Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland: Jennifer Bach

Showing posts with label Jennifer Bach. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Leadership Wars - or What Happens When Meetings are Held in Secret

Today, the good taxpaying folks in Montgomery County saw first hand what happens when their elected leadership does not play by the rules.

Chris Barclay, President of the Montgomery County Board of Education, sent off the missive below in response to a letter sent earlier in the week by Valerie Ervin, President of the Montgomery County Council.

Honestly, if we had the discussions in public and on the record, would we have the need for these letters at all?

Was the public given notice of the Barclay-Brandman-Ervin meeting on April 15? No.

Did someone take minutes? No.

Hate to say it, but that is why Maryland has an Open Meetings Act.

Thanks to Jennifer Bach for the tip.
Letter to Valerie Ervin-060811

Subscribe to: Comments (Atom)

Principles

Formed in 2002, the Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland seeks to achieve the goals of coherent, content-rich curriculum standards; high expectations combined with timely remediation and acceleration; a wider range of educational options for parents and children; greater transparency and accountability; and meaningful community input.

E-mail: parentscoalitionmc AT outlook.com

What The Washington Post said about the Parents' Coalition

The coalition might be the best-known parent advocacy group in the region. Its members represent several constituencies, including parents of special education and gifted education students and fiscal watchdogs. The group's defining victory came this school year when the school system scaled back the fees charged to families for course materials.

Coalition leaders have drawn attention to the misuse of funds collected from students for activities, the broadcast of a commercial radio service on school buses and, with their "Weast Watch" blog, the travel habits of Weast and his lieutenants.

The Washington Post, June 4, 2009

Jerry Weast on the Parents' Coalition

"Along the way, you’ve had a challenging relationship with the Parents’ Coalition, the network of citizen activists who use the political process and other means to hold MCPS accountable.

The thing people accuse me of is listening, but not hearing. I hear, but I do not always agree. I am sorry that the world is faster than it was 10 years ago. I did not do that. [But] if we do not keep up, then our kids will be behind. We have to stop whining and get real."

Bethesda Magazine, March-April 2011