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/

MoCo IG Unable to Investigate @mcps. MCPS [former] Chief of Staff Turned Complaint over to IG. Chief of Staff now replaced.

 

https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/OIG/Resources/Files/PDF/IGActivity/FY2024/OIG-MOI-MCPS-SeniorOfficials.pdf

Former @mocoboe Board of Education Members Mike Durso and Jeanette Dixon Endorse Monifa McKnight for Superintendent of MCPS @mcps

Update:  WTOP coverage of this letter.

-------

17 January 2022

(Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday)

Dear Members of the Board of Education:

            We write to you on this historic day as former high school principals and members of the Board of Education with 57 years of service in Montgomery County, and while we are no longer employed by MCPS, we both closely follow the work of the Board of Education and MCPS.   

            Given the unprecedented challenges the school system has faced in the last two years of educating our students during a worldwide pandemic, we believe it is imperative that the Board of Education appoint Dr. Monifa McKnight as Superintendent of MCPS for the next four years effective immediately.

            It has not been lost on us that both the Interim Superintendent and the Board of Education have come under excessive scrutiny and criticism recently related to Covid-19 and protocols. Indeed, just within the last few days, both the MCEA and MCAAP have posted strongly worded letters related to the handling of the virus and its impact on students, staff, and families. We understand the frustration all are facing with these ongoing challenges.

            Dr. McKnight knows and loves MCPS. Despite being buffeted by events beyond her control, she has worked tirelessly to ensure our students get the best education possible. We believe all education stakeholders should be grateful for her courage in taking on the position of Interim Superintendent. She has had a year to hone her skills as a superintendent and learned valuable leadership lessons. She has learned about the need for MCPS and the Board to improve communication, something that has been an ongoing issue in MCPS even before Dr. McKnight’s service as Interim Superintendent began. She is fully able to assess the inner workings of the school system and those who serve it.

We believe it would be unwise to appoint someone from outside of the system because it would take this person two years to learn all there is to know about MCPS. In Dr. McKnight we already have someone who is competent to provide both the continuity and change needed by MCPS.  Based on her performance as Interim Superintendent, Dr. McKnight has earned the opportunity to continue to lead MCPS.

            Naturally you are aware of what Dr. McKnight has done, but we wish to highlight why we believe she is the right choice for the next four years. As Deputy Superintendent she administered the school system from the time Dr. Smith announced he was retiring in February 2021, in the midst of a worldwide pandemic that necessitated a paradigm shift in the way educators teach and students learn. During this time, she was able to get the 2021-2022 budget passed and ensure a smooth close of the school year, including celebrating and attending graduations for the Class of 2021.

In addition:

·       Dr. McKnight implemented initiatives focusing on an anti-racist audit, reorganization of the system for greater accountability, and professional development for all staff.

·       Dr. McKnight has established excellent relations with elected officials at the county and state levels, state education officials and other Maryland school superintendents. She has completed the Leadership Montgomery program.

·       Dr. McKnight is a good listener, presenter and public speaker with the ability to inspire others. She has demonstrated flexibility, and she has been responsive to the education stakeholders of Montgomery County.

·       Dr. McKnight is professional, and she is respectful of the Board. She works well with the Board’s officers. She has gone out of her way to get to know the Board as a group and individually.

·       Dr. McKnight is responsive, and she is not afraid to change her position or correct that which is not working. She is adept at analyzing data and using technology.

·       Dr. McKnight has worked assiduously with all education stakeholders including those who have undermined her efforts and not given her the time and unquestioned support they gave to past male superintendents.

In conclusion, Dr. McKnight has earned the opportunity to continue to lead MCPS. She is a person of integrity who is an outstanding role model for all of our students. They can look at her and know that anything is possible when an African-American girl raised by a single parent in Orangeburg, South Carolina can rise to lead the fourteenth largest school system in the United States.

She is the right person for this time. We urge you to make this historic appointment.

Sincerely,

 

Michael A. Durso

Former MCPS Principal

1996 – 2009

Former Member of the Board of Education, District 5

2009 – 2018

 

Jeanette E. Dixon

Former MCPS Principal

1997 – 2013

Former Member of the Board of Education, At-Large

2016 - 2020

Byron Johns

Vice President 

Md. Gov. Hogan slams regional schools, calls for inspector general

...The Maryland State Education Association, which represents teachers in Maryland public schools, called Hogan’s statements “an attack on public education.” Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker, who is running for governor, said the current state board of education, whose members are appointed by the governor, already has the power to conduct audits of school systems. “Right now, he has the ability to do that.”

Baker said that if the governor really wanted to help school systems, “Maybe he should meet with superintendents once a week.”

In Montgomery County, Janis Sartucci, with the Parents Coalition, whose members have been sharp critics of spending and management practices in the local school system, welcomed Hogan’s plan for an education inspector general.

“It’s long overdue and desperately needed,” said Sartucci. “If the governor is looking at bringing in additional resources and additional oversight, we would fully support that.”...

https://wtop.com/maryland/2018/01/md-gov-hogan-slams-regional-schools-calls-inspector-general/

MCPS Parent, "You can't even keep them safe."

Full report on tonight’s @MCPS budget meeting is coming up at 10 on News Channel 8 and 11 on @ABC7News. pic.twitter.com/0yucgGAm5N

— Anna-Lysa Gayle (@ABC7Annalysa) January 9, 2018

Full Report: http://wjla.com/news/local/community-meeting-addresses-arrest-of-teachers-aide-charged-with-possession-of-child-porn

MCPS Requests Removal of Comments from Parents' Coalition Blog

Here is the original post:

https://parentscoalitionmc.blogspot.com/2017/11/mcps-remove-student-names-from-data.html


The Montgomery County Board of Education is a member of MABE, the Maryland Association of Boards of Education. Each year our Board of Education members attend the annual MABE convention in Ocean City, Maryland.  MABE and the convention are sponsored in part by vendors who then have exclusive access to our Board of Education members during the convention.  For example, one vendor is BoardDocs.  BoardDocs is now the vendor that is used to put up our local Board of Education's meeting minutes.  Were other vendors considered?

More on MABE:

http://parentscoalitionmc.blogspot.com/2015/09/today-public-school-education-being.html

Remember when it was discovered that a MCPS staff member went to London on a trip through Promethean, another no bid vendor who had begun to supply MCPS will thousands of Promethean Boards?

http://parentscoalitionmc.blogspot.com/2012/11/fact-check-london-trip-to-promethean.html

And there was this cocktail party with outside council:

http://parentscoalitionmc.blogspot.com/2012/12/boe-parties-with-outside-attorneys.html

Our request for expense reports:

http://parentscoalitionmc.blogspot.com/2016/11/hey-big-spender-smondrowski-kauffman.html


Ironic that the Board of Education members want THEIR names removed from our blog on a post where students are requesting that their personal information be removed from MCPS data!

ABC7: Convicted [MCPS] teacher taken off Md. sex offender registry, could possibly teach again

ROCKVILLE, Md. (ABC7) — A former Montgomery County teacher, convicted of sexting with a female student, has been taken off the sex offender registry and could be eventually cleared to teach again.

In 2014, Richard Shemer, a former social studies teacher at Albert Einstein High School in Kensington, confessed to sending a female student dozens of sexually explicit emails.

Montgomery County Judge David Boynton sentenced Shemer to a year in prison, of which Shemer served a few weeks.

Three years later, and off probation, Judge Boynton allowed Shemer to scrub his name off Maryland's sex offender registry...

http://wjla.com/news/local/convicted-teacher-taken-off-md-sex-offender-registry-could-possibly-teach-again

FYI from 2014: MoCo Board of Ed President's DC Charter School shut down

Leaders of Hospitality High, a D.C. charter school backed by some of the Washington area’s largest hotel companies, have decided to relinquish their charter to join the city’s traditional school system.

The unusual move — it is the first time a D.C. charter school has converted into a traditional school — allows Hospitality to avoid potential closure by the D.C. Public Charter School Board, which is responsible for approving new charters and closing those that underperform.

“Our choice to merge with D.C. Public Schools was in the best interest of our students and the commitment that we’ve made to the District of Columbia to expose them to the wonderful industry that is hospitality, which is the largest industry in the city,” said Hospitality board member Solomon Keene, president of the Hotel Association of Washington, D.C...

...Officials with the public school system said they have no concern about a conflict of interest since she is no longer directly involved in Hospitality. Hospitality’s board is now chaired by Durso’s cousin, Michael A. Durso, a longtime educator and president of the Montgomery County Board of Education.

Call to Action: Make MCPS add webpage - list all known abusers and list every school / program they were involved with #transparency #safety

Child Safety Advocate Jennifer Alvaro calls for the Montgomery County Board of Education to add  a webpage that lists all known abusers and lists every school and program that each were involved with.

What is the response from the Board of Education?  

This is not about litigation, this is about facts. 

There is nothing stopping our elected Board of Education from responding to this request.  

Nothing except their desire to protect the convicted perpetrators. 

It's time, actually way past time, for the Montgomery County Board of Education to stand up on behalf of the many victims of sexual abuse that have been victimized in our public schools by staff. 

Make MCPS add webpage - list all known abusers and list every school / program they were involved with #transparency #safety

— jennifer alvaro (@jennifermalvaro) August 27, 2017

Georgia Grant-Walton, Personal Representative To the Estate Of Taylor Walton v. Montgomery County Board of Education

  Walton v. Montgomery County Board of Education and Gaithersburg High School by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland on Scribd

NEELSVILLE PTSA: OPPOSITION TO PROPOSED CELL TOWER ON NEELSVILLE MIDDLE SCHOOL PROPERTY @mcps @mocoboe

  Neelsville PTSA Press Release and Update on Cell Tower 2017-06-13 by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland on Scribd

Md. high school security guard accused of having sex with student again

Again. Where is the elected Board of Education? Where are their statements on this?  Superintendent Smith is the employee of the Board of Education.

From WUSA9:

The director of security at Richard Montgomery High School was arrested Friday after being accused of having sex with a student again, police said.

And:
Detectives are asking all parents of students who attend Richard Montgomery High School to talk to their children about their interactions with Mark Christopher Yantsos and contact detectives at 240-773-5400 if they believe their child was victimized.

To read the whole story, go here.

Former MCPS Teacher Shemer Moves for Reconsideration of Sentence

ORDER OF COURT

Docket Type:	Docket Filed By: Court
Docket Text:	ORDER OF COURT (BOYNTON, J.) SCHEDULING A HEARING TO CONSIDER DEFENDANT'S MOTION FOR RECONSIDERATION ON MAY 18, 2017 AT 9:30 A.M., ENTERED.

--------------------
History:

DEFENDANT ENTERS A PLEA OF GUILTY TO COUNT #1 OF THE INDICTMENT. COURT (BOYNTON, J.) FINDS THE DEFENDANT GUILTY OF COUNT #1 (SEX ABUSE MINOR).

COURT SENTENCES THE DEFENDANT TO COUNT ONE TWENTY YEARS SUSPENDS ALL BUT ONE YEAR MCDC. UPON RELEASE THREE (3) YEARS SUPERVISED PROBATION WITH CONDITIONS. COURT COSTS ASSESSED. PRE RELEASE CENTER (PRC) RECOMMENDED.

COURT ORDERS THE DEFENDANT TO REGISTER WITH THE SEX OFFENDERS REGISTRY.

Time for a Spotlight on Sexual Abuse in our Schools and the Failures to Report It

Sex abuse in schools. No one wants to think about it let alone talk about it. But we must because the statistics are staggering and because living in denial puts children at risk. It wasn’t too long ago that no one wanted to talk about what was happening to children at the hands of priests either and we all know how that turned out. But as with the Catholic church, this is a very real problem in our schools nationally. Rhode Island is no exception.

Cranston West High School is the latest school here in Rhode Island to make news for a teacher allegedly abusing a student and the story gets worse by the day. Not only has a science teacher with a history of similar incidents in the past been arrested on twelve counts of second-degree sexual assault, but it turns out that a school psychologist had ample reason to suspect the abuse, yet chose to stay silent. He too has been arrested.

http://goodschoolhunting.org/2017/04/time-spotlight-sexual-abuse-schools-failures-report.html

Tuesday 1/24 - Sentencing of BCC High Teacher Todd Scriber #sexabuse

 Court Scheduling Information
(Schedule is subject to change)

Event Date:	01/24/2017 Event Time: 08:30 AM Judge: GREENBERG, ROBERT A
Location:	50 Maryland Avenue North Tower Courtroom 9a Courtroom: 9A
Description:	SENTENCING

Former B-CC High School Teacher Convicted of Two Counts of Child Sex Abuse: Teacher took surreptitious photos of his students

MCPS Parent on Minnesota Rock the Schools: Child Sexual Abuse in Schools #PassingtheTrash #grooming #mcps #CodeofConduct

About Rock The Schools with Citizen Stewart
Hosted by: Chris Stewart
Executive Producer: Monique Linder
Stewart’s mission with “Rock The Schools” is to “create a greater educational opportunity for black communities by grounding the school reform debate in black history and transformative black thought.” Stewart believes “this is done by challenging the dominant trope of anti-school reform activism, and illustrating connections between the liberationist principles of yesterday’s black struggles, and today’s education proposals (e.g. “privatization,” school choice, and charter schools).” Stewart’s tag “Public education for an educated public” begs the question of accountability.


About MCPS parent Jennifer Alvaro

Do Not Fall on These Parts of WJHS Field #GMAX #Concussions #HandyPocketGuide

Handy Pocket Guide of Where Not to Fall on the Walter Johnson Artificial Turf Field. Download or Print & Save.

Yesterday, Forbes reported on the condition of the Walter Johnson High School artificial turf field.  Forbes released the G-Max Test and Field Inspection Report that showed that the WJHS artificial turf field is now dangerous to use.  A player falling on this field is no longer falling on a soft, bouncy surface.  A player on this field is now falling on a surface that is very hard and can cause severe injury or potentially even death.

But, we know that Montgomery County Public Schools will continue to use this field for another 14 years because the "plan" is that each artificial turf field must last for 20 years.  As that is the "plan," we have developed a handy pocket guide for student athletes using the WJHS artificial turf field. 

This handy pocket guide should be given to football, lacrosse and soccer players at WJHS and at all of the schools (public and private) that will play against WJHS on this field or use this field.  

We know the Board of Education can not be bothered to deal with student safety, they have a MABE Ocean City vacation coming up to pack for! So we are doing our part for MCPS student athletes.  Print out this handy pocket guide and tell your student athlete to enjoy their next game at WJHS, but to just not fall down on the parts of the field marked with a red X.  Those parts of the field are way beyond the recommended hardness of an artificial turf field.

Also, warn your student athletes to make sure the field never gets to the GMAX level of 200. (Two areas of the WJHS field are already in the 190's.)
According to the chart below, OSHA says a GMAX of 200 "Will Cause Death."

Have a great game!

Parkland Parents Say Resounding No to Cell Tower in School's Loading Dock. 53 Opposed 0 in Favor

Red area shows planned location for cell tower compound.

The Montgomery County Board of Education presented their plan for building a cell tower compound in the loading dock of Parkland Magnet Middle School to parents and neighbors last night.

Of the 56 parents and neighbors in attendance at the meeting last night, no one was in favor of this plan.  The vote of those in attendance was 53 opposed, 3 abstentions, and 0 in favor.  

Parents at the meeting question why the Board of Education representative was advocating for the plan?  The money from these construction projects does not go into the MCPS Operating Budget, does not pay for teachers, and does not contribute to classrooms. 

Why is Board of Education staff pushing for this construction project that would take away much needed space for this middle school's operations?

Where does the money from the placement of cell towers on public school land really go, and how is it spent?

BOE Expenses Soar to $204,165 for FY 2015 #expenseaccounts #creditcards

On July 22, 2015, Board of Education staff put together a summary of Board of Education expenses for Fiscal Year 2015 for the BOE Fiscal Management Committee.  BOE staff could not even be bothered to put the document together in a readable format, so we did.  Below is the document in SCRIBD with the pages turned so they can be read easily.

BOE staff also did not provide any totals. All of the expense categories are on separate pages.  Again, we put together one spreadsheet showing the expense account totals for each category and for each BOE member.  What was so hard about doing that, or did BOE staff really not want to make it easy for the public to see that BOE spending had gone up in FY 2015?  Eliminating credit card spending by Board of Education members for FY 2015 did not put the BOE under budget.  The FY 2015 expenses for the Board of Education are still over what was budgeted for the year.

   2015 FY 2015 BOE Expenses by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland

   2015 June 30 MCPS Expenditure Standards by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland