Two high-ranking employees hired by Monifa McKnight last fall as Montgomery County Public Schools was reeling from a scandal have departed this month, at the same time as the superintendent, the district confirmed Monday.
However, no details have been provided yet about the terms of McKnight’s exit...
October 16, 2023, Dr. LaVerne G. Kimball returned to MCPS to serve as acting chief in the Office of School Support and Well-Being (OSSWB). An email went out on behalf of acting Deputy Superintendent Betty Collins informing executive staff that Dr. Kimball has made the decision to return to her retirement status. Dr. Kimball served MCPS for 37 years and initially retired in 2018 as an associate superintendent of elementary schools...
https://mocoshow.com/2024/02/05/dr-laverne-kimball-and-nancy-navarro-no-longer-employed-by-mcps/
...It was not clear whether MCPS Superintendent Dr. Monifa McKnight will be in attendance at the Feb. 8 Council session...
https://www.mymcmedia.org/friedson-wants-to-see-redacted-beidleman-investigation-report/
...In September, the Office of the Montgomery County Inspector General (OIG) announced that it would open two investigations related to allegations against Farquhar Middle School Principal Dr. Joel Beidleman and Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) handling of misconduct complaints. Officials claimed he was unanimously promoted during a June meeting to become the principal at an area high school – all while being under investigation for sexual harassment.
You can read more about that investigation here.
"It's basically the Real Housewives of Rockville at the moment. It's a big soap opera," said Janis Zink Sartucci, a member of the Parents Coalition.
She told WUSA9 that this is "a huge distraction," and said "whatever is going on and whoever was involved, the school board should just handle it."..
The Board of Education is calling on the superintended to step down. The sudden move is now causing people to ask what Dr. Monifa McKnight knew about the harassment scandal involving former middle school principal Dr. Joel Biedleman and how she may have been involved. FOX 5's Sierra Fox has the story.
🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
With a huge amount of help from the Public Access Ombudsman at the Maryland Attorney General's office, the Parents' Coalition has finally obtained a copy of the contract between the Montgomery County Board of Education and the Jackson Lewis law firm.
The contract, which was never approved by the Board of Education as required by law, is dated August 24, 2023 but covers the period July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024. To be clear: The Jackson Lewis law firm began their work long before the contract was signed. We're not sure that matters much, though, since the contract has never been approved by the Board of Education — unless they approved it in secret, which would be a violation of the Open Meetings Act.
Since the contract was never approved by the Board of Education, there is literally no executed contract between the Board of Education and Jackson Lewis. The Board of Education isn't obligated or even authorized to pay Jackson Lewis for their services...
Full story at: https://parentscoalitionmc.blogspot.com/2023/12/after-months-of-stonewalling-mcps.html
Five key MCPS leaders knew of these allegations and apparently did not push for answers
This led to Beidleman being promoted to Principal at Paint Branch High School which has since been pulled. Dr. Beidleman remains on leave and the Montgomery County Office of the Inspector General is picking up the investigation into how the situation was handled. They said they would investigate every allegation made against Beidleman to set the record straight...
Montgomery Co. releases redacted report on MCPS principal misconduct investigation | WJLA
...The report also listed six complaints to the district about Beidleman that were not included in The Post’s original story: five via Lighthouse Hotline, a third-party complaint hotline service, and a third Maryland Safe Schools report. A Feb. 7 Lighthouse Hotline account obtained Thursday by The Post described a “hostile work environment” at Farquhar “for at least 5 years.” The complaint alleged that Beidleman “sexually harasses, gaslights, and manipulates his staff on a daily basis. Both men and women. If he does not get his way, there is bullying and vindictive behavior (removal from leadership positions, stipends taken away, grade level changes etc).”
MCPS also twice ignored inquiries from Maryland’s Office of the Inspector General for Education (OIGE) about a complaint it had received against Beidleman — once June 28, the day after Beidleman’s promotion, and another June 30. These additional notifications add up to 25 reports of misconduct submitted to MCPS about Beidleman since 2016, according to interviews and documents obtained by The Post...
 |
| 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. |
Montgomery’s schools chief turns to New England brainpower on advisory teamTwo-thirds work or worked with county school systemby Andrew Ujifusa, Staff Writer
The transition team for Montgomery County schools’ new superintendent includes the former director of a Harvard graduate school program, the executive director of a corporate foundation dedicated to schools and a former top official with the school system...
...Larry Leverett
Since 2006, Leverett has been executive director of the Panasonic Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in Secaucaus, N.J. The organization’s mission, as stated on its website, is “to break the links between race, poverty, and educational outcomes,” echoing the key themes of Peterkin’s Urban Superintendents Program.
Like Starr, Marks and Peterkin, Leverett has education leadership experience in the Northeast, having worked as superintendent of Plainfield, N.J., and Greenwich, Conn., public schools prior to joining the Panasonic Foundation, a Grantmakers for Education biography states. Starr has worked in public schools in Connecticut and New Jersey, as well as New York City.
Leverett has his own connection to another member of the transition team. He also has served on the advisory committee to Peterkin’s Urban Superintendents Program...
