Acting MCPS Chief of Staff Michael Durso departs amid leadership changes

 

...Durso’s contract began on Jan. 16 and his last day was Feb. 7, according to Cram...

https://moco360.media/2024/02/13/acting-mcps-chief-of-staff-michael-durso-departs-amid-leadership-changes/

Michael Durso’s long history with MCPS draws pointed reactions to his new role

Former board member, principal with more than 44 years of education experience named acting chief of staff

Montgomery County Public Schools has hired former Board of Education member Michael Durso to serve as the acting chief of staff after the departure of Brian Stockton...

...Cram declined to disclose Durso’s pay to MoCo360, writing that a Maryland Public Information Act (MPIA) must be filed. Durso told MoCo360 that his pay will likely hover around a $230,000 yearly salary, although his pay has not yet been finalized and papers still need to be signed.

The chief of staff has one of the highest paid positions in MCPS. In February 2023, MoCo360 reported that as chief of staff for MCPS, Stockton made a yearly salary of $226,244...

...Janis Sartucci, a member of the Parents’ Coalition, a watchdog parent advocacy group, told MoCo360 that the group believes Durso is the wrong person to bring to the school system as it is in “recovery mode.”

Sartucci also stated that while Durso was a member and president of the school board, he had the opportunity to update the MCPS Code of Conduct in a way that could have prevented the long-term abuses of principal Joel Beidleman.

The watchdog group is left wondering: Why MCPS is “recycling” former school board members?

https://moco360.media/2024/01/10/michael-dursos-long-history-with-mcps-draws-pointed-reactions-to-his-new-role/

Environmental Waste Generated by Board of Education's Lust for Plastic Football Fields: The Turf Mountain

The Netherlands is a country of artificial turf. No country in the world has more artificial turf per capita. Last summer, over 200 artificial grass pitches were replaced in the Netherlands. No less than 1 million square metres of artificial turf had to be removed. All waste that cannot be dumped. What happens to the old pitches? What happens to all that plastic and all the polluting rubber in them? Processing companies promise to separate all the waste and recycle it. Municipalities pay top dollar for that. But what is the reality? Those involved call it 'the best kept secret in the market'. ZEMBLA follows the trail of a number of transports, and finds itself in a world of dealers, defrauding artificial turf processors, absent supervisors, and a growing artificial turf pile.

Do Electronic Devices in the Classroom Help?

Or are portables a distraction?

And does this impact only the student with the device?

Read the results from a Rutgers Study:

Students perform less well in end-of-term exams if they are allowed access to an electronic device, such as a phone or tablet, for non-academic purposes in lectures, a new study in Educational Psychology finds. 

Students who don't use such devices themselves but attend lectures where their use is permitted also do worse, suggesting that phone/tablet use damages the group learning environment.

Researchers from Rutgers University in the US performed an in-class experiment to test whether dividing attention between electronic devices and the lecturer during the class affected students' performance in within-lecture tests and an end-of-term exam.

.@MCPS Students receive diplomas behind bars

BOYDS, Md. - It is graduation season for high school students across the country, but Friday was especially unique for those in Montgomery County. 

The graduates received their high school diplomas while behind bars. The Montgomery County Correctional Facility partners with Montgomery College and Montgomery County Public Schools to give inmates the same education they would get if they were not incarcerated. Family and friends came to the ceremony Friday as the graduates beamed with pride. 

"It was really great. I never felt that before in my life. I'm just thankful to be here today," said graduate Keon Taylor.

The graduates received a scholarship of up to $1,500 to attend Montgomery College when they are released. 

https://www.localdvm.com/news/i-270/students-receive-diplomas-behind-bars/1213322576

Sentencing Larry Nassar Is Only a Start

Today's Editorial in the New York Times:

Adults who suspect a predator is on the prowl and do nothing are simply monsters in another form.

MCPS Principal Used Student Funds for Staff Development

When parents and guardians pay a fee to their child's school, they imagine that those fees are then used to pay for something for the student.

Unfortunately, that is not necessarily the case.

The Board of Education allows principals to collect fees from students and to then spend those fees without oversight.  From time to time audits are performed to find out how student fees were actually used. Frequently audits of schools show that student fees have been misdirected and used for non-student uses.

The July 10, 2017, audit of Paint Branch High School student fees cited the principal for doing exactly that. Student fees were used to pay for staff development.  What did parents and guardians think they had paid for with those fees?  The audit does not say.  Class fees, senior fees/dues, field trip fees can all be diverted to non-student uses without any oversight from the Board of Education.  It is only a year or two later when the accounts are audited that the misuse of student fees is discovered.

.@mocoboe spends $26,459 in July 2016 Fighting Families of Kids with Disabilities

Special Education Legal Expenses


Special education legal fees for outside counsel for July 2016 totaled $26,459, and the entire
amount was for services by Jeffrey A. Krew. The year-to-date total of $26,459 is $24,613 more
than the same period in the previous year.
******************

After spending 58% more in FY16 on special education legal fees for outside counsel than the Board of Education did the year before, the Montgomery County Board of Education is off to another high-spending start in FY2017.

Steamy Times at Blair High

Its August 15.  Most of us in Montgomery County are enjoying the last few days of a very hot summer before school begins.

Unless you play high school sports.

Yes, the sports teams are back - and we have the pictures!  Here is a picture of Blair's football team taken last Friday, August 12.

But, you may ask, isn't it hot on the fields?  How hot?  On Friday, Reagan National reported a high of 99 degrees and a low of 93 degrees between noon and 6 pm, with 50 percent humidity.

And on the artificial turf?  Here is a picture recorded of actual field temperatures.

Our not so very sophisticated weather gauge on the left indicated that at a little after 3 pm, the air temperature was 98 degrees, while the temp on the Blair artificial turf field was a sizzling 151 degrees.

How would our regular grass fields fare in the heat?

A few minutes later, our weather gauges recorded a more modest 84 degrees on the natural grass surrounding the Blair field.

What a difference (a few) chemicals can make.

MCPS supposedly is enforcing rules related to the heat on the fields.  According to the webpage:

Schools shall monitor prevailing weather conditions, including the current heat index, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and make appropriate practice and activity accommodations. The heat index on the Athletics webpage applies to the 20877 zip code, the most central site in Montgomery County.

And once the heat index is calculated, coaches are instructed to follow the following guidelines:

Temperature Guidelines

Heat Index	Restrictions
0-90° F	Normal practice guidelines and restrictions
91–104° F	Exercise caution; observe players carefully; frequent water breaks;   limit time in which players are wearing full equipment
105° F +	No outside activities; activities limited to air-conditioned school facilities

   

If you calculate the heat index from the rubric on the webpage, the heat index on Friday at Blair HS was an outstanding 113 degrees!  Factor in the artificial turf, and ouch - it was really hot on that field.

Did Blair's football coach really hold a practice OUTSIDE when the heat index was 113 degrees? And on a turf field that registered 151 degrees?

Blair HS is known for its brains, not its athletic abilities, but it seems as if neither is back from vacation just yet.

How hot is it on your MoCo football field?

Parents - Its not just football that is subject to the restrictions when temperatures go soaring. Pay attention, and let your coaches know you are monitoring the heat index over the next few weeks.

For those of you lucky/unlucky enough to have an artificial turf field - watch out or your student may find themselves burnt out before school begins.

And good luck to all the Blazers sports teams - assuming you don't wilt in the heat!

Help Wanted: Home for 450 Yellow School Buses

And so the battle continues.  Where to put those 450 annoying school buses that are currently occupying prime real estate next to the Shady Grove Metro.

Answers from the developers and county politicians only answer some of the questions.  Proposals include putting some at Carver Educational Center, some more at the Westmore site right outside of the City of Rockville's boundaries, and some - scattered through the county parked at various high schools.

But really folks, we need a solution that addresses all buses - not just a few scattered here and there.

Until the good taxpayers of MoCo get an accounting to relocate ALL those Shady Grove buses, we don't really have any viable solution.

Lets be helpers.

Why not the site of the White Flint shopping center?  Right now its just an eyesore on Rockville Pike - its already commercially zoned, contains a school site, and looks like its all paved and ready to be - surprise - a PARKING LOT.

Right now, the site is tied up in litigation, between the developers - the Lerner family, and the Lord and Taylor department store.  According to  newspaper reports, Lord and Taylor is asking for more money, and the Lerners aren't happy at all.  In fact, the Lerners threaten to not go through with their $800 million development plan until all the appeals are settled and may shelve the project entirely if the courts do not rule in their favor.

So - looks as if White Flint will be tied up in litigation for years to come.

Hey Lerners - do you have room for a few hundred buses that can temporarily use your property?  Be good citizens - and help your fellow developers solve the Shady Grove bus dilemma.  After all, isn't it all developers really want to do is build?

Would you want a 100 bus school depot in your backyard?

These folks don't, and have asked that if you agree, please sign their petition.

No 100+ School Bus Depot In Our Neighborhood

PETITION: We, the undersigned citizens of Montgomery County, MD, hereby petition the Montgomery County (MC) Council (the Council) and the MC Board of Education (the Board) to stop the currently proposed plan to relocate approximately 100 school buses to the Carver Educational Services Center Parking lot (Carver) at 850 Hungerford Drive, Rockville, MD and to seek an alternative interim location for these buses as part of its solution to the impending relocation of the Crabbs Branch Way (aka Jeremiah Park) School Bus Depot.

DEMAND FOR ACTION: For the reasons cited below, we oppose the actions of the Council and the Board to relocate these buses to Carver. We demand that the Council and/or the Board authorize full and adequate studies to be performed by qualified outside individuals on the impacts to the community as was proposed in the memo to the Council by its own Council staff on February 6, 2015. . . 

We further demand that the Council and Board find an alternative solution and location that excludes the use of Carver and that the Council delay the Declaration of No Further Need (DNFN) that closes the existing Crabbs Branch depot until such time that an alternative location to Carver is found.

Read more here and sign the petition if you agree!

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/No-100-School-Bus-Depot-In-Our-Neighborhood 

Joshua Starr Certified that MCPS Remediated for Positive Radon Test Results #fib

It is now 2015, and we know that when MCPS found high radon levels in classrooms back around 2013 they did nothing.

What was the point of doing any remediation for high radon levels when the Green Schools application had already been submitted and MCPS won for two schools?

It's all about the application, the awards, and the happy press releases.

It's not about the safety of the students and teachers.

Read the complete MCPS Green Ribbon Schools application at the link below.  What else in this application did MCPS fib about?

2013 US Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools Application

Montgomery school board names Houston administrator as ‘preferred’ superintendent candidate

...O’Neill said the Houston district’s superintendent, Terry B. Grier, had identified Houlihan as having “great potential” and was training him to become a superintendent through those different experiences, she said.
“He was rotated through a number of positions with that in mind,” she said.

... Board Vice President Michael Durso and board members Christopher S. Barclay, Jill Ortman-Fouse and Rebecca Smondrowski will visit Houston soon, O’Neill said...

 http://www.gazette.net/article/20150514/NEWS/150519506/1007&source=RSS&template=gazette

Wed. 12/17: BOE Members Durso and Ortman-Fouse at Taxapayers League Meeting

Montgomery County Taxpayers League Meeting

             Check out our new website www.mctaxpayersleague.org

                                      Wednesday, December, 17, 2014  -  7:00 - 9:00 pm
                                    5th Floor Conference Room,  Council Office Building
                                             100 Maryland Avenue, Rockville, MD 20850

                                                                       

Topic:   "Montgomery County Public Schools - Perspectives from a Current and a New School Board Member"

Speakers: 

Mike Durso, Montgomery County School Board Member, District 5

Jill Ortman-Fouse, Montgomery County School Board Member, At-Large

Questions sent to the speakers in advance of the meeting:

1. Only 25% of county households have children in the public school system, yet 100% of households pay for the schools.  There is a quite widely held view that the Board and the Superintendent do not appear interested in answering questions from the public.  What will you do to increase communication between MCPS and the other 75% of households who foot the bill but have no students in the public school system? 

2.  The Maintenance of Effort (MoE) law while a boon to the school system provides no such favors to the rest of the County government.  With the recent dismal revenue projections for Montgomery County which will very likely result in a reduction to the County Government in FY 2016 while increasing funding to the school system at the mandated MoE level, what is your position on the MoE law and do you have any suggestions for its amendment?  

3.  Given the growing over-capacity of our school buildings and the proliferation of portables, the need for school construction funding is an issue with which we all agree.  Would you agree that reducing the cost of renovations, additions and new school construction would help reduce the backlog of schools on the waiting list.  What actions do you think the county can take to reduce costs such as changes in construction procedures, changes in siting procedures, moving to "design-build" in bidding out contracts, looking at pre-fabricated buildings, fighting for reduced regulation from Annapolis regarding "prevailing wages", etc.  Also what do you think the BoE can do to temper constituent expectations about building what some have described as "5-star hotel design" school  buildings so that scarce resources can be used for a greater number of school construction projects?

4. When reviewing the system's budget request for FY 2016, will you look at costs or outcomes, or both?  When outcomes are not supplied, how do you estimate them?  When baseline costs are not broken down by strategy how do you evaluate them?  Do you have a standard for non-instructional costs as a percentage of total costs? 

5. Is "equity" spending which directs more resources to schools that need them the most, a sufficient criterion for evaluating program alternatives?  How should achievement gap performance goals be factored into the study to improve "bang for the buck"?

6.  In the FY 2015 budget, the Career Lattice Program called for 250 exemplary teachers to be awarded extra compensation for serving as lead teachers in lower income schools.  Should this pilot program be expanded in FY16? What would it cost?  What are the criteria you would use for expansion?

7.  When the FY 2015 budget was formulated, oil and gas prices were at record highs.  What are the savings accrued from the plummet in prices?  Given that this decrease in prices is likely to continue, will the FY 2016 budget reflect the new scenario?

8.  Given the very high cost of union contracts, does it seem fair that the very same staff negotiating with the unions benefit from the outcome of these negotiations?  Do you see an inherent conflict of interest here?  Would an independent board lend credibility to the process?

Phil's Pheeding Phrenzy

Phil - I am really surprised.

The more I read your proposed policy on Board members expense reimbursement,   the more disappointed I get.

As I've stated before, I don't like your proposed policy.  But - I was willing to let you and your phriends on the Board of Education go to two meetings and two "events."  However, the more I look at the "events" list, the more disappointed I get.

For example, your policy says that MCPS events are not eligible - so why do you have the MCCPTA Principals and Presidents Dinner?   PAY YOUR OWN WAY.

Annual Latin Dance Competition?  It says MCPS, so take it off the list and pay your own way.

Committee for Montgomery Legislative Breakfast - this is political so take it off the list and pay your own way.  Same for the Minority Legislative Breakfast.

Finally - another cut at what should come off the list?

Any event where one of your Board members or Board staff sits on the Board of the sponsoring organization.  Good bye Gala for Community Services for Autistic Adults and Children.

I'll check the list and get back to you will additional deletions.

Anyone else care to comment?

The next meeting of  to discuss the policy on Board members "compensation and expense standards" will be the July 22, 2014 meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee for Review of Board Processes and Guidelines on Board Expenditures.

Let Phil know that the credit card issue is out of control and embarrassing. Tell Phil and the other Carverites to stay home, pack a bag lunch, and stop the feeding frenzy.

Contact for Phil:

Phil_Kauffman@mcpsmd.org 

Contact for Board of Education:

Board of Education Office

Montgomery County Public Schools
Carver Educational Services Center
850 Hungerford Drive, Room 123
Rockville, Maryland 20850

Tel: 301-279-3617
Fax: 301-279-3860
 Facebook |  Twitter
E-mail: boe@mcpsmd.org 

  Feeding Frenzy by Magnet Mom

Response to Phil Kaufman's Ad Hoc Committee for Review of Board Processes and Guidelines on Board Expenditures

Phil, Phil, you are getting this wrong yet again.

Your committee or gathering or whatever it is that is reviewing Board Processes and Guidelines for Board Expenditures is a waste of your time.

You need a simple solution.

1.  Cut up the credit cards.
2.  No reimbursement using public (taxpayer) money for parties and food.
3.  Stay home.

Keep in mind, you have lost the public's confidence.  Like Nero fiddling while Rome burns, you and your fellow Board Members have been crying "we need more money" while you have been spending without limit and without oversight.

Do the right thing NOW.

Stop spending taxpayer dollars on personal enrichment expenses and loans.  Cold turkey.

Only then should you start to develop a policy for Board Expenditures.

Model for Board of Education Standards of Conduct

We applaud the Board of Education, notably Board President Phil Kaufman and his committee, for finally trying to instill some ethics into the Montgomery County Board of Education and its staff.  

Sadly, this is something that has been missing for as long as I've been following the issue.

However, Phil's committee seems to be missing a central point.  How can you create allowed/allowable expenses without defining the guiding principles?

As a former federal employee, Phil should be familiar with the federal standards of conduct.  Its a great place to start, as a set of principles many in the DC area already follow.  These date back to Bush 1 in 1989, and have served the feds well, right Phil?  For the rest of the board, who apparently are clueless, the principles for federal employees may be found here:

ELECTRONIC CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS

e-CFR Data is current as of July 2, 2014

Title 5: Administrative Personnel 

PART 2635—STANDARDS OF ETHICAL CONDUCT FOR EMPLOYEES OF THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH
Subpart A—General Provisions

---

§2635.101   Basic obligation of public service.

(a) Public service is a public trust. Each employee has a responsibility to the United States Government and its citizens to place loyalty to the Constitution, laws and ethical principles above private gain. To ensure that every citizen can have complete confidence in the integrity of the Federal Government, each employee shall respect and adhere to the principles of ethical conduct set forth in this section, as well as the implementing standards contained in this part and in supplemental agency regulations.

(b) General principles. The following general principles apply to every employee and may form the basis for the standards contained in this part. Where a situation is not covered by the standards set forth in this part, employees shall apply the principles set forth in this section in determining whether their conduct is proper.

(1) Public service is a public trust, requiring employees to place loyalty to the Constitution, the laws and ethical principles above private gain.

(2) Employees shall not hold financial interests that conflict with the conscientious performance of duty.

(3) Employees shall not engage in financial transactions using nonpublic Government information or allow the improper use of such information to further any private interest.

(4) An employee shall not, except as permitted by subpart B of this part, solicit or accept any gift or other item of monetary value from any person or entity seeking official action from, doing business with, or conducting activities regulated by the employee's agency, or whose interests may be substantially affected by the performance or nonperformance of the employee's duties.

(5) Employees shall put forth honest effort in the performance of their duties.

(6) Employees shall not knowingly make unauthorized commitments or promises of any kind purporting to bind the Government.

(7) Employees shall not use public office for private gain.

(8) Employees shall act impartially and not give preferential treatment to any private organization or individual.

(9) Employees shall protect and conserve Federal property and shall not use it for other than authorized activities.

(10) Employees shall not engage in outside employment or activities, including seeking or negotiating for employment, that conflict with official Government duties and responsibilities.

(11) Employees shall disclose waste, fraud, abuse, and corruption to appropriate authorities.

(12) Employees shall satisfy in good faith their obligations as citizens, including all just financial obligations, especially those—such as Federal, State, or local taxes—that are imposed by law.

(13) Employees shall adhere to all laws and regulations that provide equal opportunity for all Americans regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or handicap.

(14) Employees shall endeavor to avoid any actions creating the appearance that they are violating the law or the ethical standards set forth in this part. Whether particular circumstances create an appearance that the law or these standards have been violated shall be determined from the perspective of a reasonable person with knowledge of the relevant facts.

Gazette: Room Service for BOE Members to be Prohibited

...During their meeting Thursday, committee members decided to recommend to the full board that the school system not pay for members to get hotel room service.
“I think it opens up too many cans of worms,” Durso said of allowing room service charges...

 ...The committee members also decided to recommend a $30 cap on reimbursements to board members for Internet services at their home...

Gazette:  Montgomery County school board panel mulls more limits on member reimbursement

Breaking News: Parents' Coalition Obtains 822 Pages of New BOE Expense Reports

BOE President Phil Kauffman waving his
 MCPS credit cardin Lyda Astrove's face. 

The Parents' Coalition realized that when Board of Education member credit card and expense reports were made public that there was more to the story.  In our past investigation of MCPS credit card use we have seen BOE and administrative staff doing a lot of the charging for BOE members and MCPS top administrators.

Therefore, on May 27, 2014, we requested the credit card and expense report documents for all of the Board of Education staff.   In response to that request we obtained 822 pages of documents. We have uploaded these documents to Scribd and are posting them to this blog.

Below is the written response from the MCPS Public Information Office. The expense reports and credit card receipts for the following Board of Education office staff are now available for the public on Scribd.

Rebecca Gibson 562 pages

Ikhide Roland Ikheloa 153 pages 

Susann King 12 pages

Laura Steinberg 60 pages

Kathy Yorro  25 pages

  2014 June 27 MPIA Response by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland

No Agenda for July 3rd BOE Credit Card Committee Meeting

The Board of Education committee that isn't a real committee is meeting again this week.  There is no agenda posted for the meeting.  

Maybe it's a planning meeting for a July 4th BOE barbecue? We know these Board members won't want to discuss the pending criminal investigation of their use of MCPS credit cards. 

Thursday, July 03

Ad Hoc Committee for Review of Board Processes and Guidelines on Board Expenditures Meeting