Montgomery County Councilmembers Reimbursement Reports #ExpenseReports

2017 Reimbursement Requests by on Scribd

BOE wants @pcmc1 Tweet "taken down" - .@mocoboe Superintendent Jack Smith told the County Council's Ed Committee in open session that he has a zero tolerance policy on incidents of staff and sexual assault; that he can be overridden by Board of Education. True/False?

A Montgomery County Board of Education member has e-mailed to the Parents' Coalition requesting that we take down the following Tweet.

"police" should be policy

The Board member had BOE Chief of Staff Roland Ikheloa watch the video of the Montgomery County Council's Education Committee meeting referenced in the Tweet.  Mr. Ikheloa concluded,

 "...I watched the entire video and cannot come up with any statement by the superintendent remotely justifying the quoted tweet below by the Parents Coalition..."

Below are video clips from the April 25, 2018, Montgomery County Council Briefing- MCPS Child Abuse & Neglect Policy.

Councilmember George Leventhal, "I understand the Superintendent to be saying that these charges, if found to be true lead to immediate dismissal..."



Superintendent Smith says, "... I feel so strongly about this and I believe so much that we can not even allow people to resign when it is found they have done these sorts of things, they must be terminated..."

Superintendent Smith says. "... I, of course, make the recommendation to the school board, the school board acts..."

Now is the @pcmc1 Tweet of the statement by the superintendent remotely justified?

Judge: President can’t block critics on Twitter

...Jameel Jaffer, the Knight Institute’s executive director, said in a release that his organization was pleased.

“The president’s practice of blocking critics on Twitter is pernicious and unconstitutional, and we hope this ruling will bring it to an end,” he said.

The lawsuit was filed after Trump blocked some individuals from @realdonaldtrump, a 9-year-old Twitter account with over 50 million followers.

Justice Department lawyers had argued that it was Trump’s prerogative, no different from the president deciding in a room filled with people not to listen to some.

Buchwald ruled that the tweets were made in a public forum.

“The President presents the @realDonaldTrump account as being a presidential account as opposed to a personal account and, more importantly, uses the account to take actions that can be taken only by the President as President,” the judge said...

https://thedailyrecord.com/2018/05/23/president-twitter-first-amendment-blocking/

Nashville Public Schools and #Me Too

Congratulations to Nashville Public Schools. You are now a member of the #Me Too community.

You didn't listen to those of us from up North in Montgomery County Public Schools. We told you that you hired a cadre of administrators who didn't work out in MCPS.

Did you believe us? Apparently not.

Did you conduct any type of background check? Doesn't look like it.

http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/education/2017/12/08/nashville-public-schools-administrator-resigns-amid-harassment-investigation/935890001/

So, it comes as no surprise to us that Mo Carrasco, one of our formerly esteemed administrators WHO WAS REMOVED FROM HIS SCHOOL in 2008 for a whole slew of misbehavior engaged in the same behavior.

You've been Mo Carrasco'd.

And now my PTSD kicks in.

Our issues didn't involve improper touching, although there was a general sense that this occurred as supported by a lawsuit on record in our county. Lucky us.

I just went through my emails from April to June 2008, when my daughter was enrolled in the same school. I see emails where I tried to explain to the County Council what was wrong while the PTSA leaders and faculty defended the principal.

And, I see emails recounting to my friends the number of calls I received on a daily basis, at my office, at home, and on my cell from the principal.



And, I see other emails where I noted my concern for whether my daughter would be able to safely finish her senior year in high school without further incident.

And, the final emails saying Mr. Carrasco had done nothing wrong.

Ouch.

Yes, my child finished, and I have the picture of her shaking the principal's hand at graduation.

But it wasn't a pleasant experience, and I am sorry that another school, another school system had to have this experience.

Please folks - know that an experienced principal or school administrator, or group of administrators, doesn't simply find themselves available, especially as a group, unless something is wrong. Its not as simple as Montgomery County's loss is your gain.

Yes, the internet may have false stories, and its often hard to figure out what is real and what is fantasy.

But - if you don't look, you will never know, until your own school system gets hurt.

Mo Carrasco has announced his retirement from education, and this should be the end of his saga.

Be careful, and do your research, before you find yourself in a similar situation.

NYT: Why Does Verizon Care About Telephone Poles?

Sam Liccardo is the mayor of San Jose, Calif., and a member of the Federal Communications Commission’s Broadband Development Advisory Committee.

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Like every other 8-year-old whom I tutored at a local school, Omar didn’t know anything — and didn’t care much — about high-stakes disputes over net neutrality, free speech and privacy that have consumed much of the news coverage of the telecommunications industry in recent years. Yet the inability of Omar’s parents to afford broadband internet access lies at the heart of a battle that will have a far greater impact on his future: the fight over street poles.

Public street poles may not look like much, but to wireless service providers, they’re valuable real estate. Companies like Verizon want low-cost access to them to install equipment to handle the rapidly growing demand for mobile data. But poles are owned locally, and cities and counties aren’t eager to give away access at below-market rates. Doing so would essentially subsidize an already wealthy industry — nationwide, as much as $2 billion a year, money that could otherwise go to expanding low-cost broadband access for people like Omar’s family.

As a result, the industry is waging a war for those poles, at all levels. Big Telecom and its allies in the White House have quietly carried out a campaign to secure rapid and cheap access to those poles, at taxpayer expense. Here in California, state legislators recently advanced a bill introduced by Senator Ben Hueso that would allow wireless service providers to install their equipment on public street poles at below-market rates — and to do so nearly wherever and whenever they choose — all in the name of “streamlining” local permit approvals.

We’ve seen similar efforts in Texas, Florida, Washington and dozens of other states, where telecommunications industry lobbyists spent more than $24.5 million in campaign contributions last year, according to the National Institute on Money in State Politics. At the federal level, Trump administration appointees to the Federal Communications Commission have publicly cheered these proposals, while releasing their own draft regulations to carry out additional industry-friendly rules nationally...

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/03/opinion/wireless-verizon-telephone-poles.html

Local governments hide public records, face few consequences

Miranda S. Spivack, The Center for Investigative Reporting 

...During the legal fight, they also began learning about Maryland’s open records law. Used frequently by journalists and business interests, the state’s public records law allowed them to seek government documents — memos, officials’ calendars and other items — that might offer clues to how the deal was done or hints about who had been speaking with whom, when the plans were hatched and why.

But when residents asked for those documents, they hit a wall: Montgomery County government officials said they could not find many emails, letters and calendars related to their search.

This seemed preposterous, so the residents took the only route available to them — they went to court. A skeptical county judge urged the government to look anew for missing documents. Officials soon managed to find most of what the residents had sought.

The details weren’t pretty.

Documents showed that County Executive Isiah Leggett, a Democrat less than a year from his next election, had been pushing behind closed doors for the private soccer club to take over the site and attempting to pressure a reluctant school board, even though in theory he had no power over school system decisions.

The Maryland Open Meetings Compliance Board also found that the school board had violated the state’s open meetings law by discussing the lease deal in closed session....

http://www.jsonline.com/story/news/special-reports/2016/11/16/local-governments-hide-public-records-face-few-consequences/93585336/

NBC4 Homeowners Oppose Cell Tower Proposal in Montgomery County #WatersLandingElementary #MCPS

Multiple citizens mentioned that a cell tower is also going in at Waters Landing Elementary School and, along with the front yard cell towers that are being planned, will add to the cell tower exposure in that neighborhood. When is the Board of Education voting on the Waters Landing Elementary School cell tower?

http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Homeowners-Oppose-Cell-Tower-Proposal-in-Montgomery-County_Washington-DC-398806981.html

Breaking: 140 Front Yard Cell Towers for Germantown, Gaithersburg, North Potomac. Floreen to ELIMINATE Public Notice for Cell Towers. Vote is Monday.

On Monday, September 12, 2016, Councilmembers Nancy Floreen, George Leventhal and Hans Riemer will decide whether or not you should know that 140 cell towers are going to be constructed in your neighborhoods.  

These cell towers will surround your homes, schools and parks.  

Nancy Floreen wants to change County zoning laws to ELIMINATE the public's ability to contest these cell tower installations and has proposed a change to zoning laws to exempt these cell towers from the current public review process.  Floreen's proposal will be discussed on Monday, September 12th and then the Council's Committee will vote on whether or not to support her zoning change. 

The location of these 140 cell towers has been known by Montgomery County for 5 months.  However, the County has been withholding this information until today.  

Below are the 3 maps that were released today showing the proposed locations for these cell towers.  However, we have added WHITE DOTS to each location to make them easier to see and identify.  

The Council did not provide a list of the actual addresses for each of these proposed cell towers, even though they have that actual list.  The Council would prefer for residents to attempt to make out these locations on a blurry, dark map. 

Please note that these cell towers are coming to all Montgomery County neighborhoods and Nancy Floreen's zoning change is Countywide and impacts all neighborhoods going forward. 

Councilmembers on the Committee that will vote to change Montgomery County's zoning law to eliminate public review of neighborhood cell towers: 

Nancy Floreen

Councilmember.Floreen@montgomerycountymd.gov

George Leventhal

Councilmember.Leventhal@montgomerycountymd.gov

Hans Riemer

Councilmember.riemer@montgomerycountymd.gov

NORTH POTOMAC CELL TOWER LOCATIONS SHOWN AS WHITE DOTS

GERMANTOWN CELL TOWER LOCATIONS SHOWN AS WHITE DOTS

GAITHERSBURG CELL TOWER LOCATIONS SHOWN AS WHITE DOTS

 

   2016 09 12 Floreen Cell Tower ZTA Neighborhood by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland on Scribd

Current Councilmembers Who Gave Away an Entire MCPS High School for Free: Floreen, Leventhal, Berliner, Navarro, Elrich #educationfirst #MaybeNot

Is your local Montgomery County Public School overcrowded? Are your children spending their days in classroom trailers instead of school buildings?

Peary High School, Rockville, Maryland

You can thank the Fabulous 5 that are still on the Montgomery County Council for the loss of public school classrooms.  As recently as 2010, current Councilmembers Nancy Floreen, George Leventhal, Roger Berliner, Nancy Navarro and Marc Elrich all voted to give away an entire MCPS high school building for free.

State Delegate Ben Kramer and State Senator Roger Manno were instrumental in shepherding this sweetheart deal through the Maryland Board of Public Works.

And let's not forget the person behind this deal, County Executive Ike Leggett who made sure that public school children were robbed of classrooms at a time when MCPS was using over 400 classroom trailers.  The deal that County Executive Ike Leggett sealed called for the buyer to only pay for the land and get the entire public high school building (a building that was bought and paid for with your property taxes) for free.

#EducationFirst
#FooledYou 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  

 Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2010

County Council approves sale of Peary High School

Andrews opposes deal, but many in Aspen Hill say decision was appropriate

by Erin Cunningham and Margie Hyslop | Staff Writers

Montgomery County government will sell the former Robert E. Peary High School to the Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy despite protests from the county's Board of Education...
...The County Council voted 8-1 on Tuesday to allow the sale, which is expected to become official in the next several weeks.
Councilman Philip M. Andrews (D-Dist. 3) of Gaithersburg voted against the sale, saying the site in Aspen Hill could be needed for a public school in the future.
The council's decision ratifies a deal proposed by County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) to sell the 19.5-acre site in Aspen Hill for $1.9 million. It includes a provision making it possible for the county to repurchase and occupy the site five years after a judge decides the county needs it for a school.
The state's Board of Public Works, which is composed of Maryland's governor, comptroller and treasurer, must sign off on the deal...

However, Leggett's plan has drawn criticism from those who say the price is too low and from the county school board, which says the move is ill-advised given public school enrollment is growing, and large tracts of land are scarce in the downcounty area.
Those claims were disputed Tuesday by some council members who said the school system has 51 unused school buildings and no immediate need for the Hebrew Academy site.
"The school system is accustomed to having it all," said Councilman George L. Leventhal (D-At large) of Takoma Park. "The school system wants everything. It wants its cake and to eat it, too."
Council Vice President Valerie Ervin (D-Dist. 5) of Silver Spring said Monday the school system was not persuasive in making its case for the school. Ervin is expected to be sworn in as council president next week...

...Leventhal said it was not convincing to hear school officials say they don't need the site now, but might at some unspecified date...

 http://www.gazette.net/stories/12012010/rocknew220733_32534.php

MCPS Students Love Seeing Their Teachers Behind the Counter at McDonald's

MCPS 2016:

Remember this from 2008?

Restaurant Fundraiser A McShock For Official

By Lori Aratani

Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Call it the Big Mac Moment.
It happened Thursday, about a half-hour into a routine Montgomery County Council committee meeting on food marketing in the school system. Ameena Batada, co-author of a report by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, was briefing council members.
"And at the McTeacher's Night, teachers actually go and work behind the register," she said. "So students can see their teachers behind the cash registers at McDonald's."
Council member George L. Leventhal (D-At Large) interrupted her, disbelief in his voice.
"Teachers are enlisted by McDonald's to work behind the cash register at McDonald's, and students are recruited to go to McDonald's that night to see their teacher dishing out the Big Macs?" he asked with horror. "I never heard of that."
About 20 minutes later, Leventhal spoke up again. "The McDonald's thing really bothers me a lot," he said, his sentiment partly fueled by a concern about childhood obesity. "I mean, I don't know if we'd have a fundraiser at the local cigarette store."...

 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/02/AR2008020201966.html

The Carver Coalition Demands Answers on the Bus Depot and Gets

A big turnout at their meeting tonight. A lot of emotion.   A lot of politicals.

But did they get anything else?

Maybe, maybe not.

Kumar Barve spoke on behalf of the District's State Representatives.  The four reps, Delegate Barve, with Del. Gilchrist and Del. Platt, and presumably Senator Kagan, are writing the County Council to let them know that they are opposed to the plan to relocate the MCPS bus depot partially to Carver.  Barve, Glichrist, and Kagan were in attendance tonight.I say presumable to Kagan because she sent a letter to many homes last weekend saying that the matter was no longer "urgent,"  She then posted on her website (how many read her website?) that she made a mistake and was misinformed.  Lets hope that the District 17 reps don't make another mistake.  But do they have any say in the matter?

The County Council was also represented - by Councilmembers Sid Katz, Marc Elrich, and George Leventhal, who stated that they are opposed to the Carver site as a bus parking lot.  According to Leventhal, the numbers don't add up, and he doesn't see any urgency to relocate the buses.

Rockville Mayor Bridget Newton also stated that the City of Rockville is opposed to locating the bus depot at Carver.  She was accompanied by Councilmembers Julie Carr and Mark Pierzchala.  Mayor Newton also asked that the deciding powers NOT pit Rockville neighbors against each other.  Good for Mayor Newton.  Rockville residents successfully fought off relocating the site on Avery Road, and are now told that the remaining buses that don't fit on the Carver site will be relocated to the Lincoln Park neighborhood - on the other side of the Red Line Railroad tracks.

And then the Board of Education spoke up - Phil Kaufman, accompanied by Rebecca Smondrowski and Jill Orman-Fouse, also are apparently in opposition to the relocation of the bus depot to Carver.  But what will they do with 100 buses if the County Council orders them off the property - maybe not on January 1, but some other future date when they don't have a plan?

So - who gets the deciding vote?  Why hasn't anyone offered a resolution to stop this circus?  How will these elected officials really vote - we know the County Council unanimously voted a few days ago to give MCPS money for preliminary studies.  We also know that despite all the mandatory referrals and other procedural nice things said in public, when push comes to shove, MCPS ignores the City of Rockville (as folks from Wootton and RM Clusters well know). Why study if this is dead in the water?  Why vote for the funding if you think this is a bad idea?

Bigger question.  How did we get here?  Remember, a developer wants the current bus depot site, so MCPS has to relocate 450 buses to another location.  Why are we still giving public land to developers?  We know here in MoCo our kids are educated in "learning cottages" - and now our buses need to find a new home too, because some developer has decided that housing is the way to go.

Leventhal targets Executive Ball's balance

For 30 years the Executive’s Ball has been a staple for raising money for the arts in Montgomery County, now it is part of a political controversy.
County Council member George Leventhal (D-At large) is asking the Executive’s Ball for four years of records from the charity ball.
While the Executive’s Ball has been an annual event for the past 34 years, this year County Executive Ike Leggett is asking the County Council to match the $200,000 proceeds the ball has raised for the arts in his proposed budget to help fund the arts in Montgomery County.
Leventhal said he and his staff asked for four years of revenue and expenditure statements but they have yet to receive a response from the charity ball.
“It’s a natural question to ask,” Leventhal said. “We don’t give grants to any organization that doesn’t open up their books.”
Chaired by Leggett’s wife Catherine Leggett, the Executive’s Ball has brought business leaders, philanthropists and politicians together to raise money for the arts in the County since 1986...

http://www.thesentinel.com/mont/newsx/local/item/3446-leventhal-targets-executive-ball-s-balance

George Leventhal: Suburbs were a Mistake

Jury: Montgomery Co. failed to reasonably accommodate blind worker

Montgomery County violated federal law by failing to provide a blind woman computer software that would have allowed her to continue to work as an information specialist in a county call center, a jury ruled Friday.
When the county decided to consolidate the Department of Health and Human Services call center, where Yasmin Reyazuddin worked, into the county’s 311 call center, officials refused to integrate the screen access software Reyazuddin had been using, which allowed her to access computer programs that converted information on a computer screen into synthesized speech or Braille.
Instead, the county denied her a job in the 311 center and relegated her to a lower-level position where she lacked meaningful work, said Joe Espo, an attorney for Reyazuddin.
“The verdict demonstrates that simply saying, ‘We got new software, and it’s difficult to make it usable,’ is not an adequate response to individuals with disabilities in the workforce,” said Espo, a partner with Brown, Goldstein & Levy LLP in Baltimore. “Employers should think about accessibility when they’re purchasing software and when they’re configuring it for use.”
...
In Reyazuddin’s case, she was at first given no work assignments once she was relegated to the lower-level position, according to her complaint. She requested additional tasks but still was not given more than four hours of work in each eight-hour day, her lawsuit claimed.
“Giving someone a paycheck is not a reasonable accommodation,” Espo said. “It’s not just a paycheck – it’s the opportunity to do meaningful work and have the same advancement and promotional opportunities as others in similar positions do. It’s very hard to demonstrate competence and achievement and to present yourself for advancement if what you’re doing is a bunch of make-work and supervisors don’t want you around. It’s hard to excel at doing nothing.”

 http://thedailyrecord.com/2016/03/01/jury-montgomery-co-failed-to-reasonably-accommodate-to-blind-worker/

The Real Montgomery County: How Council and County Exec Treat Non-Cocktail Party Residents - 45 Minute Walk to Nearest Bus Stop

Residents in this community have been asking for their bus service to be restored since 1997!


October 30, 2015

The Montgomery County Council recently made $4 million in cuts to transportation services, including the elimination of proposed Ride On bus service to Tobytown that was scheduled to begin Oct. 1. Tobytown is a historically black and low-income mixed-housing development in affluent Potomac, just a couple of miles from Potomac Chase Estates, where I grew up and attended school with kids from Tobytown. Most of the 60 or so residents of Tobytown are descendants of the freedmen — former slaves — who founded the community in 1875.

Concealed in a grove off River Road near the C&O Canal, the community is a more-than-45-minute walk from the nearest bus stop on Travilah Road. Because several residents lack personal transportation — or the money to fuel their cars — many must tread the dangerously narrow thoroughfare on dark mornings just to get to the bus...

... (The county cut an after-school program at the same time.)

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/a-neighborhood-in-need-of-a-bus/2015/10/30/1b3428ea-7cd5-11e5-beba-927fd8634498_story.html

FYI: If you contact Councilmember Leventhal, know that he is passing your comments right on to the Board of Education

From the October 20, 2015, Montgomery County Council and Board of Education breakfast meeting we learn that County Council President George Leventhal "does an excellent job" about passing anything he gets about MCPS right on to the Board of Education.

Board of Education member Christopher Barclay says, "We don't know what folks are saying to you.  And, I think it's really important, I think George does an excellent job, anytime he gets something relative to the schools he passes it along very quickly. And, I would encourage everyone to do that." 

Breaking: County Appeals MSDE Determination that County Owes MCPS $1.4 Million

On September 2, 2015, the Parents' Coalition broke the story of a dispute between Montgomery County and the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) regarding the County's funding of the Fiscal Year 2016 MCPS Operating Budget.  At issue is $1.4 million that MSDE says the County owes MCPS. 

On August 12, 2015, Montgomery County appealed the MSDE decision.  The Maryland State Board of Education asked MCPS to respond on this matter, and on September 9, 2015, Larry Bowers wrote a letter to the Maryland State Board of Education discussing the MCPS budget formulation process.  Those letters are shown below in the just released County Council packet.  In brief, MCPS blames MSDE for the error.

The Montgomery County Council's Education Committee will take up this matter on Tuesday, September 15, 2015, in a special session of this committee that will convene before the regularly scheduled full Council meeting that day.

Will MCPS get the additional $1.4 million for the FY 2016 Operating Budget? Stay tuned.

   2015 Sept 11 Montgomery County Council by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland

Leggett Wants to Park 400 MCPS Buses on Rt. 355 to Appease Developers #NOtrafficstudy #noiseordinance #ikeleggett #eya

Leggett and Council to move buses to red area.

"It is likely that an interim relocation solution will include use of the lot in front of the Carver Educational Services Center."








On Monday, July 13, 2015, the Montgomery County Council will vote to hand $27 million to County Executive Ike Leggett for a mystery solution for the relocation of the MCPS Shady Grove bus depot.

The Council packet (shown below) prepared for the Monday meeting announces that it is likely that the 400 school buses will first move to 850 Hungerford Drive, the parking lot shown in the image to the left.  This lot is currently used by Montgomery College and is located right in front of the Board of Education and MCPS main offices. The lot is also right on Rt. 355 in Rockville.  

County Executive Ike Leggett asks the County Council for $27 million dollars, but does not detail what that amount represents.  

Leggett does not ask for a traffic study to determine if the intersection of Rt. 355 and Mannakee Street can handle the addition of 400 school buses.

Leggett also does not mention that the placement of 400 buses at 850 Hungerford Drive will violate the Montgomery County Noise Ordinace.  See the yellow highlighting in the image above for the location of homes that will be impacted by Leggett's plan.  (But there are only a few dozen homes and those homeowners probably can not take on Leggett and the developers so the impact on these citizens can be ignored.)

This is what we call "planning" in Montgomery County.  Do what makes developers happy, throw a dart to deal with the rest, and be really, really shocked and indignant when citizens protest your "plans."

   20150713_GOED1 by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland

Former MCPS School Building in Kensington Being VACATED. Charter School Failed. Crossway Program Failed. School Can Now Be Used for Public School Again.

Former MCPS Pleasant View Elementary School today.

Petition:   https://www.change.org/p/department-of-housing-and-community-affairs-office-of-the-general-inspector-remove-ceo-kathleen-guinan-and-administration-from-crossway-community

FACTS:
HOC and DHCA has an started an open investigation against Crossway Community May 2014 from all the complaints against this Non Profit Organization by the women and teachers.
Housing Opportunities Commission of Montgomery County is no longer partners with Crossway Communities as of June 1, 2015 

[That means the former Pleasant View Elementary School building will be VACANT and available for re-use as a PUBLIC school. Contact Ike Leggett today and tell him to give this building back to PUBLIC school students!]

Megan Rome CEO of District Desserts, partnership with CEO Kathleen Guinan as of June 19, 2015, stopped taking customer orders because she was not going to be part of any more lies and refused to continue to operate in a commercial kitchen that was not inspected; furthermore this is the same kitchen was built for the women and was to be used for educational classes yet in reality it was used to conduct business to make cookies and treats. More information on Megan Rome.. This bakery had false ads on community involvement in regards of employing women that live in crossway community on her website.... http://districtdesserts.com
ALL current living women and children are leaving from Crossway Community, last day of stay will be 7/31/2015

Please check out the Facebook page "The Truth about Crossway Community"
https://www.facebook.com/groups/299280646948133/
And a Blog of many mothers and families stories about Crossway Community
http://raiseyourvoicewomenofcrosswaycommunity.weebly.com/about.html

Waiting for (Mr. or Ms.) Right Superintendent

If I ran the Montgomery County school system ... I would not jump to have another "interim superintendent" appointed for the next school year.

Even if some of the top prospects are gone.

I would conduct an review of what happened this year - a search failure - and what happened four years earlier with Dr. Starr's selection process.  In hindsight, this is another search failure, since Dr. S left in a huff and didn't finish out his contract.

Even the search that eventually produced Dr. Weast was an initial failure.  The BOE identified Ellie Massie, who had numerous problems and withdrew after her appointment.

So - over the last 16 years, the taxpayers in Montgomery County Maryland have endured three failed searches for school superintendents.

What I would consider -

1.  Another search firm.  Clearly, the current search firm doesn't work for us.  Maybe for other counties or school systems, but not the folks in Montgomery County.

2.  A transparent process.  Secrecy is just not working.  Same for confidentiality agreements.  Meaningful community input and crowdsourcing are the way to go.  Put the finalists names out there - as many other communities do, and gauge the reaction of the crowd.  If the candidates have something to hide, chances are the crowd will find out, and sooner is better than later.  Would Ellie Massie's financial woes have been discovered earlier?   What about Josh's short fuse?  And who knows what really made Drew Houlihan back down.

We're a tough group in Montgomery County.  We need a superintendent who can work with us - our good points and our not so good points.  The job is a great job - $300,000 and a car - who ever thought an educator could get paid a real living wage.

But please- no finger pointing at anyone outside of the current selection process as scaring away other candidates.  Candidates should have researched us before they accepted the plane ticket to interview with the BOE.  If anything, we are really a pretty tame county, considering what some of the other jurisdictions can do -- think about the test boycott in Scarsdale a few years back, and the outing of the Pearson privacy package.  Oh, yes, and the Smartboard disaster - we're still  buying them in MoCo when other counties have clearly moved on.

Kudos to Krista Brick - from mymedia.com  who provided the following:

krista brick @lmjpbrick · 13m13 minutes ago

.@georgeleventhal: MCPS board is considering using an interim superintendent for another year.

1 retweet0 favorites

krista brick @lmjpbrick · 14m14 minutes ago

.@georgeleventhal: some of the MCPS other top prospects may have already signed contracts.

2 retweets0 favorites