BOE Candidate Keeps PTA President Position, Includes 5 Councilmembers in Elem. School Culture Night event. Is this a campaign rally or a PTA event for kids?

The Montgomery County Council of PTAs (MCCPTA) Bylaws states that when an officer of the organization files for candidacy for public office they are to resign within a week. 

Individual PTA Bylaws also have language that speaks to how the organization handles it when an officer files for candidacy for public office.

At North Chevy Chase Elementary School, the PTA Bylaws state that members in their official capacities shall not, directly or indirectly, participate or intervene...in any political campaign on behalf of...any candidate for public office...

And yet, at North Chevy Chase Elementary School (NCCES) we see what is typically a night devoted to spotlighting the heritage of students turned into what looks like a campaign event.  20 MINUTES of the 2 hour Culture and Heritage Night are being turned over to 5 County Councilmembers and 10 minutes will be spent hearing from a current candidate for a Board of Education seat.  

The NCCES Culture and Heritage Night is being run by a current candidate for the Montgomery County Board of Education, Rita Montoya.  Rita Montoya is currently the PTA President at North Chevy Chase Elementary School and is actively maintained that position while campaigning.  

Montoya uses her PTA position in her campaign materials.  Montoya's day job is General Counsel and Founder of Cannabis Patient Advocacy Association but that position is not stated on her campaign information.   

Here's how the Culture and Heritage Night is being advertised to NCCES students and parents: 

But here's what the proposed Agenda for the NCCES Culture and Heritage Night looks like. Students and their families are in for a surprise.

For reference, here's what a typical MCPS elementary school Culture and Heritage or International Night looks like: 

Is the May 2, 2024, School Culture Night at North Chevy Chase Elementary School a student centered, PTA event or a campaign event?

Councilmember Sayles and Luedtke - FYI: The former @mcps Damascus High School principal is hardly "just on the books," she is now an expert advisor to MCPS.

At the Montgomery County Council's joint committee hearing yesterday on the Inspector General's report on the investigation of MCPS' promotion practices, one topic that came up was how MCPS has been known to remove principals and other staff from schools and place them in the MCPS human relations department.  

Councilmember Luedtke's questioning gave the impression that MCPS just puts staff in HR as a bookkeeping formality and that the staff placed in human resources who are involved in controversial school matters are "just on the books."

Earlier in the hearing, Councilmember Sayles had asked about the status of the former Damascus High School principal and coach who were at the school during the time of the football locker room hazing and rape incidents.  

MCPS administrator April L. Key, Chief, Human Resources and Development, responded to questioning that yes, the former Damascus High School principal and coach at the time of the hazing rape incidents were still employed by MCPS. 

What Ms. Key did not relate is that not only is the former Damascus High School principal still employed by MCPS, still listed as working for the Office of Human Resources and Development, but she is also now considered an expert on sexual harassment claims and is advising MCPS on the corrective action plan.  

The former Damascus High School principal is hardly "just on the books," she is now an expert advisor to MCPS.  

People assigned to HR that are "just on the books."  

 

Sayles: "This past September MCPS was ordered to pay what was reported to be the largest settlement of its kind in the state.  Nearly $10 million dollars to the four victims of the 2017 - 2018 football hazing sexual assault case at Damascus High School.  Is the Coach and Principal still employed by MCPS, that was there during that time frame?

Key: "Yes, they are."

 

Montgomery College Down 9,010 Students Since 2010. From 26,147 credit students to 17,137.

Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland: UPDATED: Montgomery College Enrollment Continues Dropping as MCPS Enrollment Increases (parentscoalitionmc.blogspot.com)

2022: Councilmembers Laurie-Ann Sayles, Evan Glass, and Will Jawando all said they would SUPPORT the Montgomery County Office of People's Counsel.

While campaigning for a seat on the Montgomery County Council, all three of these now elected Councilmembers said they would support the Office of People's Counsel. 

Now that a vote on the funding of this office is before them, will they keep their promises? 

While the last council had historically hashed out differences behind closed doors, members of a growing progressive wing said in interviews that they plan to be outspoken in pursuit of the policies they ran on enacting.

...Equitable representation has been a key focus in the increasingly diverse county, which is now about 42 percent White, 20 percent Black, 20 percent Latino and 16 percent Asian, according to census data.

Despite the public celebration of diversity, several council members voiced discontent over the maneuvering that took place behind closed doors to justify leadership picks. They say the decisions consolidated power between two White men and missed an early opportunity to give more influence to historically underrepresented communities.

“I want the public to be more aware of this process and be able to voice opinions and concerns prior to internal deliberations,” said Laurie-Anne Sayles (D), a Black woman freshly elected to one of the council’s at-large seats.

In addition to the top two leadership spots, Glass and Friedson will also chair two committees widely regarded as among the council’s most important: Planning, Housing and Parks; and Transportation and Environment. Meanwhile, the two Black council members said they did not get any of their top choices for committee assignments...

 On historically diverse Montgomery Council, tensions over transparency - The Washington Post

As City of Gaithersburg Takes $1.5M +/- "Gift" from MoCo Board of Education, Who Sits on City Ethics Commission But a MoCo Board of Ed. member. #Ethics

The City of Gaithersburg has cut a deal with the Montgomery County Board of Education to allow the Board of Education to build an elementary school on a public City park that serves 5 communities.  

The Board of Education had put forth that the land was being given over at no cost, but the actual contract reveals that the Board of Education will be spending over $1.5 million dollars +/- to pay the City of Gaithersburg what can only be described as gifts since the contract does not detail the actual cost of these items. The gifts to the City are to be paid for by the Board of Education and will include an artificial turf football field (and costs for the future replacement of that field), bleachers, lighting and a tot lot.  

Clearly, the land is not being handed over to the Board of Education at "no cost."  But what is the exact cost to the Board of Education and the MCPS Operating Budget? That number can only be estimated as no exact cost was included in the contract.  

If any any point in time there are ever allegations of unethical actions by the City of Gaithersburg elected leaders or their staff, any such complaint would go before the City of Gaithersburg Ethics Commission. 

Montgomery County Board of Education member Rebecca Smondrowski is a member of the City of Gaithersburg Ethics Commission. 

From Board member Smondrowki's online MCPS bio:  

Mrs. Smondrowski was reappointed as a Commissioner for the City of Gaithersburg Ethics Commission in January 2015.

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/boe/members/district2.aspx