Local governments hide public records, face few consequences

Miranda S. Spivack, The Center for Investigative Reporting 

...During the legal fight, they also began learning about Maryland’s open records law. Used frequently by journalists and business interests, the state’s public records law allowed them to seek government documents — memos, officials’ calendars and other items — that might offer clues to how the deal was done or hints about who had been speaking with whom, when the plans were hatched and why.

But when residents asked for those documents, they hit a wall: Montgomery County government officials said they could not find many emails, letters and calendars related to their search.

This seemed preposterous, so the residents took the only route available to them — they went to court. A skeptical county judge urged the government to look anew for missing documents. Officials soon managed to find most of what the residents had sought.

The details weren’t pretty.

Documents showed that County Executive Isiah Leggett, a Democrat less than a year from his next election, had been pushing behind closed doors for the private soccer club to take over the site and attempting to pressure a reluctant school board, even though in theory he had no power over school system decisions.

The Maryland Open Meetings Compliance Board also found that the school board had violated the state’s open meetings law by discussing the lease deal in closed session....

http://www.jsonline.com/story/news/special-reports/2016/11/16/local-governments-hide-public-records-face-few-consequences/93585336/

Jury: Montgomery Co. failed to reasonably accommodate blind worker

Montgomery County violated federal law by failing to provide a blind woman computer software that would have allowed her to continue to work as an information specialist in a county call center, a jury ruled Friday.
When the county decided to consolidate the Department of Health and Human Services call center, where Yasmin Reyazuddin worked, into the county’s 311 call center, officials refused to integrate the screen access software Reyazuddin had been using, which allowed her to access computer programs that converted information on a computer screen into synthesized speech or Braille.
Instead, the county denied her a job in the 311 center and relegated her to a lower-level position where she lacked meaningful work, said Joe Espo, an attorney for Reyazuddin.
“The verdict demonstrates that simply saying, ‘We got new software, and it’s difficult to make it usable,’ is not an adequate response to individuals with disabilities in the workforce,” said Espo, a partner with Brown, Goldstein & Levy LLP in Baltimore. “Employers should think about accessibility when they’re purchasing software and when they’re configuring it for use.”
...
In Reyazuddin’s case, she was at first given no work assignments once she was relegated to the lower-level position, according to her complaint. She requested additional tasks but still was not given more than four hours of work in each eight-hour day, her lawsuit claimed.
“Giving someone a paycheck is not a reasonable accommodation,” Espo said. “It’s not just a paycheck – it’s the opportunity to do meaningful work and have the same advancement and promotional opportunities as others in similar positions do. It’s very hard to demonstrate competence and achievement and to present yourself for advancement if what you’re doing is a bunch of make-work and supervisors don’t want you around. It’s hard to excel at doing nothing.”

 http://thedailyrecord.com/2016/03/01/jury-montgomery-co-failed-to-reasonably-accommodate-to-blind-worker/

WPost: Moco department heads ponied up for Ike Leggett’s Democratic primary campaign

...Leading the pack was Leggett’s spokesman, Patrick Lacefield, and his wife Dinah Leventhal (Council member George Leventhal’s sister), who contributed $3,595 in cash and $300 in unspecified in-kind donations. Trailing close behind was Technology Services director Sonny Segal and spouse Veena ($3,450)...

 http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/moco-department-heads-ponied-up-for-ike-leggetts-democratic-primary-campaign/2014/09/03/6a647b3a-338a-11e4-9e92-0899b306bbea_story.html?hpid=z4

Starr's Hired Gun

This week's Gazette includes a letter to the editor from the MCPS Public Information and Web Services Director.  The letter criticizes a Gazette Editorial about Superintendent Joshua Starr's "Hope" agenda.  Joshua Starr brought the "Hope" agenda to MCPS as part of a no bid $900,000 multi-year contract with Gallup, Inc.  

The letter to the editor from the MCPS Public Information and Web Services Director dispenses the following statement as "public information":  

...the Gazette’s recent editorial on the superintendent’s speech at Interfaith Works [“The urgency of action,” April 9] didn’t meet that basic standard of journalism...

Does the  job description of the Montgomery County Public Schools' Public Information Director include defending the personal agendas of superintendents?  No, it actually doesn't. The position is to provide public information and web services to the public on behalf of the Board of Education and the school system. The position does not include spinning the personal agendas of superintendents.

Montgomery County officials violated Maryland election law by using public funds and employees on county time...

This article is about the Montgomery County Executive, his staff and Montgomery County Council members who all asserted that they were above the law back in 2012. They weren't. 
These are the same elected officials and lawyers who continue to support the Board of Education and Superintendent in the charging of illegal fees to students.  Is it time for some new legal counsel for Montgomery County?  

The Washington Post:  Court says Montgomery County violated law in campaign to roll back police union rights

Montgomery County officials violated Maryland election law by using public funds and employees on county time to campaign in support of the 2012 ballot proposition that eliminated certain collective bargaining rights for police, a state circuit court judge has ruled...
...Circuit Court Judge Ronald B. Rubin said in a March 19 decision that the union’s claim may have validity. But he ruled that the two officials are entitled to at least “qualified immunity” because they acted in good faith on the advice of county and state attorneys...
...The county launched an aggressive campaign in favor of the measure. Leggett authorized Lacefield to spend up to $200,000 in county funds for mailings, bus advertisements and bumper stickers. County employees campaigned actively during work hours, according to testimony.
The FOP sought to purchase the same kind of advertising for Ride-On buses but was denied by the county because the ads were deemed “political.” Leggett eventually allowed the ads, but it was too late to place them on buses before the election.
Leggett and Lacefield said they were advised by attorneys for the state and county that they were exempt from requirements in Maryland election law to create a campaign committee and file reports disclosing the sources of funding. The county also argued in court that under home rule it had the authority to conduct the campaign.
But Rubin called this “a bold presumption of power.” He said the county’s fight for Question B went far beyond the bounds of merely informing Montgomery citizens about a matter of public interest and became partisan electioneering.
“No court has suggested that a government may not spend money to inform the public about its initiatives or legislative enactments. Of course it can,” Rubin wrote. “But there is a world of difference between communications that inform, and communications that proselytize and try to influence the outcome of an election contest.”
Rubin added: “In this case, based on the court’s findings, the question is not even a close call.”

ABC7 on Leggett and his Public School Land Grab

The land in question in this ABC7 news piece is PUBLIC SCHOOL LAND. It is not land up for grabs for hand off by politicians.  


This is not the first time that our county elected politicians have tried to move dedicated PUBLIC SCHOOL LAND to private entities for pennies.  


This is just another in a long line of attempts to hand off dedicated public school land to private interests for free or for a bargain basement price.  The County Executive's spokesperson failed to mention that in his comments to ABC7.  He also failed to mention public school children at all!  Dedicated public school land is for public school children for their educational needs.  


Public School Land is not for county politicians to play with, no matter where it is located in the county.  

Top Secret: Public School Land

County Executive Leggett Stonewalls Citizens’ Public Information Request Regarding Brickyard Middle School Lease

If it's about public school land in Montgomery County, you can be sure it's a secret.  Public school land is a valuable asset that our elected officials can transfer to private interests for pennies.  Remember back one year ago to the Peary High School sale at a bargain basement price, it was as if the building wasn't even there!
PI Press Release Final

Portable Classrooms in the (western) Downcounty Area

What do the residents of Montgomery County need?  Classrooms or soccer fields?

According to the latest budget information from Dr.Weast, our students are still in portable classrooms around the county.  Read about it in the recent MCPS Capital Improvements Program here.

The newly named western DownCounty area is no exception. 

In the area surrounding the Brickyard Middle School site, the following "learning cottages" (better known as temporary portable classrooms) are in place:

BCC Cluster          27
Churchill Cluster     10
Whitman Cluster      8
Wootton Cluster     14

Total                     59 portable classrooms

Sounds like we can use some additional school capacity in the area.

But for some reason, the available future school sites in the area aren't in the "right" location.  Most are located on the border between two adjacent school clusters, so some creative boundary shifting must be done if a new facility is to reduce the strain on existing capacity.  So MCPS prefers to supersize the schools, rather than to open a new facility.

Funny thing about supersizing new schools.  The kids just keep coming, and even after an expansion or two, eventually the kids outgrow the facility - we only need to look at our neighbors in the original downcounty area, to see what we can expect in the future.  Oakland Terrace ES has had how many additions?  At least two, and its so packed now the kindergarteners are housed at Sligo MS. 

In tight budget times, what provides the best dollar value?  A soccer field or classrooms?

Time to let the BOE and the County Council know what you prefer.  Its your tax dollars at work.