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

FOX5 Exclusive: Top Montgomery County schools executive lives in Georgia

 MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. - One of the highest paid employees in Montgomery County Public Schools has taken working from home to a new level, moving to Georgia last summer, according to real estate records...

https://www.fox5dc.com/news/exclusive-top-montgomery-county-schools-executive-lives-in-georgia

Teacher shortage + pandemic = challenge for DC area school systems

The national teacher shortage existed long before the COVID-19 pandemic, and local school systems will soon see the effects of how a year of distance learning, severe public health restrictions and several starts and stops influence a person’s desire to become a teacher.

“When we look back to pre-pandemic, October 2019, our school divisions reported approximately 1,000 vacancies, and this is a number that steadily increased over the last decade,” said Charles Pyle, director of media relations with Virginia Department of Education.

And then came COVID-19...

https://wtop.com/education/2021/04/teacher-shortage-pandemic-challenge-for-dc-area-school-systems/?fbclid=IwAR11RjxQcrGv4tFkTJxGkHe-pQbohHkNFh0qYr2AjxlcVSiRkbc7YifeSGw

Jack Smith Paying Kimberly Statham $230,500 a Year to Travel the Country Recruiting Teachers, While Simultaneously Pushing Out Teachers with ADA Accomodations.

Kimberly Statham is the third highest paid administrator in MCPS with a salary of $230,500 a year.

Only Jack Smith and Monifa McKnight make more than Kimberly Statham.  Statham's full-time job is to travel the Country recruiting high-quality teachers.  

MCPS Superintendent Jack Smith's Central Office Reorganization:  ...Data show the number of students entering teacher preparation programs has shrunk significantly over the last decade, which makes it harder for our school district to ensure each classroom has a high-quality teacher. Dr. Kimberly Statham, after seven years leading the Office of School Support and Improvement, has stepped forward to take on a new role leading this critical work for our system. As the higher education workforce liaison, Dr. Statham will use her experience leading large school systems on both coasts to visit colleges, develop strong relationships, and recruit the best and brightest students for our teacher workforce. Reporting directly to the deputy superintendent, Dr. Statham will focus on establishing relationships with colleges and universities so that, over time, MCPS will have a pipeline of high-quality teaching candidates that will serve us now and into the future. I thank Dr. Statham for taking on this work.

https://news.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/staff-bulletin/new-administrative-appointments-and-vision-for-the-future-of-mcps/

Meanwhile, back in MCPS, Superintendent Jack Smith is unable to find a way to keep a high-quality teacher on the payroll.  

https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/education/mcps-teacher-quits-covid-fears/65-51687765-8c1a-4d2f-9f58-136843355eb9

Schools director began contract talks before starting job #PerformanceMatters #JackRSmith #NoBid

Montgomery County Public Schools spent $1.5 million on a no bid Performance Matters contract in FY18.  

MCPS Superintendent Jack R. Smith brought in a no bid Performance Matters, LLC contract along with a consultant connected to Performance Matter, LLC.   

Two MCPS administrators were on Shawn Joseph's (Nashville) transition team. 

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Metro Schools Director Dr. Shawn Joseph began talks with a Utah-based technology company about a potential no-bid contract two weeks before he formally took command of the Nashville school system, emails uncovered by NewsChannel 5 Investigates reveal.

The emails, obtained through the Tennessee Public Records Act, show that Performance Matters had discussions with Joseph about how to “extend our partnership,” suggesting the company’s contract with Shelby County schools could be a “purchasing vehicle” for Metro Nashville Public Schools.

That process, known as “piggybacking,” allows companies to get government contracts without having to compete with other vendors.

“We may be able to discuss a pilot this year [if] the costs are right!” Joseph said in a follow-up email two weeks after he became director of schools.

Instead, less than six months into Joseph’s tenure, MNPS signed two no-bid contracts with Performance Matters, totaling $1.8 millon.

As a result of questions raised by NewsChannel 5 Investigates, the district admitted this week that it broke state law in awarding a $1 million, no-bid contract with Performance Matters for a student assessment platorm, piggybacking on a contract with Orange County, Florida, schools.

State law only allows piggybacking on in-state contracts.

The district signed a second, $845,000 contract with the company that was piggybacked on the Shelby County contract, although Metro changed the terms. Experts say that also violates state law...

...In a written statement, Metro Schools suggested that the Performance Matters contracts originated in 2016 after “a transition team made up of local, state and national experts shared that Nashville needed to focus on student achievement – with a sense of urgency.”

Joseph’s transition team did not release its final report until February 2017...

https://www.newschannel5.com/news/newschannel-5-investigates/schools-director-began-contract-talks-before-starting-job?fbclid=IwAR1NktNHmZ1Bo_ZKtfeDJJZK-UAkTPmahLjAp8R2aPdsqctG_nX6AzZ92qo

MCPS Top Salaries $175,000 - $275,000

First column shows salary for employees on spreadsheet. Example:  $275,000 is base salary for Jack R. Smith.
This chart does not include benefits and perks. 

Some employees in a large Maryland school system see signs of grade tampering

As Maryland orders an investigation into whether grades were manipulated to drive up graduation rates in Prince George’s County, employees at several of the district’s high schools say they have encountered signs of grade tampering and pressure to pass their students.

Eight employees, based in six of the county’s 22 high schools, described in interviews with The Washington Post grading incidents they found troubling after allegations emerged of corruption in the school system. Gov. Larry Hogan (R) asked for an investigation on June 25, and the state board of education voted to pursue it two days later...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/some-employees-in-a-large-maryland-school-system-see-signs-of-grade-tampering/2017/07/01/02a4ee76-56c8-11e7-b38e-35fd8e0c288f_story.html?utm_term=.ade02cb3283c

Statham not interested in new leather bag #expenseaccount #creditcards

MCPS Administrator Says She’s Not Interested in Superintendent’s Job

Kimberly Statham, a top deputy to former Montgomery County Public Schools chief Joshua Starr, says she’s not in the running to replace him as superintendent.

Responding to a query from Bethesda Beat, Statham, 56, said she was not a candidate for MCPS superintendent and had not applied for the job. She said she had informed the school board, which is vetting candidates, of her decision....


http://www.bethesdamagazine.com/Bethesda-Beat/2015/MCPS-Administrator-Says-Shes-Not-Interested-in-Superintendents-Job/

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Previous blog posts on Ms. Statham's use of MCPS credit card to purchase personal items.

Gazette Editorial: Cut the credit-card culture in Montgomery County

Credit cards can lull people into becoming lackadaisical about spending, and Montgomery County Public Schools is no exception. 

The public learned in May about inappropriate personal purchases board member Christopher Barclay made with a district credit card, totaling nearly $1,500. When the expense came to light, Barclay reimbursed the school district. 

But there was more. Other records were released, showing a number of purchases by elected district officials and administrators worth scrutiny, such as: 

• $486 for two work bags, for Kimberly A. Statham, who was recently named deputy superintendent for school support and improvement, to carry a laptop, power cords and other items;
• Hundreds of dollars in personal purchases that Ikhide Roland Ikheloa, the chief of staff to the school board, mistakenly made on a district credit card at miscellaneous stores, such as $581.87 at Mr. Tire, $67.09 at Target, $50 at Sargent Cleaners and $36.56 at Giant;
• $509 for board members and others to have dinner in October at an Ocean City conference, including $42 for surf and turf, $39 for a lobster tail dish and a few orders of $39 prime ribs...

continues at link:
 http://www.gazette.net/article/20140716/OPINION/140719701/1266/cut-the-credit-card-culture-in-montgomery-county&template=gazette

WPost: MCPS official to repay district for purchases listed in expense reports

BY DONNA ST. GEORGE June 17 at 1:40 PM  

Expense account records show that a deputy schools superintendent in Montgomery County charged $486 to her publicly funded credit card for a computer bag and leather computer carry-all.

Records released this month show that Kimberly A. Statham, deputy superintendent for teaching, learning and programs, bought the items in May 2013, during a trip to Chicago for a conference.

The expense account practices of Montgomery’s school system leaders — including purchases like Statham’s — are now under close review as the county school board is examining the system’s use of district-issued credit cards. Statham’s spending was first publicized by the Parents’ Coalition, a Montgomery watchdog group that pushes for greater government transparency.

According to district records obtained by The Washington Post, Statham paid $244 for the carry-all tote bag at a Michigan Avenue store. On the same day, at the same store, she bought a second computer bag for $242, according to the records.

http://m.washingtonpost.com/local/education/montgomery-schools-official-to-repay-district-for-purchases-listed-in-expense-reports/2014/06/17/f59ac408-f35b-11e3-bf76-447a5df6411f_story.html?wpisrc=nl_buzz

Close the MCPS Achievement Gap with A Leather Computer Tote for $244.17 or Buy Two for Good Measure

Thanks to NBC4, Montgomery County parents can now see exactly how MCPS Board of Education members and administrators work hard every day to close the achievement gap.

Included in the expense reports for the MCPS Deputy Superintendent of Teaching, Learning, and Programs (Newly appointed to be the Deputy Superintendent for School Support and Improvement) is the purchase of two, yes we said two, "computer bags" from the That's Our Bag store in Chicago, Illinois for a total of $485.95.  

Deputy Superintendent Kimberly Statham was only able to produce the receipt for one of the two bags listed on her MCPS Purchasing Card Log for May 2013. Both charges were approved.  

From the receipt, shown below, we can see that one of the bags purchased cost $244.17 and was the "Audrey Zip Top Computer/Toffee" bag.  We believe that is the bag shown in the image above.  Stare at that bag closely and by doing so the secret of closing the achievement gap will be revealed! It's your tax dollars, you are entitled to be let in on the secret!

NBC4: Montgomery County School Board Scrutinized Over Use of Government-Issued Credit Cards

Who did Barclay Take to Lunch? Nancy Navarro, Hans Riemer, Francoise Carrier, Council Staff, Shebra Evans, Chris Lloyd, BOE members, MCPS Staff

The expense reports and credit card records for Board of Education member Christopher Barclay do not show the names of all of the guests he took to restaurants with his MCPS credit card.

Below is a list of some of the recipients of meals paid for from the MCPS Operating Budget by Mr. Barclay during 2012 through the first part of 2014.

4/19/12  $20 Constituent
4/27/12  $67 Luis Cardona
6/15/12  $37.01 Community Superintendent and MCCPTA Rep
6/20/12  $58.13  Dr. Statham (MCPS)
6/29/12  $34      Ben Moskowitz (former student member of BOE)
8/14/13  $14   Constituent
8/23/12  $23.85 Student
8/30/12  $12.67 Council Staffer
8/31/12  $13.07 students
9/1/12    $23.87 students
9/14/12  $10.37 constituent
9/22/12  $28.13 constituent
10/11/12 $32.00 County Council Vice President Navarro
10/23/12 $23.06 Young Democrats
10/24/12  $46     Troy Boddy
10/02/12  $39    Council Staff
10/06/12  $174.06 Officials from Zimbabwe
10/29/12  $47.17 3 constituent/parents
11/13/12  $29  D.C. Administration
11/29/12 $26  John Landesman (MCPS)
12/19/12 $27.56 Young Democrats

1/9/13 $30 Vernon Ricks
1/25/13 $39 Shebra Evans
1/9/13 $14   Constituent
1/17/2013 $29 Chris Lloyd (MCEA Vice President)
1/10/13 $9.18 Sharif Robinson
1/9/13 $30 Vernon Ricks
2/22/13 $25 Curtis Johnson
2/27/13 $8.88 and $10.00 Jane DeWinter
2/24/13 $61 CB/PK/RS/JM which would probably be Chris Barclay, Phil Kauffman Rebecca Smondrowskit and John Mannes
3/20/13 $38 Hans Reimer
3/7/13 47 $47 Constituent
3/25/13 $36 Shebra Evans
3/13/13 $0 Judith Clarke
3/11 13 XXX Paul Weckstein
4/15/13 $97.45 Phil Kauffman, Shirley Brandman
4/3/13 $78  Dr. Statham (MCPS)
4/9/13 $65 Mr. Bartee
4/17/13 $70.36 Mr. Williams
5/1/13 $24.21 Bronda Mills
6/5/13 $39 Francoise Carrier (Planning Board Chair)
6/10/13 $36 Constituent
6/21/13 $46.50 D. Beyer
6/4/13 $27 A. Zuckerman (MCPS)
6/18/13 $59.35 Phil Kauffman, Rebecca Smondrowski, Patricia O'Neill (Retreat Planning MEETING)
7/11/13 $26 Marcus Moore (former Gazette reporter)
7/22/13 $27 constituent
7/30/13 $63.90 Northeast Consortium
8/8/13 $49.20 MCCPTA
8/28/13 $36.36 Rebecca Smondrowski
9/12/13 $34.99 Rebecca Smondrowski
9/6/13 $32 Rebecca Smondrowski
10/24/13 $70 MCCPTA
10/28/13 $30.48 Constituent
10/25/13 $27.53 Constituent
10/17/13 $27.46 Dr. Statham (MCPS)
10/01/13 $18.02 Council Staff
11/18/13 $26.16 MCCPTA
11/22/13 $15.42 Blair Cluster
11/26/13 $36.40 constitutent
11/14/13 $75 Joshua Starr and Phil Kauffman
12/19/13 $29 Christina Johnson (Rebuilding Together in Mont. Co.)
12/20/13 $54 Michael Scarano (Rockin' the Rage)
12/31/13 $34.74 Mr. Williams (Minority Scholars Program)

1/17/14 $24 Brian Roberts and County Staff
1/6/14 $33 Anita Powell NAACP
1/30/14 $27 Francis Frost 
2/10/14 $13.78 H. Marie Henderson

Have you had a lunch meeting with Joshua Starr? Here are some of the people he met with in 2013. #lunchbunch

This is the second in our series of credit card bills for Superintendent Joshua Starr.  The document below covers the time period from January through April of 2013 and shows when Superintendent Starr charged a meal, parking, air fare, train travel, gasoline, or hotels on his MCPS American Express card.

Here is the list of people and groups that Superintendent Starr met with during this time period as recorded in his American Express credit card receipts.

Gazette Editorial Board
LaVerne Kimball
Dr. Edelstein
Dr. Pollard
Dist Mgmt Council
Wireless Generation
Larry Leverett
George Perry
Gallup, Inc.
Leadership Montgomery
Dan Brown
Rebecca Thessin
Laura Steinberg
Christopher Barclay
Myra Smith
Dr. Lillian Lowery
Chuck Short
Elaine ____
Larry Leverett (again)
Diane Ravitch
Larry Leverett (again)
A. Zuckerman
Kim Statham
Dr. Christopher Garran

  2013 Starr January through April by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland

Exclusive Video: MCPS Staff Complain "No Sodas" at BOE Retreat

The Parents' Coalition has a short video from the end of the December 17, 2013, off-site/off-camera Board of Education Retreat at the Universities at Shady Grove.

In this video you can hear the participants summing up what worked at the meeting and what didn't work.

At minute 15:27 you can hear Deputy Superintendent Kim Statham's answer to "what didn't work well":  "No sodas."

While MCPS classroom teachers are buying classroom supplies with their own money, MCPS administrators complain that there is "no soda" at a meeting. This is an excellent example of the disconnect between administrators and classrooms.

Exclusive: Charter School Violates Public Lottery - MCPS and Council Cover Up Violation?

From page 4 of the February 26, 2013 internal MCPS memorandum.

The Parents' Coalition has obtained a copy of a February 26, 2013, internal MCPS memorandum from Community Superintendent Donna Hollingshead to the Community Montessori Charter School administration.

In this memo we learn that for the 2012-2013 school year the Community Montessori Charter School enrolled 7 students who were not part of the public lottery.  Back on July 7, 2011, Board of Education member Laura Berthiaume had been very concerned that the charter school run a fair lottery for seats with "no thumbs on the scale".

We know that in the 2012 public lottery for seats at the MCPS charter school there were 247 applications for 70 seats. 

Why has this memo been covered up by MCPS and by the County Council? 
Note the memo is not even copied to the Superintendent or to the Board of Education!

The Montgomery County Council's Education Committee has held two hearings on the Community Montessori Charter School since February and MCPS and Council staff have suppressed this memo at both hearings.

April 24, 2013, Council Education Committee Hearing Video

July 22, 2013 Council Education Committee Hearing Packet:  Note how the Council Staff covered for the Charter School's 2012 Lottery Process.  We believe that Council staff had the Feburary 26, 2013, memo shown below, but did not mention in the information supplied to Councilmembers the 7 students enrolled outside the lottery process.

From July 22, 2013, Council Education Committee Packet prepared by Council Staff

It is important to note that the MCPS funding for the charter school is based on the number of pre-schoolers who are eligible for public funds.  The February 26, 2013, memo (shown in its entirety below) makes no reference to the eligibility of the 7 students enrolled outside the lottery process for public funding.  Did these 7 students change the MCPS funding given to this public charter school?

It is now August and the February 2013 internal MCPS memo is just being made public by the Parents' Coalition.  The 2013 lottery for this charter school has already been held.  Was it a public process?  Were seats filled from the public lottery?  What guarantee do parents and taxpayers have that this public charter school lottery is being run without "thumbs on the scale?"

  MCPS Community Montessori Charter School by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland

Starr's Hire is a Broad Academy Graduate

The Montgomery County Board of Education Appointed Dr. Kimberly Statham as Deputy Superintendent on Superintendent Joshua Starr's recommendation.  Ms. Statham is a graduate of the Broad Superintendent's Academy.  MCPS has sent a number of administrators to the Broad Superintendent's Academy over the last few years.  

Maryland's new State Superintendent is also a Broad Academy graduate. 

Here's a guide for parents to acquaint them with the academy.

A Parent Guide to the Broad Foundation’s training programs and education policies

The question I ask is why should Eli Broad and Bill Gates have more of a say as to what goes on in my child’s classroom than I do? ...

Starr Transition Team member snags Administrator Position

The Gazette article below fails to mention that new MCPS hire Rebecca Thessin was a previous hire of Joshua Starr's in Stamford, CT.  Thessin and Starr also have written an article together, and  Superintendent Starr put her on his "transition team."  Now Starr has created a new MCPS office and appointed her as the administrator. 

Gazette:  Superintendent brings in 5 new top-tier execs 

After one year leading Montgomery County Public Schools, Superintendent Joshua P. Starr is bringing in a new team and realigning some departments.
The changes will align the school system with priorities laid out in Starr’s transition plan: intervention, community engagement and professional development, schools spokesman Dana Tofig said.
Last year, three offices reported directly to Starr: the chief of staff, deputy superintendent of schools, and chief operating officer.
This coming school year, four offices will report to him. Also, due to staff resignations and retirements, two of the deputy superintendents that will lead these offices will be new, and one associate superintendent will be new.
The chief of staff and the chief operating officer will continue to report directly to Starr.
In the place of the office of the deputy superintendent, Starr has created the Office of Teaching, Learning and Programs, and in the place of the chief school performance officer, which had reported to the deputy superintendent, Starr created the Office of School Support and Improvement, which will now reports directly to him.
Frieda Lacey, who had been deputy superintendent, retired last month. Kimberly Statham was appointed to lead the newly redefined Office of Teaching Learning and Programs, which oversees programmatic functions such as curriculum and instruction.
Under that office, Starr has realigned the Department of Family and Community Partnerships, to create the position of Chief Engagement and Partnership Officer. That position has not yet been filled.
Also under that office, Adrian Talley, associate superintendent for shared accountability, has resigned, leaving an open position for a new leader.
Since Frank Stetson retired as chief school performance officer, Beth Schiavino-Narvaez has been appointed as the deputy superintendent of school support and improvement.
Under that office, Starr has created one new office, for Professional Development and Support. It will be lead by a new hire, Rebecca A. Thessin, as an associate superintendent.
Thessin has been assistant professor of educational administration at George Washington University Graduate School of Education and Human Development.
“This is to align with Dr. Starr’s strong belief that professional development and direct service to principals is extremely important,” Tofig wrote in an email.