeting.  These meetings are open meetings under the Maryland Open Meetings Act and the public is welcome to attend and record these meetings.  

This video tape represents the last 40 minutes of today's meeting.  The video includes the end of the formal presentation, and the question and answer session.  

These are very interesting discussions.  Unfortunately, the Board of Education does not make these discussions available to the public.  In fact, as you will see in this video, the Student Member of the Board went so far as to stand in front of the camera as some sort of juvenile attempt to disrupt the recording of this meeting. The Montgomery County Board of Education is still hostile to the concept of Open Meetings.

Larry Bowers Building Solar Panels Instead of Schools #futureschoolsites #mcps #mocoboe

   2015 Solar Panels Future School Sites by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland

Exclusive Memo: Bowers Giving Away School Land Without BOE Approval of Sites, BOE Withholds Bower's Plans From Public

Get ready to take notes.  Here's how a superintendent tricks a Board of Education member into thinking that somehow they "already" approved turning 60 acres of public school land over to a commercial vendor.  

Superintendent Larry Bowers is a pro at doing this, having signed for the Board of Education in 2008 on a major purchase of Promethean Boards when he was only the Chief Operating Officer.  

The Parents' Coalition has obtained a copy of an October 7, 2015, internal memo [shown below] from Superintendent Bowers to the Board of Education.  This memo shows the sleight of hand that Mr. Bowers is using to hand over 60 acres of public school land to a private company without having the Board of Education vote on this major loss of future school sites.

• On April 27, 2015, the Board of Education approved a contract that would put solar panels on the roofs of 8 existing schools and at a remote site that was not owned by MCPS.  But, slipped into this memo was a sentence that MCPS staff could also hand over as many additional schools and as much Board of Education land as they so desired!

April 27, 2015 BOE Memorandum

• And, just like that, Superintendent Larry Bowers tricked the Board of Education members into approving a contract that robs MCPS students of 60 acres of future school sites.  There was no public discussion of overcrowding.  There was no public discussion of the hundreds of classroom trailers in use.  There was no public discussion of current or future school land needs.  60 acres is gone without any public notice or discussion. 

• On October 7, 2015, Superintendent Larry Bowers handed Board of Education members a memo (shown below) that presents them with the surprise announcement that he is turning over 60 acres of future school sites to a commercial vendor based on their April 27th vote.  What about the public process?  Oh, it's all been taken care of by MCPS staff.  They have looked at everything, in secret, of course, but it's all done.  All the analysis, the site review, the long range planning, it was all handled behind closed doors.

• It's now November.  We now see that Board of Education members sat on this information for a month.  They didn't discuss the October 7th memo at the recent Board meeting, and did not inform their constituents of this surprise plan. 

If you have ever wondered why have MCPS students been in classroom trailers for 30 years, you have got your answer now!  The Board of Education does no long term planning.  Dedicated, public school land is up for grabs by commercial vendors, and the Board of Education has no interest in preserving public school land for public school students. 

   2015 October 7 Bowers Turning over 60 Acres to Commercial Vendor by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland

Update!! Exclusive Breaking News: Bowers Gives Away 61.25 Acres of MCPS School Land

UPDATE:

Is your local MCPS school overcrowded? Have you heard the Board of Education complain that they do not have any place to build more schools and that they can only build multi-level, overcrowded schools on too small lots?

Do you like being tricked?

Well Trick or Treat time is here, and the Parents' Coalition has heard that the Board of Education and Superintendent Larry Bowers have a big trick for parents this week!

The Trick is that without any public process or Board of Education public discussion or vote, Superintendent Larry Bowers is giving away 61.25 acres of open public school land.  

The Treat is that the land is being handed over to a no bid vendor.  

Where is this land located in the County?  It doesn't matter.  
Public school land is a valuable asset and its disposition should be discussed in public by the land owner, the Board of Education.  
The land could be used to build a school, it could be sold, or it could be traded.  The possibilities are endless, but, once again, usable public school land will disappear from the Board of Education inventory without any public process.  





We have seen over 176 acres of MCPS public school land lost since 1994.  

 
Say good-bye to another 61.25 acres this week and add it to the list of dedicated, public school land that was given in trust to the Montgomery County Public Schools Board of Education for the benefit of public school children, but not used for the educational benefit of our children.  

Happy Halloween!  

 

ABC7: Youth soccer club contends MCPS favors 'wealthy children,’ files civil lawsuit against school leaders

Andrews: Good government requires that elected officials ensure that communities are involved in a meaningful way in the decisions that affect them.

Potomac Almanac Letter to the Editor: In the Public’s Interest

Thank you for the opportunity to meet with representatives of the Coalition recently to discuss a wide range of issues affecting our county. I enjoyed the discussion.#Good government requires that elected officials ensure that communities are involved in a meaningful way in the decisions that affect them. Public trust in government erodes when government leaders make deals behind closed doors, as the Brickyard community knows all too well. As a member of the County Council since 1998, I have worked openly and closely with many communities on a broad range of issues that affect them. I was one of the County Councilmembers who sent a letter publicly urging County Executive Leggett to work with the Coalition to find a mutually acceptable use of the Brickyard Road site...

 http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/news/2014/apr/09/letter-editor-publics-interest/

Brickyard Coalition and its Convenient Memory Lapse

Yesterday, I received an odd email from the Brickyard Coalition, here in Montgomery County.

Here is the 'breaking news" from the Coalition - they have decided to endorse Doug Duncan in the upcoming Democratic Primary for County Executive. 

Are they serious?  I asked them, and have yet to get a response.

Remember back to 2003 when Steve Silverman, then a County Council member, went public with his plan to bring affordable housing to the Brickyard site?  Here is the Gazette article from November 19, 2003. 

Turns out, that a few weeks before, the COUNTY EXECUTIVE DOUG DUNCAN demanded that the Montgomery County Board of Education turn over all property not currently planned for school purposes.  You can see the March 22, 2004 Board of Education memorandum below. 

Even more surprising at the time - the County and the Board of Education had been turning over numerous school sites, in secret, without any public hearing or notice.  We were only tipped off to this transfer because of Steve Silverman's slip of the tongue.

Without going into all the history, many of us learned a lot about our elected representatives, who we thought we could trust.   The resulting battle also cost a lot of folks a substantial amount in legal fees.

Even after the property was "saved" from housing, the ever trusted right hand to Mr. Duncan, Jerry Pasternak, subsequently tried to turn the Brickyard property into soccer fields.   With more legal fees.

What has changed?  Can we trust Doug now?

Brickyard

So - did the Brickyard Coalition simply forget? Has Doug Duncan changed his mind about the property? Is Jerry Pasternak still Doug's right hand go to man?  Or does Doug still want to use the property for housing? If I were a member of the Brickyard Coalition, I would think carefully before I would endorse an official who generated much angst and huge legal bills for my neighbors.

Memory lapses seem to be abundant this election year. 

Maybe the motto of the Parents Coalition should be "We keep files so you don't have to."

Starr Talks Curriculum, Brickyard Farm, Rock Creek Hills Park

Starr quotes from Bethesda meeting:

...“We’ve not determined what we’re going to do with it. There’s no excess space to be had in the county. We need schools and we need sites for schools,” Starr said. “People want ballfields and tennis courts and a whole bunch of things and I’m not prepared at this time to commit any parcel of land to anything outside of a school purpose, if it is deemed appropriate it should be used for that purpose.”...

...We are the first district to get to the Moon, now we have to get to Mars.”

 http://www.bethesdanow.com/2013/07/16/starr-talks-curriculum-brickyard-farm-rock-creek-hills-park/

Exclusive Video: BOE Committee Discussion of BOE Property: Future School Sites and Surplus Land

MONTGOMERY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION
Policy Committee 
May 10, 2013
1:00 pm
Room 120

Discussion of “Guidelines for Leasing, Licensing, or Using MCPS Property 
that is Being Held as a Future School Site.” (Policy DNA, Management of
Board of Education Property) – Judy Bresler/James Song/Bruce Crispell
(2:25) 20 minutes

BOE Committee meetings are held off camera.  The Parents' Coalition videotaped this discussion and is making it available to the public.

Brickyard Middle School Site Being Considered for Actual School

This is new.  The Brickyard Middle School site in Potomac is being considered by MCPS for use as an actual MCPS school.

The notice below has gone out from MCPS announcing that the 20 acre Brickyard Middle School site is now under consideration as a possible new location for Potomac Elementary School.

Potomac Elementary School was currently going through its most recent Feasibility Study (past Feasibility Study addition projects were never built) and apparently the Brickyard Middle School site has come up as a possible new location.  The Potomac Elementary School Feasibility Study meeting dates have been extended and new meetings have been added.  Below is the recent announcement from MCPS.

  2013 Brickyard for Pes by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland

Brickyard MS Site Back on BOE Agenda

Board of Education Agenda Item for February 25, 2013:

http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/boe/meetings/agenda/2013/022513/2.4%20Board%20Resolution%20138-11%20and%20Brickyard%20MS%20Site.pdf

Leggett's Letter Giving Up On MSI Soccer for Brickyard Middle School Site

  Ce Letter 21913 by   Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland

Breaking News: TODAY BOE Calls Special Meeting to Vote on Brickyard Middle School site lease

No public comment.

Nothing else on the Agenda.

No link to any documents.

Obviously, the Board of Education and Superintendent Joshua Starr want to do something with regard to the Brickyard Middle School site without any public input or discussion.

So much for transparency!

  BOE Emergency Meeting on Brickyard Lease by   Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland

Court maintains stay on Brickyard development

Gazette:  Dec. 7 ruling a new setback for Montgomery County

Read the Court Order at this link.

Residents sue Montgomery County, school board over proposed soccer fields | WashingtonExaminer.com

Residents sue Montgomery County, school board over proposed soccer fields | WashingtonExaminer.com

Brickyard Middle School Site Litigation Filed Today

Brickyard Middle School site

Brickyard Middle School site