Statement from the Montgomery County Jewish Educators Alliance Leadership on Antisemitic Graffitti at Four MCPS Schools

Antisemitic graffiti was smeared on five MCPS schools over the past few days. This statement is from the Montgomery County Jewish Educators Alliance (MCJEA) Leadership, August 19, 2024.

For the faculty and staff of MCPS, as in schools across the country, the first day of pre-service week should be a day full of excitement, promise, and potential. Sadly, MCJEA Leadership was horrified to hear that today's pre-service kickoff was marred by hateful, antisemitic, and anti-LGBTQ graffiti at four MCPS schools: Churchill HS, Wootton HS, Fallsmead ES, and Strathmore ES.

There is a time and place for respectful discourse about the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, October 7, and the ensuing war in Gaza. MCPS should strive to provide safe spaces for these conversations. Unfortunately, vandalism of this nature prevents us from achieving this goal. It sends a clear message to Jewish and Israeli staff and students: you are not safe and you are not welcome. Not as teachers, students, faculty, or families. The perpetrators of this act chose four MCPS schools known to have a significant number of Jewish students and staff. This was not an accident. It was a deliberate choice to target the Montgomery County Jewish community in its own backyard. This is a clear act of antisemitism.

Earlier this month, MCJEA leadership requested a meeting with Superintendent Dr. Thomas Taylor. We are pleased that Dr. Taylor agreed to meet with us, and tonight we sent him a message requesting an expedited meeting date. We look forward to collaborating with Dr. Taylor and his team to fight antisemitism within MCPS, and to ensure that students, families, and staff of all identities and backgrounds are protected, welcomed, and embraced. 

-MCJEA Leadership: Sheila Berlinger, Brenda Green, Rebecca Kotok, Ilyssa Weiss, Lisa Miller

8 MCPS COVID-19 in Buildings Notifications from Oct. 30, 2020 - January 20, 2021. Two for the MCPS Technology Distribution Site.

 Community Notification: COVID-19 Case at 45 W. Gude Drive Technology Distribution Site

(January 20, 2021)

We are writing to share that an MCPS employee who works at the 45 W. Gude technology distribution and support site has tested positive for COVID-19. The last date the employee worked on-site was Janua ...(more)

Community Notification: COVID-19 Case at Gaithersburg Middle School

(January 15, 2021)

Dear MCPS Community: We are writing to share that a Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) food and nutrition services staff member working at the Gaithersburg Middle School meal distribution site ...(more)

Community Notification: COVID-19 Case at Northwest High School

(December 18, 2020)

Dear MCPS Community: We are writing to share that a Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) food and nutrition services staff member working at the Northwest High School meal distribution site has ...(more)

Community Notification: COVID-19 Case at Hallie Wells Middle School

(December 17, 2020)

Dear MCPS Community: We are writing to share that a Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) food and nutrition services staff member working at the Hallie Wells Middle School meal distribution site ...(more)

Community Notification: COVID-19 Case at Harmony Hills Elementary School

(December 2, 2020)

Dear MCPS Community: We are writing to share that a Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) food and nutrition services staff member working at the Harmony Hills Elementary School meal distribution ...(more)

Community Notification: COVID-19 Case at South Lake Elementary School

(November 13, 2020)

Dear MCPS Community: We are writing to share that a Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) food and nutrition services staff member working at the South Lake Elementary School meal distribution si ...(more)

Community Notification: COVID-19 Case at Fallsmead Elementary School

(November 2, 2020)

Dear Fallsmead Elementary School Parents and Guardians:   We are writing to share that an MCPS staff member engaged in materials distribution at Fallsmead Elementary School has tested positiv ...(more)

Notification: COVID-19 Case at 45 W. Gude Drive Technology Distribution Site

(October 30, 2020)

We are writing to share that an MCPS employee who works at the 45 W. Gude technology distribution and support site has tested positive for COVID-19. The last date the employee worked on-site was Octob ...(more)

MoCo County Attorney Responds to OMA Complaint

Did Michael Faden have a bad day at the office?  Or has he been breathing too many fumes from the artificial turf advocates frequenting the County Council Office Buildings these days.

Read Mike's response to an Open Meetings Act complaint filed September 24, 2011 by two members of the Parents Coalition concerning the Artificial Turf Work Group that recently recommended more plastic fields in the county.

http://www.scribd.com/fullscreen/72104513?access_key=key-2jvu42eb9jld7khjd4oz

Mike apparently thinks that he can use his taxpayer funded status to bully those who ask questions.  He writes:

This complaint verges on the frivolous because its authors cited absolutely no legal authority on which to base a violation of the Open Meeting Law.  . . . Were this case filed as a court case, sanctions for misuse of the judicial process would be in order.

I hate to break it to you, Mike, but we aren't in court, we pay your salary, and if the case were frivolous, the Open Meetings Compliance Board simply would have called up the filers and asked that they try again.

And part of the reason why the complaint was filed in the first place was that many community members couldn't figure out exactly what this working group was doing, who was on the committee, and when did it meet.  If the workgroup or whatever it was and whoever met were a bit more transparent, open meetings issues would be moot.

Just so we are reading from the same page, here is a link to the Open Meetings  Act:

According to the Act, "it is the public policy of the State that the public be provided with adequate notice of the time and location of meetings of public bodies, which shall be held in places reasonably accessible to individuals who would like to attend these meetings."

And, under the Act, the complaint needs the following:

• identify the public body, specify the action of the public body, and the date and the circumstances of the action, and
• signature of the complainant(s).

So, Michael, did you not check the rules applicable to Open Meeting Act complaints before you responded to the allegations?   

Or are you just trying to bully some of the same taxpayers who pay your salary?

And, if you had a truly horrible, no good, very bad day like Alexander, maybe it's best in the future to assign these matters to another staff member in your office.

MCPS threatens to sue county if funding is cut

Gazette: MCPS threatens to sue county if funding is cut

Possible litigation discussed in closed session Monday

by Erin Cunningham | Staff Writer

This story was corrected on May 3, 2010. An explanation follows the story.

Montgomery County Public Schools officials will sue the county if the council cuts the system's operating budget beyond what has been proposed by County Executive Isiah Leggett, a council attorney told The Gazette on Monday.

Council attorney Michael Faden said that he could not discuss many details of the possible litigation because they are confidential.

"The council hopes that litigation does not proceed, and I think that's clear," Faden said.

Dana Tofig, a spokesman for the Montgomery County school system, refused to discuss any possible litigation, only saying that "all options are on the table, but we hope that's an option we don't have to do."

On Thursday, the council's management and fiscal policy committee unanimously recommended that all county agencies furlough employees for a minimum of five days. That same day, Councilwoman Duchy Trachtenberg (D-At large) of North Bethesda said the school system might have to accept furloughs for its employees or face additional cuts to its budget.

Currently, the school system is the only county agency to spurn furloughs for its employees; its employees make up about two-thirds of all county workers. The council met Monday afternoon in a closed session to discuss the potential litigation.

Council President Nancy M. Floreen (D-At large) of Garrett Park said she would not discuss the details of the meeting.

"I think it's really important to be clear. We are in no position to require the school system to do anything," she said, referring to the furlough issue.

The school system has said it could sue the county based on the state's education law, which includes restrictions on when and how a school system's budget can be cut, Faden said.

He said the school system believes the council is limited to appropriating only what the executive has proposed — or more money than that amount.

The county, Faden said, disagrees.

"That would be a really radical change in what has always been the case," he said. "The council is the final fiscal authority."

The school system has an operating budget of about $2.2 billion.

"In three of the last 15 fiscal years, the council has reduced the school budget beyond the executive's reduction," Faden said. "And there was never any hint of litigation."

The state's maintenance-of-effort requirement has not been mentioned as a reason for the lawsuit.

By state law, maintenance of effort requires county school systems to spend at least as much on education as they did the previous year.

Today, the county was expected to request of the state school board a waiver of its maintenance-of-effort requirement for fiscal 2011. That waiver, according to county information, is for $137.7 million. The school system already is making cuts in its budget, its employees aren't getting pay increases and the system is increasing class size by one student.

If MCPS furloughed all its employees for five days, it would save $33.7 million, according to data from Stephen B. Farber, the council's staff director.

Leggett has proposed 10 furlough days for some county employees to save $15 million. However, if all county employees, including those who work for MCPS, were furloughed the same amount could be saved in 1.5 days.

The council has not taken any action on the school system's budget, but a decision will be made by May 20.

Staff Writer Marcus Moore contributed to this report.

The original version of the story said the school system would have to accept furloughs for its employees or face additional cuts to its budgets, however, that is not a definite. This story was also clarified to include a committee recommendation on furloughs.

*********
Comment from the PC Blogger

Ethics Alert: Isn't Michael Faden married to a retired Central Office administrator and elementary school principal from Fallsmead ES? Does he have a foot in both camps? Perhaps Mr. Leggett should consider legal counsel without a potential conflicting financial interest - even if this is ethics free Maryland.