Wootton Student Who Threatened Mass School Violence Sentenced

The Rockville teenager who threatened “to shoot up my school” in a 129-page manifesto that included another nearby elementary school in his plans was sentenced Wednesday. He received a sentence of 12 months followed by five years of tightly supervised probation.

Alex Ye, 19, has been incarcerated for 14 months since his arrest. His one-year sentence began Wednesday as he waived his right to count his time served.

The Wootton High School student was found guilty on Jan. 8 following a two-day trial.

“We thought this young man who was in transition, who had multiple institutionalizations prior to his arrest, posed a substantial threat to the community,” said State’s Attorney for Montgomery County John McCarthy following the sentencing...

https://www.mymcmedia.org/wootton-student-who-threatened-mass-school-violence-sentenced/

Montgomery Co. parents criticize delay in notifying community about fight that hospitalized student

Some Montgomery County, Maryland, parents are upset that their child’s middle school waited two days to tell them about a fight that sent a student to the hospital.

The fight between two girls happened at Lakelands Park Middle School in Gaithersburg last Wednesday during dismissal; and according to the school’s principal, it was broken up by adults who were nearby...

https://wtop.com/montgomery-county/2024/01/montgomery-co-parents-criticize-delay-in-notifying-community-about-fight-that-hospitalized-student/

Somerset ES cork infill not viable for use by Montgomery Parks

The Parents' Coalition obtained e-mails and documents from Montgomery Parks concerning their decision in 2016 to replace the Montgomery Blair High School artificial turf football field.

In the e-mail below was a discussion of the choice of contractor, choice of plastic carpet, and choice of infill for the new Blair High School artificial turf football field.  As part of the evaluation of these different products, the Somerset Elementary School artificial turf field was evaluated and discussed.

From this e-mail, we learn that the Somerset Elementary School artificial turf field requires daily maintenance by MCPS staff and that Montgomery Parks had determined that the infill used at Somerset was not a "viable product." 

How many MCPS elementary school fields have staff brushing the field on a daily basis?  Who is paying for the increased maintenance costs of this plastic field?  

The e-mail contains a lot of additional information about how artificial turf fields are purchased in Montgomery County and how the fields are performing and annual costs associated with these fields.  None of this information is ever discussed by the Board of Education.   

Read the e-mail at this link:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/a3c7sqzc1vvmxa3/2016%20Montgomery%20Parks%20email%20Somerset%20infill.pdf?dl=0

2016 Montgomery Parks Email... by on Scribd

City Gets Artificial Turf for $357,401 Less Than MCPS .@GburgMD .@mcps #artificialturf

The City of Gaithersburg bought new artificial turf for a new installation on a City park.

But, the City of Gaithersburg is only going to spend $942,599 for the brand new artificial turf football field.

Walter Johnson High School
artificial turf shredding
Summer 2014

What is wrong with those folks? Don't they know that for another $357,401 they could have bought the exact same brand of artificial turf that the Board of Education has chosen as their sole source/no bid supplier?

You know, the same brand of artificial turf that is currently shredding over at Walter Johnson High School after only 5 years and is in line to be purchased for Churchill High School.

...Hellas Construction submitted a bid for just over $1.14 million this past winter. It was the only company to submit a bid proposal for the project to the city during the month-long solicitation period, which ran from Feb. 7 to March 13, acting Public Works Director Ollie Mumpower said at the meeting.
To bring the bid price more in line with the city’s estimate, staff worked with the company to locate savings, according to Mumpower. After shaving off some unnecessary costs, the new bid came in at $942,599...

 http://www.gazette.net/article/20140507/NEWS/140509484/gaithersburg-awards-contract-to-install-turf-field-at-lakelands-park&template=gazette


No need to lose any sleep over this overspending, the Montgomery County Inspector General is fine with the Board of Education overpaying for no bid artificial turf. What's a few hundred thousand of tax dollars here and there?

...Montgomery County Inspector General Edward Blansitt confirmed with The Town Courier that, in response to two complaints in 2012, his office conducted a preliminary, “thorough” inquiry to see whether the cost-benefit analysis used to select the supplier, FieldTurf, was flawed. “The findings were [that the methods used were] consistent with those conducted by other organizations nationwide after weeding out the influence of both the natural and synthetic turf industries. … We found there was no reason to spend staff time and resources on whether the cost-benefit analysis was done flawlessly,” he said.
Blansitt said his office did find that M-NCPCC had relied on expertise from a specific consultant with ties to FieldTurf in selecting the supplier’s standards. The investigators have since “adjusted their standards,” he said, and MCPS did not rely on the consultant in question...

 http://www.gazette.net/article/20140507/NEWS/140509484/gaithersburg-awards-contract-to-install-turf-field-at-lakelands-park&template=gazette

Artificial Turf Discussion Again at City of Gaithersburg Meeting

The City of Gaithersburg Council and Mayor will again discuss Artificial Turf for the Lakelands Park Middle School field at their July 15, 2013 meeting.

From the Agenda:

"Staff will be addressing the questions posed since receipt of the July 3, 2012 memorandum, entitled “Supplemental Information pertaining to Synthetic Turf.” In addition, David Goodwin of Harford County Parks and Recreation is present to answer questions regarding any aspect of project management associated with synthetic turf. Mr. Goodwin has designed and completed installation of twelve (12) synthetic turf fields through Baltimore and Harford Counties. Parks and Recreation staff throughout the State contacts Mr. Goodwin for expertise and experience. He has been shepherding City of Gaithersburg staff through the design and bid document process." 

The staff memo that will be discussed:  

  2013 City of Gaithersburg July 15 by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland

Synthetic turf for Gaithersburg field draws opposition

http://www.gazette.net/article/20130612/NEWS/130619709/1080/synthetic-turf-for-gaithersburg-field-draws-opposition&template=gazette

Patch: Delegate Miller Asks Why Parents Were Not Informed About Investigation of Bus Driver

State Delegate Aruna Miller has begun an investigation into why it took more than a year for parents to learn that MCPS bus driver Charles Acker was suspected of downloading child pornography.

By Jillian Badanes | Email the author | April 4, 2011

...But, she said, MCPS should not have kept him in a position where he was the only adult responsible for children.
She said she is looking into when Montgomery County Police informed MCPS of the investigation and when MCPS informed schools.
"When any adult school employee has any child pornography charges, especially when they are the only adult with the children, I think they need to let parents know," Miller said.
She said she plans to propose legislation in Annapolis to ensure students are protected in the future.