Belward Farm and our Truth- and Transparency-Challenged County

From Donna Baron in the North Potomac Patch, yet another boondoggle, this time in the western part of the county.   15,000 new residents.  How many new schools will be needed for the children of the residents?  And where will the money come from?  To read the entire article go here.

Once again, Montgomery County’s deficiencies regarding truth and transparency have come to light in the Brickyard organic farm debacle. 

But let’s not forget another of the County’s boondoggles: Belward Farm.  The County worked hand-in-hand with Johns Hopkins University to deceive the farm’s late owner, Elizabeth Banks.  As Fred Fransen, Executive Director of the Center for Excellence in Higher Education wrote: “What's particularly troublesome is that local officials, in effect, became co-conspirators in the university's effort to shaft the donor.”

An internal Johns Hopkins University letter from 1988 recounts just how the County, thwarted in their efforts to convince Ms. Banks to develop her property, contacted Johns Hopkins “sub rosa” (i.e. secretly), for help.  Former County Chief Administrative Officer Bill Hussman “was advised by County Councilman Bill Hanna that rezoning would be difficult unless…Hopkins involvement was proposed.”

Several meetings later, “it was agreed that a wooded section of approximately 30-35 acres [on what is now Key West Avenue] could be developed commercially by the University if the University would be willing to restrict the remainder of 100 acres to ‘academic and related purposes’.” In other words, the 35-acre parcel was to be developed commercially to raise funds to develop the academic parcel.

The letter confirms both the County and Johns Hopkins knew Ms. Banks’ “very strong opinions about the ultimate use of the property; she is adamantly opposed to residential and most commercial development.”

It was under these conditions that, in 1989, Banks gifted Belward Farm to JHU for the bargain price of $5 million for an academic campus, even though Ms. Banks had been offered up to $54 million from other developers.

and:

After Ms. Banks’ death in 2005, Hopkins worked with the County to rezone Belward Farm for a high-density, high-rise commercial office complex that would accommodate 15,000 workers in buildings up to 14 stories high.  County officials knew this was in direct opposition to the intentions of the late owner, but fast-tracked the plan for approval with the support of two out of three Planning, Housing and Economic Development (PHED) Committee Members: Mike Knapp, a biotech consultant, County Councilman and Committee Chair; Nancy Floreen, who never met a developer she didn’t love; and Royce Hanson, a staunch supporter of the new plan and Chair of the Planning Board.  

Churchill Pulls Curtain on "Chicago . . .

. . . the Musical. 

Late this afternoon, here in ever so politically correct Montgomery County Maryland, Winston Churchill High School Principal Joan Benz cancelled the fall musical production of Chicago.  The opening performance is scheduled for November 13, less than three weeks from today. 

Apparently, despite the listing of the show on the MCPS website and the guidelines for selecting a musical performance, the students and staff were allowed to begin production before the final script edits were negotiated between the school and the licensing agency;  late last week, neither party would agree to edits that would maintain the integrity of the production without violating the community standards.

Who did the edits?  A team of teachers from the school edited the language, violence, and totally eliminated one lead performer from the script.   According to the MCPS policy:

If plays or musicals under consideration are otherwise suitable but contain minor themes or language which is unacceptable for secondary school performance, deletion of certain words can be made without altering the meaning of most plays.  However, major editing is in violation of copyright laws governing specific plays, and the director should seek permission of the leasing agency.

What was left?  Not enough according to the agency.  Play cancelled. 

Churchill performed the play a few years back - so why didn't they pull out the scripts previously used and approved under the policy?  Yes, some school drama has  questionable content, but that's theater.  Rent and Les Miserables worked because the licensing agencies came up with a school approved version.  Guys and Dolls seems to be enough of a vintage piece, despite the sex, gambling, and drinking themes, because it's scheduled for a middle school this fall (Pyle MS in December) and played at Fallsmead ES a few years back.

Bigger question - why didn't anyone notice earlier that the material was questionable?   Who is paying attention to what happens in our kids schools and shouldn't this have been worked out BEFORE the kids set foot on the stage for a rehearsal? 

Stay tuned.  Given that the high school is in Potomac, where the usual rules don't seem to apply, this is just the beginning.  Something smells foul, and it isn't written down in the script.

Update: October 27, 2009 2:30 PM - The show will go on! Principal Benz reverses her decision. "Break a leg" Churchill students!