County Council Staffer Essie McGuire Approved Electric School Bus Scheme for @mcps When She was @mcps Associate Superintendent in 2021

Here is the link to the February 2021, Montgomery County Board of Education Contract Approval for the HET MCPS, LLC. electric school bus scheme.  

HET MCPS, LLC. was not awarded the contract through the RFP process, a company called Highland Electric Transportation was awarded the contract.  Somehow MCPS switched companies, and the Board of Education approved a contract with a company that had not participated in the bidding process.  

At the bottom of the 3rd page of the Contract Approval are the initials of the MCPS administrators who approved the Resolution submitted to the Board of Education. 

Jack R. Smith, Superintendent

Monifa B. McKnight, Deputy/Acting Superintendent

Derek G. Turner, Chief

Essie McGuire, Associate Superintendent of Operations

Eugenia S. Dawson. Director

Todd M. Watkins, Director Department of Transporation 

Monifa McKnight and Essie McGuire presented the Resolution to the Board of Education on February 21, 2021. 

Watch the video below.  Listen to Ms. McGuire sell the electric bus scheme to the Board of Education.  

Ms. McGuire, "very excited to bring this forward today..."

"...ongoing effort with legal department, budget office, transportation office..."

https://go.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Board.nsf/files/BYJNVV6118CC/$file/ADOPTED Cont Apprv RFP 9462.1 Electrification Sch Buses.pdf

***BREAKING: New Charges filed on former MCPS Cloverly Elementary School Teacher John Vigna

Please see our previous extensive coverage of the arrest, conviction, vacated conviction, and re-trial of former MCPS elementary school teacher John Vigna. Recall that Mr. Vigna was never fired by the Montgomery County Board of Education and his teaching license was never revoked.  He was allowed to retire and voluntarily surrender his teaching license. His original conviction was vacated and he was released from prison.  A new trial on those charges has been scheduled for 2024.  Now additional charges have been filed against Mr. Vigna.  

New charges were filed against Mr. Vigna on November 30, 2023.

From Maryland Judiciary Case Search: 

Circuit Court For Montgomery County - Criminal

Location: Montgomery Circuit Court

Case Number: C-15-CR-23-001418

Title: State of Maryland vs. JOHN VIGNA

Case Type: Criminal Indictment

Filing Date: 11/30/2023

Case Status: Open

 

Who is insuring your child's ride on an electric school bus in @mcps?

.... Does the district have liability insurance on the 7 electrical school buses that are currently transporting students? If so, can you supply a copy of the liability insurance?

"Liability limits - the Self Insurance Program would not cover vehicles it does not own (the liability goes with the vehicle) so in this case, it appears clear that the contractor covers them for liability. See page 36 – their insurance requirements and page 48 – MCPS insurance requirements."...

https://wjla.com/features/i-team/school-bus-electric-buses-montgomery-county-public-schools-maryland-joe-biden-administration-mcps-highland-electric-fleets-transportation-fuel-epa-gas

Parents concerned with Montgomery County Public Schools' superintendent search

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. (FOX 5 DC) - Montgomery County Public Schools says it will announce its new superintendent on Tuesday, Feb. 8, but tonight, some parents in the county are raising questions over transparency in the hiring process. 

The Parents Coalition of Montgomery wants to know why former Superintendent Dr. Jack Smith, now works for the company hired to find his replacement. 

Dr. Monifa McKnight, Smith's former deputy, is now acting superintendent and is a candidate for the job. 

Joseph Hawkins of the Parents Coalition describes MCPS' search as shrouded in secrecy. 

"I think it would be difficult to be completely satisfied given the lack of transparency that takes place so yes if she’s appointed, she’s appointed, but we don’t know really what happened behind those closed doors," Hawkins said. "We don’t even know the other candidates!" 

In an email to FOX 5, Dr. Jack Smith confirmed he does indeed work with the company that is helping MCPS find his replacement. However, he says he has not been involved with the school system's search... 

https://www.fox5dc.com/news/parents-concerned-with-montgomery-county-public-schools-superintendent-search

Breaking @wtop Board of Education Narrowed Superintendent Search to 4 Finalists

...A recent update on the school board’s website said that after the first round of interviews, a second round with four candidates was held. The candidates then met with a community panel made up of a group of citizens drawn from “a broad-based section of Montgomery County.”..

https://wtop.com/montgomery-county/2022/02/montgomery-co-school-board-to-announce-next-superintendent-tuesday/

@KateRyanWTOP On next week's agenda for @mcps : the appointment of the next Superintendent of schools.

On next week's agenda for @mcps : the appointment of the next Superintendent of schools. https://t.co/ot9EYddwR5

— Kate Ryan (@KateRyanWTOP) February 2, 2022

Jack R. Smith Now Works for Same Search Firm Handling @mocoboe Superintendent Search #SmallWorld

Whenever the Montgomery County Board of Education needs a new superintendent they hire the same search firm.

Hazard, Young and Attea has been the search for for the Board of Education since at least 1999.  

Former Montgomery County Public Schools Superintendent Jack R. Smith now works for Hazard, Young, and Attea as a consultant.  

From Smith's bio: 

...He then served as Superintendent of Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland for the next five years, overseeing a multi-billion-dollar budget, and guiding the school system through the COVID-19 pandemic as well as other complex and difficult situations. Additionally, he worked with staff to develop the Be Well 365 system to support student well being. He also designed and implemented an equity and achievement framework to increase access and opportunity and support learning for historically underserved populations...

https://hyasearch.com/profile/jack-smith/

FOX5 EXCLUSIVE: Montgomery County admin who moved to Georgia during pandemic to retire this month

 MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. (FOX 5 DC) - A Montgomery County Public Schools administrator who FOX 5 found moved to Georgia last summer will retire at the end of the month.

Dr. Kimberly Statham has been a top administrator in the school system for years and is one of the district’s highest paid employees making $230,500.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Top Montgomery County schools executive lives in Georgia..

https://www.fox5dc.com/news/exclusive-montgomery-county-admin-who-moved-during-pandemic-to-retire-this-month

Exclusive: See Jack Smith's New Cell Tower for Old Georgetown Road - Woodward High School Reopening

The Parents' Coalition has obtained a copy of the construction plans for the new cell tower at the Woodward High School Reopening site at 11211 Old Georgetown Road in Rockville.  

On Tuesday, May 11th, Superintendent Jack Smith attempted to get the Board of Education to approve this new cell tower.  However, Superintendent Smith's Memorandum to the Board of Education was factually incorrect and was pulled from the Agenda prior to any Board discussion or vote. 

Superintendent Jack Smith's Memorandum to the Board of Education did not include the plans for the new cell tower or any images showing what the cell tower might look like.  

The Board of Education was poised to approve this new cell tower sight unseen. 

Below is an image showing approximately where we believe the new cell tower would be placed based on the construction plans.  

This new cell tower would be toward the front of the new Woodward High School building (after demolition and construction) on Old Georgetown Road.  The new cell tower will be 75 feet high and taller than the new high school being built at this site.  There will be a 40' x 40' compound around the base of the cell tower. 

We have created this image based on the plans submitted to Montgomery County for the construction of this cell tower.  This image is our best guess as to where the cell tower would be located.  

Obviously, Superintendent Jack Smith would be in the best position to release an accurate image of the location and size of this new cell tower, but to date an official image has not been made public.   

This image is taken from the Montgomery County Board of Education's presentation of the plans for the new high school at the Woodward High School site on Old Georgetown Road in Rockville.  

We have added to the image a cell tower in the approximate location shown in the construction plans. The image shows the front of the building as it would be seen from Old Georgetown Road.

Watkins Mill HS: Smith’s departure leaves room for growth in Montgomery County

 

In light of the recent news of Superintendent Jack Smith retiring, it is imperative that MCPS be on the search for a new superintendent who is inclusive, specifically a new superintendent who is more interested in authentic student learning than numbers and data. 

Since 1991, MCPS has had only one Black superintendent, and none of them were female. Since 1991, MCPS has undergone a major shift in demographics, as white flight in certain neighborhoods continues to encourage inequities in funding, learning and health resources. I strongly urge that MCPS searches for a candidate who is more than willing to examine the properties of authentic learning, rather than statistics...

https://wmcurrent.com/27215/opinion/smiths-departure-leaves-room-for-growth-in-montgomery-county/

2013: Calvert County school superintendent leaves a year before contract ends [Jack R. Smith]

June 19, 2013 Calvert County’s schools chief is leaving the Southern Maryland school system of 16,000 students in early August, officials announced Wednesday. Superintendent Jack R. Smith, 55, will step down after seven years in the top job and nearly a year before the end of his second four-year contract, officials said. His departure culminates a 14-year career in Calvert, including three years as deputy superintendent. In a letter to the school community, Smith talked about spending time with a new grandson and “some potential opportunities . . . that look intriguing.”..

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/calvert-county-school-superintendent-leaves-a-year-before-contract-ends/2013/06/19/595d441e-d8f2-11e2-a9f2-42ee3912ae0e_story.html

Breaking: @MCPS Superintendent Jack Smith announces he’s retiring June 1. @mymcmedia

Breaking: @MCPS Superintendent Jack Smith announces he’s retiring June 1. @mymcmedia

— Deirdre Byrne (@DeirdreByrneMCM) January 14, 2021

Tues. Jan. 12th: Superintendent Jack Smith Will Hide $1.3M in Gifts to the City of Gaithersburg from the Board of Education.

On Tuesday, January 12, 2021, Superintendent Jack R. Smith will present the Montgomery County Board of Education with a memorandum demanding that they vote to pay for gifts to the City of Gaithersburg.  Superintendent Smith will tell the Board of Education that they MUST give these gifts to the City in exchange for the City handing over land for a new elementary school.  

But, the City of Gaithersburg has already handed over the Deed to this land "free of charge."  

On December 3, 2020, the Board of Education already  voted to accept the Deed without having to pay anything for the land.  

Yet, on January 12th, Superintendent Jack Smith will tell the Board of Education they now must buy gifts, specifically an artificial turf football field and baseball field bleachers, for the City of Gaithersburg in order to get the Deed to the City of Gaithersburg land for the new elementary school. 

Why did Superintendent Jack R. Smith hide these gifts from the Board of Education when they voted to accept this "free" land? 

Further, why does Superintendent Jack R. Smith's January 12th memo only list the cost for two of the seven gifts he has already promised to the City of Gaithersburg in exchange for this Deed? 

Here is what Superintendent Jack R. Smith committed to buy for the City of Gaithersburg according to the Land Acquisition Agreement that he signed:  

• County Board must pay for the cost and expense of all off-site easements. (Unknown total cost)

• County Board must pay for design and construction of an artificial turf field up to $800,000.

•  County Board must pay for the rough grade of the field, storm drainage and a sub base for the artificial turf field. ( average cost of grading, storm drainage and sub base in 2020 is $320,000)

• County Board is required to pay up to 25% for the future replacement of the artificial turf field (Unknown cost – Average cost of artificial turf football field surface in 2021 is $400,000. 25% of that cost in 2021 would be $100,000.  Future cost of artificial turf surface is unknown at this time.  

• County Board must pay for new, additional bleachers for the City of Gaithersburg. $26,000

• County Board must pay for 5 parking spaces dedicated to the City park visitors. (Approximate cost could be $10,000.)

• County Board must pay for a City tot lot. [Approximate cost $100,000 based on cost of recent City of Gaithersburg tot lot project.

The approximate current and future cost of the items that the Board of Education must pay in exchange for the "free" Deed from the City of Gaithersburg is $1,356,000. 

How does $1,356,000 = free of charge? 

Where is Superintendent Smith getting $1,356,000 from in the MCPS Operating Budget to pay for these gifts to the City of Gaithersburg? 

MD State Board of Education Rules on Land for Gaithersburg ES #8: "...conveyance of ownership of the parcel is free of charge."

On October 27, 2020, the Maryland State Board of Education issued an Opinion to an Appeal of the Land Acquisition Agreement relating to the construction of Gaithersburg Elementary School #8, brought to the Board of Education by Superintendent Jack R. Smith.  The Appeal was filed by interested parties that are concerned about the loss of their only local park.  The interested parties would like to preserve their local park and have encouraged the Board of Education to build a new elementary school on existing Board of Education land that is currently vacant. 

It is notable that in their Opinion the Maryland State Board of Education has referred to this land deal as "free of charge," while at the exact same time Superintendent Jack R. Smith is demanding the Board of Education expend almost $2 million in gifts to the City of Gaithersburg in exchange for this park. 

The Maryland State Board of Education concluded their Opinion by stating:

Regardless, the land agreement specifies that the conveyance of ownership of the parcel is free of charge. As no funds were exchanged in the agreement, this argument lacks merit.

The Maryland State Board of Education denied the Appeal, however, four MD State Board of Education members dissented from the decision, and two members abstained.   

 http://marylandpublicschools.org/stateboard/Documents/legalopinions/2020/102020/Nash-et-al.Op.No.20-41.pdf

MCPS might extend timeline of boundary study for new Gaithersburg elementary school #GiftsforGaithersburg #HiddenPerks #Teacher$$forCityGifts

 A boundary study to determine which students will attend a new elementary school in Gaithersburg might last longer as Montgomery County Public Schools grapples with what it hopes is a temporary decline in enrollment due to COVID-19.

In April, the school district began a routine boundary study after authorizing the construction of a new elementary school in the city, intended to relieve crowding at several schools.

The new school will sit on a 6-acre section of Kelley Park, on Victory Farm Drive, and have space for about 740 students.

The $26 million project is expected to be completed in September 2022...

https://bethesdamagazine.com/bethesda-beat/schools/mcps-might-extend-timeline-of-boundary-study-for-new-gaithersburg-elementary-school/

PCMC NOTE:  The school project project is actually more like $28 Million because MCPS is throwing in an artificial turf football field, bleachers, a tot lot and lighting for the City of Gaithersburg. Gifts to the City that the Board of Education never voted on. Superintendent Jack Smith is just a giver. Why not give gifts to the City of Gaithersburg during a pandemic when education funding is already stressed? No worries for Jack Smith. He had an extra $2 Million sitting in a drawer.

Student town hall addresses sexual assault allegations in Montgomery County

Over the summer, Montgomery County students came forward to report more than 350 allegations of sexual assault on social media. School leaders recently held a town hall with students to outline the resources available to them and what’s being done to prevent future incidents.

About 200 students attended the online meeting and were greeted by fellow students and County Superintendent of Schools Jack Smith...

https://wtop.com/montgomery-county/2020/10/student-town-hall-addresses-allegations-of-sexual-assault-in-montgomery-county/

Split Md. high court allows behavior testimony in sex abuse cases

...In its ruling, the majority noted that character testimony regarding a defendant’s peacefulness and truthfulness are admissible when facing charges of assault and fraud. Likewise, a defendant’s appropriateness toward children may be admitted when he or she stands accused of sexually abusing youngsters, the majority added.

But Judge Michele D. Hotten disagreed, saying the analogy does not apply to the “particularly insidious” behavior of child sexual abusers.

“Evidence of appropriate behavior or conduct with children, unlike character for truthfulness or peacefulness in a fraud or assault investigation, adds nothing to a child sex abuse prosecution, because of the nature of the allegations,” Hotten wrote in an opinion Judge Shirley M. Watts joined.

“These types of sexual predators often hide in plain sight,” Hotten added. “They blend into the community and often stand in trust relationships – coaches, clergy, teachers, physicians, or family members – with their victims. They groom victims through these relationships and skillfully manipulate a child into a situation where he or she can be more readily sexually abused and is simultaneously less likely to disclose.”..

https://thedailyrecord.com/2020/08/20/split-md-high-court-allows-behavior-testimony-in-sex-abuse-cases/?utm_term=Split%20Md.%20high%20court%20allows%20behavior%20testimony%20in%20sex%20abuse%20cases%2526nbsp%3B&utm_campaign=Lexington%20Market%20development%20hits%20milestone&utm_content=email&utm_source=Act-On+Software&utm_medium=email

Superintendent Jack R. Smith: “We have to come up with a good collective response,” said Smith. “Otherwise ... should we just disband public education?"

Several state legislators and school superintendents are calling for clear, statewide standards schools must meet in order to reopen for face-to-face instruction.

In a call with legislators, three Maryland superintendents representing different areas of the state, said they would like clear metrics or standards that must be met so that schools can reopen safely, including the rate of spread of the virus, the amount of personal protective gear available, and how rapidly tests can be done.

“We believe that it is critical that MSDE and the health department come together to establish metrics that are thoughtful,” said Montgomery County School Superintendent Jack Smith...

...Smith, Santelises and Griffith also said the public conversation must shift between whether schools should be all online or all in-person, to considering other options, such as bringing back small numbers of students who are the most vulnerable.

“We have to come up with a good collective response,” said Smith. “Otherwise ... should we just disband public education? What if there isn’t a vaccine in a year or two years? Are we really going to stay out of school for multiple years?”

https://www.baltimoresun.com/coronavirus/bs-md-school-metrics-20200813-3hhefqgmubbs5otlw2ztgjk4oq-story.html

Some MCPS teachers concerned as first day of school nears without final fall plan

...In a unanimous vote Aug. 6, the eight-member school board decided to begin the school year remotely, with no face-to-face instruction through the first semester because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The board did not, however, vote on the fall plan as a whole, instead delaying the vote until Aug. 25. The 2020-21 academic year is slated to begin on Aug. 31, and teachers are set to return for a week of in-service activities on Aug. 24.

The school board has not approved day-to-day student and staff schedules, whether there should be any adjustments to the grading system and whether students who need specialized interventions can have some face-to-face instruction...

https://bethesdamagazine.com/bethesda-beat/schools/some-mcps-teachers-concerned-as-first-day-of-school-nears-without-final-fall-plan/

Charmin donates nearly 2,000 rolls of toilet paper to MCPS school after student campaign