Here's the "thank you" e-mail from the attorney for the private school that got a MCPS high school building for free in 2010. Nothing like happy constituents!
The private attorney represented a private school that succeeded in buying the MCPS Peary High School building and 19.5 acres of land for only the price of the land. The building was thrown in for free!
(Too bad about the overcrowded MCPS schools. If only students could vote.)
The e-mail below is from the attorney for the private school, and is sent to Diane Schwartz Jones, County Executive Ike Leggett's staff person handling this transaction.
In this e-mail the private school attorney thanks Ms. Jones for her help and support and for the terrific job she did "fending off" County Councilmember Marc Elrich!
That's what we pay county employees to do, right?
For more on the loss of the 19.5 acre Peary High School site in 2010 click here.
For Montgomery County Councilmember Marc Elrich's confusion over the Peary High School sale go to minute 1:17 in this video. The Board of Education voted against the sale of the Peary High School site in 2010, yet in this video Councilmember Elrich insists that he was told the Board of Education was not opposed to the sale. Why is he confused? Is it because he was "fended off" by County Executive Ike Leggett's staff back in 2010?
Showing posts with label Duchy Trachtenberg. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Duchy Trachtenberg. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Monday, January 13, 2014
"we need to completely eviscerate Mr. Z. and his report..." - How Leggett & Council Gave Away a MCPS High School in 2010.
Right now, MCPS is running to the State of Maryland legislature and lobbying for school construction money, claiming that they are out of public school classroom space.
But, just a few years ago, in the fall of 2010 to be exact, County Executive Ike Leggett and some on the Montgomery County Council (by a vote of 8 to 1) worked very, very hard to give away an entire MCPS high school to a private entity!
The public high school building sat on 19.5 acres of public school land.
The Montgomery County Board of Education objected to the sale of the high school and site, but the County Executive and a majority of the County Council were unmoved by their position.
How did this happen? Let's take a look back at how the public school students of Montgomery County lost a 19.5 acre high school site and an entire high school building, just three years ago.
The Parents' Coalition has obtained e-mails from County Executive Ike Leggett's office. Here's are two e-mails from November 28, 2010, the day before a County Council joint committee hearing was going to be held on the sale of the Peary High School site. The e-mails are both addressed to Diane Jones of the County Executive's staff.
Who's who in the e-mails shown below:
Montgomery County Council staff:
Jeffrey L. Zyontz, Legislative Attorney
Michael Faden, Senior Legislative Attorney
Their November 29, 2010, report can be read in its entirety at this link.
County Executive Ike Leggett staff:
Diane Jones
Attorney for private entity wishing to purchase Peary High School site:
Lawrence Stern
At the time of this e-mail, Duchy Trachtenberg was finishing her term as a member of the County Council.
But, just a few years ago, in the fall of 2010 to be exact, County Executive Ike Leggett and some on the Montgomery County Council (by a vote of 8 to 1) worked very, very hard to give away an entire MCPS high school to a private entity!
The public high school building sat on 19.5 acres of public school land.
The Montgomery County Board of Education objected to the sale of the high school and site, but the County Executive and a majority of the County Council were unmoved by their position.
How did this happen? Let's take a look back at how the public school students of Montgomery County lost a 19.5 acre high school site and an entire high school building, just three years ago.
The Parents' Coalition has obtained e-mails from County Executive Ike Leggett's office. Here's are two e-mails from November 28, 2010, the day before a County Council joint committee hearing was going to be held on the sale of the Peary High School site. The e-mails are both addressed to Diane Jones of the County Executive's staff.
Who's who in the e-mails shown below:
Montgomery County Council staff:
Jeffrey L. Zyontz, Legislative Attorney
Michael Faden, Senior Legislative Attorney
Their November 29, 2010, report can be read in its entirety at this link.
County Executive Ike Leggett staff:
Diane Jones
Attorney for private entity wishing to purchase Peary High School site:
Lawrence Stern
At the time of this e-mail, Duchy Trachtenberg was finishing her term as a member of the County Council.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Peary HS Deal: What Really Happened
At the Montgomery County (MD) Council Public Hearing on the proposed sale of Peary High School property (19-1/2 acres) to the private parochial Berman Academy, held on the evening of Tuesday, Nov. 23rd, Mr. Drew Powell testified against the sale. He was challenged by the councilmembers as to his testimony but not allowed time to respond. That exchange was recorded in the RockvillePatch by reporter Sean Sedam, as follows:
Here is Mr. Powell's response.
November 29, 2010
"If you have evidence to the contrary I urge you to bring it forward. If you do not, I suggest that linking these very disparate situations in the manner in which you did does a disservice to this community and to yourself."
"I would like to respond," Powell said.
"There is no response," said County Council President Nancy M. Floreen..."
Here is Mr. Powell's response.
November 29, 2010
Montgomery County Council
100 Maryland Avenue
Rockville, MD 20850
Re: Requested response to Montgomery County Council regarding possible sale of MCPS property
Montgomery County Council,
Per Councilmember Berliner’s request, I respectfully wish to respond in writing, regarding the proposed sale of Peary High School and its relationship to the sale of Belt Junior High School as well as other similar transactions involving publicly owned Montgomery County School properties. I would have provided this information live at the November 23rd hearing, but after being asked to produce information on this subject, was silenced by County Council President, Nancy Floreen.
Before I begin, I would again wish to state that the Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy is, by all accounts, an upstanding educational institution and a good neighbor in the Aspen Hill community. I am not aware of any
wrong doing on the part of the Academy, but am very concerned with the process that has bought the
Montgomery County Council to point of selling off county this school property. I am very supportive of the
Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy leasing Peary High School for the term of the lease (2023) and possibly
decades longer as provided by mutually agreed upon lease extensions.
According to Councilmember Leventhal, “…some elected officials and some community members might
confuse the Yeshiva Academy with the Hebrew Academy.” I can assure you that there is no confusion.
My journey on this matter started in 2002, when researching campaign contributions on behalf of the citizen based county watchdog group Neighbors for a Better Montgomery. At that time many citizens were concerned with the possible role of potential developer influence on land use decisions made by the Montgomery County Council. It was thought that some of this influence might present itself in the form of campaign contributions from developers and development related interests to county council candidates.
It came as a great shock to Montgomery County citizens, when it was found that in many cases more than half of many candidates’ political contributions came from development related interests. In some cases, as much as 70% or more came from these sources. Neighbors’ researchers continued to explore the sources of campaign contributions. As part of that investigation, a seemingly innocent contribution of $4,000 from, of all places, Guam, made to then County Executive Doug Duncan in 1999, caught our attention. As is well documented in three articles by the Washington Post, other contributions were discovered, which linked that money and donations from the Pacific island of Saipan to convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff (Post-1, Post-2, Post-3). The Post articles then connected the dots regarding contributions from Abramoff and other Yeshiva board members, including Dennis Berman and Jeffrey Lee Cohen. According to the Post “The Saipan contributions occurred a month before Duncan signed a lease -- over community and school system opposition…” The Post articles delineated the role of then Duncan aid, Jerry Pasternak, in the engineering of the Belt Junior High School deal.
Although there may have been no wrong doing on the part of the Academy, its operatives or sympathetic elected officials, it appears that many of the same people involved with the Belt Junior High School transaction are now and have been involved with the Peary transaction. Additionally, many of the same methods and instruments used to guaranty the purchase of Belt have been employed in the efforts to secure Peary.
Foremost is Mr. Pasternak’s role. The Post was most explicit regarding Pasternak’s role in the Belt Junior High School sale. Concurrently, Mr. Pasternak vigorously promoted the lease and sale of Peary High School. I attended an MFP meeting in 2006, where Councilmembers Praisner, Denis and Andrews received lengthy, enthusiastic support for the sale of Peary High School from Mr. Pasternak. In his presentation, sitting next to a Berman Academy representative, Mr. Pasternak continued to refer to himself and the Academy as “we,” even though he was acting as the representative of the Montgomery County Executive and theoretically the citizens of Montgomery County. The sale was tabled at that time, partly because of prior Planning Board rejection of the sale, the Belt/Abramoff revelations and the recommendations of the ZHA report, which advised the county not to sell the property.
Also at issue is Mr. Pasternak’s seemingly unlimited access to the County Executive’s office and close working relationship with the County Executive’s Assistant Chief Administrative Officer, Diane Schwartz Jones. As a former county employee, Mr. Pasternak enjoyed numerous meetings and information exchanges with Schwartz Jones concerning the sale of Peary High School. Additional exchanges may have occurred with Schwartz Jones and the Academy’s representatives from Garson Claxton, LLC (law firm), Mr. Pasternak’s current employer.
Also keep in mind that the Peary lease predated the Belt Junior High School lease by a little more than two years. Both leases were approved and signed by then County Executive Doug Duncan, an elected official the Post cited for taking campaign contributions in return for selling county school land. Both leases are extremely similar in their language and lease/purchase terms. It has been stated by some that one or both leases were prepared by Garson Claxton, LLC, the “go to” law firm in the Washington, D.C. metro area regarding leases.
For future county land sales, it may be prudent to start with a county written “boilerplate” lease, making future leases more taxpayer friendly. Sale of Montgomery County school property to the aforementioned parties is not limited to Peary High School and Belt Junior High School. Other properties include, Arcola Elementary School, Town and Country Day School and Montgomery Hills Middle School. In each of these transactions, many citizens were concerned with the low sales price and other related costs to the county. The Post documented County costs regarding Belt Junior High School in a 2006 article “Yeshiva Facility Deals Costly for Montgomery.” It is easy to see why many might ask if these are “cookie-cutter” deals at the expense of taxpayers.
It must also be noted that in addition to contributions to former County Councilmembers and the former County Executive, Berman Academy interests have donated more than $31,000 to current Montgomery County Councilmembers as well as the current County Executive since the first proposals were made to convert the Peary lease to a sale. Most notably are contributions to County Executive Leggett for more than $17,000 and Councilmember Leventhal for over $9,000 (provided upon request). These donations do not include contributions, which may be reported in January, 2011.
Troubling, too, in this process, the sponsor to sell Peary comes in the form a lame-duck councilmember, not to mention that the proposed sale will be voted on by a lame-duck council, immediately after an election.
Although there may have been no wrong doing on the part of the Academy, its operatives or sympathetic elected officials, it appears that many of the same people involved with the Belt Junior High School transaction are now and have been involved with the Peary transaction. Additionally, many of the same methods and instruments used to guaranty the purchase of Belt have been employed in the efforts to secure Peary.
Foremost is Mr. Pasternak’s role. The Post was most explicit regarding Pasternak’s role in the Belt Junior High School sale. Concurrently, Mr. Pasternak vigorously promoted the lease and sale of Peary High School. I attended an MFP meeting in 2006, where Councilmembers Praisner, Denis and Andrews received lengthy, enthusiastic support for the sale of Peary High School from Mr. Pasternak. In his presentation, sitting next to a Berman Academy representative, Mr. Pasternak continued to refer to himself and the Academy as “we,” even though he was acting as the representative of the Montgomery County Executive and theoretically the citizens of Montgomery County. The sale was tabled at that time, partly because of prior Planning Board rejection of the sale, the Belt/Abramoff revelations and the recommendations of the ZHA report, which advised the county not to sell the property.
Also at issue is Mr. Pasternak’s seemingly unlimited access to the County Executive’s office and close working relationship with the County Executive’s Assistant Chief Administrative Officer, Diane Schwartz Jones. As a former county employee, Mr. Pasternak enjoyed numerous meetings and information exchanges with Schwartz Jones concerning the sale of Peary High School. Additional exchanges may have occurred with Schwartz Jones and the Academy’s representatives from Garson Claxton, LLC (law firm), Mr. Pasternak’s current employer.
Also keep in mind that the Peary lease predated the Belt Junior High School lease by a little more than two years. Both leases were approved and signed by then County Executive Doug Duncan, an elected official the Post cited for taking campaign contributions in return for selling county school land. Both leases are extremely similar in their language and lease/purchase terms. It has been stated by some that one or both leases were prepared by Garson Claxton, LLC, the “go to” law firm in the Washington, D.C. metro area regarding leases.
For future county land sales, it may be prudent to start with a county written “boilerplate” lease, making future leases more taxpayer friendly. Sale of Montgomery County school property to the aforementioned parties is not limited to Peary High School and Belt Junior High School. Other properties include, Arcola Elementary School, Town and Country Day School and Montgomery Hills Middle School. In each of these transactions, many citizens were concerned with the low sales price and other related costs to the county. The Post documented County costs regarding Belt Junior High School in a 2006 article “Yeshiva Facility Deals Costly for Montgomery.” It is easy to see why many might ask if these are “cookie-cutter” deals at the expense of taxpayers.
It must also be noted that in addition to contributions to former County Councilmembers and the former County Executive, Berman Academy interests have donated more than $31,000 to current Montgomery County Councilmembers as well as the current County Executive since the first proposals were made to convert the Peary lease to a sale. Most notably are contributions to County Executive Leggett for more than $17,000 and Councilmember Leventhal for over $9,000 (provided upon request). These donations do not include contributions, which may be reported in January, 2011.
Troubling, too, in this process, the sponsor to sell Peary comes in the form a lame-duck councilmember, not to mention that the proposed sale will be voted on by a lame-duck council, immediately after an election.
Many have asked why a majority of the Montgomery County Council would go forward with the sale of school property for pennies on the dollar in these austere economic times, when the Montgomery County Board of Education and even your own staff (Montgomery County Council Staff) has strongly recommended against it.
There may not have been wrong doing, but the sale of this valuable and irreplaceable Montgomery County asset is a textbook example of special interest access and potential manipulation of local government. It is a sad day indeed in Montgomery County, when concerned citizens come before the County Council to express their apprehensions about the sale of public school property and are summarily booed, jeered and dismissed with the tacit approval of councilmembers. Which of you will stand up for taxpayers and ALL the county’s children?
Most sincerely,
Drew Powell
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Council Meeting on Peary HS Sale: 19.5 acres for $1.9 million
Tomorrow morning, Monday, November 29th, at 9:30 am the Montgomery County Council (MD) Education and Management and Fiscal Policy committees will hold a joint discussion on the resolution before the County Council to sell the 19-1/2 acres of down county land to a private parochial school, the Berman Academy, for $1.9 million.(Memorandum for hearing here.) This is at a time when our schools are bursting at the seams, and our financial picture is grim. Supporters once again plan to have hundreds of people show up to pack the room.
The Board of Education and MCCPTA oppose the sale.
At the Public Hearing last week, supporters of the sale turned out in force. They disrupted the hearing, clapping loudly and booing and hissing at those of us who are opposed to the sale during public testimony. The Board of Education and MCCPTA oppose the sale, as is the Montgomery County Civic Federation, on whose behalf I testified.
After the hearing I was accosted by supporters, who came up to me to call me an ‘anti-Semite’ and a ‘self-loathing Jew.’ I understand others were also similarly accosted. Name calling and intimidation have no place in a true democracy.
I would strongly encourage anyone who is concerned about a democratic process in our county, and opposed to selling off irreplaceable publicly-owned property downcounty to attend the meeting tomorrow morning. Location: Council Office Building, 100 Maryland Ave., Rockville.
Make sure also to email or call the council. NOW. Telephone numbers and email addresses are below. The vote on the resolution is being rushed through the Council, with the vote on the very next day, November 30th, at 1:50 pm.
Thank you.
Paula Bienenfeld
All Councilmembers 240-777-7900 To e-mail all Councilmembers, click here,
Phil Andrews 240-777-7906 councilmember.andrews@montgomerycountymd.gov
Roger Berliner 240-777-7828 councilmember.berliner@montgomerycountymd.gov
Marc Elrich 240-777-7966 councilmember.elrich@montgomerycountymd.gov
Valerie Ervin 240-777-7960 councilmember.ervin@montgomerycountymd.gov
Nancy Floreen 240-777-7959 councilmember.floreen@montgomerycountymd.gov
Mike Knapp 240-777-7955 councilmember.knapp@montgomerycountymd.gov
George Leventhal 240-777-7811 councilmember.leventhal@montgomerycountymd.gov
Nancy Navarro 240-777-7968 councilmember.navarro@montgomerycountymd.gov
Duchy Trachtenberg 240-777-7964 councilmember.trachtenberg@montgomerycountymd.gov
The Board of Education and MCCPTA oppose the sale.
At the Public Hearing last week, supporters of the sale turned out in force. They disrupted the hearing, clapping loudly and booing and hissing at those of us who are opposed to the sale during public testimony. The Board of Education and MCCPTA oppose the sale, as is the Montgomery County Civic Federation, on whose behalf I testified.
After the hearing I was accosted by supporters, who came up to me to call me an ‘anti-Semite’ and a ‘self-loathing Jew.’ I understand others were also similarly accosted. Name calling and intimidation have no place in a true democracy.
I would strongly encourage anyone who is concerned about a democratic process in our county, and opposed to selling off irreplaceable publicly-owned property downcounty to attend the meeting tomorrow morning. Location: Council Office Building, 100 Maryland Ave., Rockville.
Make sure also to email or call the council. NOW. Telephone numbers and email addresses are below. The vote on the resolution is being rushed through the Council, with the vote on the very next day, November 30th, at 1:50 pm.
Thank you.
Paula Bienenfeld
All Councilmembers 240-777-7900 To e-mail all Councilmembers, click here,
Phil Andrews 240-777-7906 councilmember.andrews@montgomerycountymd.gov
Roger Berliner 240-777-7828 councilmember.berliner@montgomerycountymd.gov
Marc Elrich 240-777-7966 councilmember.elrich@montgomerycountymd.gov
Valerie Ervin 240-777-7960 councilmember.ervin@montgomerycountymd.gov
Nancy Floreen 240-777-7959 councilmember.floreen@montgomerycountymd.gov
Mike Knapp 240-777-7955 councilmember.knapp@montgomerycountymd.gov
George Leventhal 240-777-7811 councilmember.leventhal@montgomerycountymd.gov
Nancy Navarro 240-777-7968 councilmember.navarro@montgomerycountymd.gov
Duchy Trachtenberg 240-777-7964 councilmember.trachtenberg@montgomerycountymd.gov
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Crisis at the Council! Breakfast buffet slashed!
Question: When did Montgomery County taxpayers agree to have our tax dollars used to buy breakfast for elected officials?
For reference, here is the coffee bill for Montgomery County Public Schools alone: $32,782
Thanks to WTOP's Kate Ryan for running this quote on WTOP's Twitter feed.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Council to take Action!
Is the Montgomery County Council going to require Superintendent Jerry Weast to bring funds received from outside sources to the Council for appropriation? No.
Is the Montgomery County Council going to require MCPS to follow state law and put out procurements over $25,000 for competitive bids? No.
Is the Montgomery County Council going to investigate how many contracts/leases have been signed by MCPS staff instead of by the Board President? No. (Of course, not. One of the Board Presidents' that didn't sign contracts/leases is now on the County Council.)
Is the Montgomery County Council going to rein in the unmonitored credit card use of MCPS staff? No.
But, according to the Washington Post the Montgomery County Council is going to overthrow their long standing tradition for electing a President. Whoa!
Will this "coup" create a County Council that actually exerts oversight over the MCPS $2.1 billion budget? Don't hold your breath.
Is the Montgomery County Council going to require MCPS to follow state law and put out procurements over $25,000 for competitive bids? No.
Is the Montgomery County Council going to investigate how many contracts/leases have been signed by MCPS staff instead of by the Board President? No. (Of course, not. One of the Board Presidents' that didn't sign contracts/leases is now on the County Council.)
Is the Montgomery County Council going to rein in the unmonitored credit card use of MCPS staff? No.
But, according to the Washington Post the Montgomery County Council is going to overthrow their long standing tradition for electing a President. Whoa!
Will this "coup" create a County Council that actually exerts oversight over the MCPS $2.1 billion budget? Don't hold your breath.
...The real root of this unsightly feud is the cliquishness and toxic personal chemistry on the council, whose balance of power shifted last year after an incumbent's death triggered a special election to fill his vacancy. That shift tempted the new majority to throw out precedent on succession just because it can -- not because it's good governance, nor because it will benefit the county, nor because Ms. Floreen would make a better president than Mr. Berliner.
Well, all right. But here's a word of caution for the coup plotters: Beware of voters who, rightly annoyed with political machinations, may well decide to throw the rascals out -- just because they can.
Friday, June 19, 2009
WJ High to get TWO football fields!
Good news Montgomery County! No budget crisis here! We have enough money to install two football fields at one high school in the same fiscal year!Did you happen to catch the WJLA Channel 7 news report by Greta Kreuz on the new artificial turf field for the newly modernized Walter Johnson High School? Did you happen to notice that Greta was standing in front of a brand new GRASS football field at Walter Johnson High School (WJHS) in her report?
What? WJHS just got a new grass football field and the County Council just funded a new ARTIFICIAL turf football field for WJHS too?
You bet! Montgomery County is flush with funding for football fields!
In order to be ready for the August 2009 football season the newly modernized Walter Johnson High School is getting a NEW GRASS field installed right now!
And then, as soon as football season is over, the BRAND NEW $432,500* GRASS field will be RIPPED UP and replaced with a $1,200,000 artificial turf field. That's right, the cost of a brand new sod field PLUS the cost of installing a brand new artificial turf field, and both projects in the same fiscal year! The Walter Johnson High School football field will have cost $1,632,500 in one year! And don't forget to add in the one year cost to water the grass field - $6,000!
*Source of cost data: February 15, 2008 County Council Education Committee packet, page 12 of PDF or page circle 9.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Video: County Council Approves Artificial Turf
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