BOE Authorized MCPS Staff to Evaluate Possible Locations, Not to Completely Move a Program without a BOE vote or public notice.

WUSA9 reported on a Montgomery County community that was surprised to learn that MCPS was moving a program for middle and high school students to their local elementary holding school. 

The community isn't the only group that is surprised. The Board of Education is surprised too. 

The plan has never come before the Board of Education for discussion, there has not been a feasibility study, and there is no funding in the MCPS budget for any renovations or modifications to the holding school.

In May of 2024, the Board of Education discussed the lease of the space being used for the Ewing @ Plum Orchard Alternative Education Program. That's apparently a Level 2 Program for middle and high school students.  The lease was up and apparently the BOE wanted to discuss possibilities for relocating the Program.  

Instead of presenting the BOE with possibilities, requesting funding, and obtaining a BOE vote, someone in MCPS administration made their own decision to move the Ewing @ Plum Orchard program to an elementary holding school. 

WUSA9 reported on the surprise announcement. 
 

 

MCPS Superintendent reveals loss of $39.3 million in state aid due to submission error

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. (7News) — 7News has learned an error in the school system‘s submission for state aid could negatively impact school improvement projects.

Montgomery County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Thomas Taylor made the admission in a letter that was part of his recommended capital budget for Fiscal Year 2026.

In the letter addressed to the school board, he wrote about the Capital Improvement Program (CIP)...

MCPS Superintendent reveals loss of $39.3 million in state aid due to submission error

Damascus High Auto Tech Program’s Future in Doubt: The BOE voted to not include certain career-based programs at Damascus when it reopens.

Damascus High School students enrolled in the Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs are fighting to keep their automobile technology and restaurant management programs.

Plans for the renovations to their aging high school have been delayed by the Board of Education until Fiscal Year 2029. Currently, those plans don’t include space for the automobile technology program...

https://www.mymcmedia.org/damascus-high-auto-tech-programs-future-in-doubt/

@mocoboe Lets Staff Kill Trade Programs. @mcps Teacher Cries Out: "Why do the Construction and Transportation departments dictate what programs go where? Why are we trending in the opposite direction of our businesses needs and the opposite direction of MD state law?"

Public comment presented to the Montgomery County Board of Education on February 22, 2024 below.

More from this MCPS teacher on March 14, 2024 at this link. 

Dr. Felder and members of the board of Education,

My name is Raul Ortiz, and I am here to advocate for high school CTE students.

• Our local demand for automotive technicians in our areas is extremely

high. Many Automotive shops and Collision centers have a wait time of

months to fix a car. Insurance companies are having to buy back vehicles

because the length of time to provide their customers with rental cars are

no longer affordable. Local dealerships are looking to hire and train every

student that we can provide.

• The Damascus Automotive program is currently running at full capacity.

We have to turn away students and it’s the same with Gaithersburg and

Seneca Valley HS which are the next closest automotive programs.

• Students at Clarksburg HS only have the option of Thomas Edison HS for

automotive, which is in Silver Spring and it’s too far away to be a viable

option. Thomas Edison also has a waitlist each year for their programs

and many students are not selected to participate.

• As you know, the Maryland State Department of Education recently

passed a law -called “Blueprint”. This law is based on the lack of trained

and qualified people in our service industries. This law mandates that at

least 40% of our students leaving school will have industry recognized

credentials or will have participated in a career oriented apprenticeship.

This is exactly what the automotive programs currently accomplish

through our close partnership with the Automotive Trades Foundation.

Any student that chooses to seek employment in the industry are

connected to a place of employment. Percentage wise, the Foundation

programs produce more industry certifications than any other high

school program.

• Damascus program is an obvious solution to support the Clarksburg

students that want to participate in auto technology. The new Damascus

High school could be designed as a state of the art facility and bus over

students from Clarksburg HS.

• What is the issue? The MCPS Construction design team is proposing to

eliminate the Damascus program in the new build. What sense does this

make? They say that the program is too expensive and takes up too much

space. I don’t feel like either of those arguments are valid. Most of the

equipment can be transferred over and we use Federal funding to buy

new equipment, NOT MCPS dollars. The New High School will be 50%

larger, so space should not be an issue.

• Furthermore, they have closed a program that served overflow from

Gaithersburg high school and the CREA program that operated at the

Shady Grove bus depot. This was an ideal partnership that successfully

operated for 8 years. This ATF dealer HUB is vital to the future of the ATF

programs.

• MCPS continually talks about providing access to ALL students, but

currently their actions are exactly the opposite. Why is this? Why do the

Construction and Transportation departments dictate what

programs go where? Why are we trending in the opposite direction of

our businesses needs and the opposite direction of MD state law? I feel

that MCPS is in broken state and that our priorities are aligned with

people that are making decisions that make things easiest on them and

we need to get back to doing what is best for our students and that is

delivering world class career education opportunities.

Please include the FULL Automotive and Hospitality programs in the

design of the new Damascus High School. And please support the ATF

automotive HUB site at a central location to all ATF programs.

https://go.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Board.nsf/files/D32J6U4B9F02/$file/Board of Education speach.pdf

June 11th: Friedson accuses school board of ‘lack of leadership’ in budget decisions

Ahead of the Montgomery County Board of Education’s vote Tuesday on a final spending plan for the coming fiscal year, Montgomery County Council President Andrew Friedson (D-Dist. 1) called out the board for “a lack of leadership” in making financial decisions.

“This is a management issue. It’s not a fiscal issue. Rather than be accountable, this idea of using hyperbolic hypothetical scenarios to obfuscate responsibility is not helpful to the public,” Friedson said during a virtual press briefing Monday when asked about whether the school board had been transparent about spending reductions that Montgomery County Public Schools would need to make to close a $30 million budget gap in its fiscal year 2025 budget.

https://moco360.media/2024/06/11/friedson-accuses-school-board-of-lack-of-leadership-in-budget-decisions/

Parents, students alarmed by plan to postpone construction of auditoriums at new Woodward, Crown high schools

School board cites budget shortfalls, supply chain disruptions as reasons for the delays

Parents and students in the Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) communities that would likely feed into the new Charles C. Woodward and Crown high schools are concerned by a school board decision Tuesday to delay the construction of auditoriums at the schools until after they open.

The Montgomery County Board of Education approved changes to the project scope of the reopening of Woodward in Rockville and the construction of the new Crown High School in Gaithersburg, adding an additional phase to construct auditoriums for both projects. Officials did not say when they plan for the auditoriums to be completed...

https://moco360.media/2024/03/22/parents-students-alarmed-by-plan-to-postpone-construction-of-auditoriums-at-new-woodward-crown-high-schools/

TODAY: Board of Ed. to Vote on Whether School Land is for Cell Tower Companies or Public School Children. Question for @mocoboe: Do you want to keep building cell towers or are you going to focus on using school land for public school children?

 From: Parents Coalition

Sent: Thursday, July 20, 2023 1:05 AM
To: BOE <BOE@mcpsmd.org>; Brenda_Wolff@mcpsmd.org <Brenda_Wolff@mcpsmd.org>; Karla_Silvestre@mcpsmd.org <Karla_Silvestre@mcpsmd.org>; Graciela_Rivera-oven@mcpsmd.org <Graciela_Rivera-oven@mcpsmd.org>; Shebra_L_Evans@mcpsmd.org <Shebra_L_Evans@mcpsmd.org>; Lynne_Harris@mcpsmd.org <Lynne_Harris@mcpsmd.org>; Julie_Yang@mcpsmd.org <Julie_Yang@mcpsmd.org>; Rebecca_K_Smondrowski@mcpsmd.org <Rebecca_K_Smondrowski@mcpsmd.org>; Leslie_E_TurnerPercival@mcpsmd.org <Leslie_E_TurnerPercival@mcpsmd.org>; sami_saeed@mcpsmd.org <sami_saeed@mcpsmd.org>

Subject: Did Seth Adams tell the BOE that a Cell Tower Application was REJECTED because Adams and McKnight CANNOT sign for the BOE?

 

To the members of the Montgomery County Board of Education:

At your July 20, 2023, Board of Education meeting you will once again be told that a Telecommunications Lease Agreement is being presented to you as a courtesy.

THAT IS A LIE.

Agenda Item 9.16 for the Woodwards Road Elementary School site MUST be voted on by the Board of Education.  

Policy ECN DOES NOT give Superintendent McKnight or Seth Adams the power to sign away property rights.  A lease signs away rights in a property.  

The Board of Education is the LAND OWNER and only the LAND OWNER can sign away property rights.  

You have the power to vote to give away property rights or to retain property rights.  It is YOUR CHOICE.  

Do you want to keep giving away school land to private companies? Approve the lease.  

Do you want public school land preserved for public school students? Don't approve the lease. Your choice.

How do we know this?  

What happened to the cell tower on the Woodward High School site?  It's gone! Do you know why?  

The Woodward High School cell tower was removed because YOU did not authorize a new cell tower to be constructed on that property.  

On September 15, 2022, the Hearing Examiner in case CU 22-09 in the OFFICE OF ZONING AND ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS for MONTGOMERY COUNTY determined that the Application for a new cell tower at the Woodward High School site was INCOMPLETE because it was not signed by the LAND OWNER.  The land owner is you, the Board of Education.

[MCPS Office of Facilities Management] Seth Adams was present at that hearing and heard the determination of the Hearing Examiner.  He could not sign in your place.  Because you did not authorize that Application, the Application was withdrawn and the matter closed.

Again, the Hearing Examiner determined that SETH ADAMS COULD NOT SIGN FOR THE BOARD OF EDUCATION.  The Hearing Examiner ruled that there was NO DELEGATION to Seth Adams to sign on behalf of the Board of Education. The Application was deemed incomplete because it was not signed by the LAND OWNER.  

This is not the first time a cell tower application has been withdrawn because the Board of Education (the land owner) did not authorize the project, but it is the most recent time this has happened.

The September 15, 2022, ORDER in CU 22-09 from the OFFICE OF ZONING AND ADMINSTRATIVE HEARINGS for MONTGOMERY COUNTY is attached to this email.  Read it for yourself. 

Today, it's up to you.  

Do you want to keep building cell towers or are you going to focus on using school land for public school children? 

Janis Zink Sartucci

Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, MD

Formed in 2002, the Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland seeks to achieve the goals of coherent, content-rich curriculum standards; high expectations combined with timely remediation and acceleration; a wider range of educational options for parents and children; greater transparency and accountability; and meaningful community input.

CU 22-09 Order Requiring Am... by Parents' Coalition of Montg...

Gaithersburg High School Opened in 2013. The auditorium has already fallen into a state of disrepair and closed to community use.

From October 2022 ICM Minutes:  

...Gaithersburg High School’s Auditorium seems to be in a concerning state of disrepair. The video projection system has been out of service for more than a year. At this time, CUPF has closed the auditorium for community use, has begun rescheduling current permit holders elsewhere when possible, and will no longer issue permits for this facility until repairs are made....

FINAL_Item 2_0_ICB Minutes_102622.pdf (montgomerycountymd.gov)

~~~~

Gaithersburg High School opened in 2013. 

Update: @mcps Seth Adams Blames Parents for MCPS Poor Planning. Einstein HS will lose Tennis Courts. @mcps Seth Adams to Punish Students for His Poor Planning.

Portable Classrooms Placed at Einstein High School Tennis Court

Albert Einstein High School in Kensington is losing one of its tennis courts to make way for portable classrooms, and athletes there are not happy.

The portable trailers are needed due to over enrollment at the school, explained Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) spokesperson Jessica Baxter...

Portable Classrooms Placed at Einstein High School Tennis Court - Montgomery Community Media (mymcmedia.org)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Let's remember who is behind all of these decisions. The Board of Education delegated all of their authority so they can hide and deny knowledge of decisions like these.  

From MCPS Staff Directory:

**Breaking: 5/11/23 Board of Education to Unanimously Support Using Dedicated School Land in Gaithersburg for Cell Towers Instead of School***

At the May 11, 2023, Montgomery County Board of Education meeting the Board of Education will unanimously vote to give away more school land to a private, for-profit corporation.

Why not? Schools aren't needed, correct?  Public school land should be just given away for free to private for-profit corporations, correct?  Meanwhile Montgomery County residents should have to pay more in taxes to support the public schools.  

Here's the Board of Education resolution that is on the Board's Consent (no discussion) Agenda for Thursday, May 11, 2023. 

The Board of Education will be giving away 36 square feet of dedicated, public school land for free. 

This will add to the already large cell tower compound at this school site. Click here for the Google Earth view of the cell tower compound that the Board of Education wants instead of a school. 

The cell tower compound at this school site is so large at this site that the land can no longer be used for a public school. 

The Resolution says: 

On November 5, 2021, DISH Wireless LLC received site development approval from the City of Gaithersburg to place antenna and ground equipment at the existing telecommunications site at the Woodwards Road future school site...

But no such approval exists in the City of Gaithersburg permitting records.  Why not just make up approval?  Who cares? 

Here's a corrected version of the Board of Education Resolution:

Cell Tower REMOVED from Woodward High School site! Woodward HS site is now Cell Tower Free!

Montgomery County Public Schools Director of Facilities Seth P. Adams tried to have the cell tower at the Woodward High School site moved to the bleachers for the new school, but he failed.  

The cell tower at the Woodwards High School site was placed on the site in 2002 by former Superintendent Jerry Weast without any Board of Education notice or approval.

In the summer of 2022, MCPS Director of Facilities Seth P. Adams attempted to have a new cell tower built on the site without any Board of Education authorization.  That attempt failed and the application for a new cell tower at the site was denied.  

The original 2002 cell tower is in the path of the new construction and was removed on April 13, 2023.  

IT'S GONE!

Does MCPS General Counsel Review Resolutions Sent to the Board of Education? A Glaring Error in a Resolve for 4/20/23 Board of Education vote.

 To:  MCPS General Counsel Stephanie Williams

Re:  Board of Education Agenda Item 11.11 on April 20, 2023

On the Board of Education's April 20^th Agenda Item 11.11 Delegation of Authority to Execute Permanent Easements, Utility Easements, Rights-of-Way, Rights-of-Entry, Memoranda of Understanding for Land-Related Issues, and Land-Related Agreements of a Routine Nature contains a glaring error. 

In the whereas paragraph listing Board of Education authority and control. The paragraph states:

WHEREAS, The Board of Education has authority and control over the granting of ...not including telecommunication-related items, 

But the Board of Education does have authority and control over matters relating to telecommunications items on Board of Education land.  

It appears that the 11.11 Memorandum was never reviewed by the MCPS General Counsel's office.  The reference initials at the end of the Memorandum do not show review by anyone from the General Counsel's office.   

The Resolve of this Memorandum is exactly the same as was proposed in August of 2022.  The August 2022 Resolution was removed from the Agenda without discussion.  Changes have been made to the Memorandum and the Whereas paragraphs, but not to the actual Resolve that the Board of Education will be voting on.  

The actual Resolve allows the delegation of controversial, fee simple land issues to MCPS staff.  In the 2014 Resolution that was passed by the Board of Education, land issues that were controversial or involved fee simple land transactions were not permitted to be delegated to the superintendent or staff.  Agenda item 11.11 would rescind that prior Resolution. 

To make the glaring mistake clear, here is the whereas paragraph written as a list delineated by each of the commas in the paragraph.

WHEREAS, The Board of Education has authority and control over the granting of 

permanent easements, 

utility easements, 

rights-of-way, 

rights-of-entry, 

memoranda of understanding for land-related, 

not including telecommunication-related items, 

issues, 

and other land-related agreements that encumber or impair Board of Education-owned property; and  

We request that Board of Education Agenda Item 11.11 be removed from the Agenda pending review by the MCPS General Counsel office. 

Thank you for your prompt attention to this urgent matter. 

Janis Zink Sartucci

Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, MD

Once Again, Superintendent McKnight will Try to Get @mocoboe to Hand Over Land Use Decisions to @mcps Staff. [An attempt in August 2022 failed.]

The Montgomery County Board of Education and Superintendent Monifa McKnight want to get the public out of decisions about Public School Land.  

On Thursday April 20, 2023, the Board of Education's Consent Agenda will include a vote to remove public input from some Public School Land decisions.

  

They tried to do this in August of 2022, but the resolution was pulled from the Agenda after a public outcry. 

Placement of an item on the Consent Agenda means that the item being voted on won't even be discussed.  It is assumed that the item is so trivial that Board of Education members will unanimously approve it without discussion. 

This Agenda item will hand over all these Public School Land Use decisions to the Superintendent and she can then hand those decisions over to Seth Adams, Director of Facilities Management, so that he can make the decisions without public notice, without public input and without oversight.  Seth Adams will be able to make these land use decisions even if they are of a controversial nature.  

What decisions might be included in this broad delegation of authority to the superintendent?  Moving bus depots, moving bus parking, cell tower compounds, removing trees/forests etc...? 

How might local Public School Land be changed by these decisions that will now be made by one MCPS employee alone behind closed doors? If the Board of Education approves this Resolution, those questions will be for the Superintendent and Seth Adams to know and the public to never find out.  

6.10 Delegation of Authority to Execute Permanent Easements, Utility Easements, Rights-of-Way, Rights-of-Entry, Memoranda of Understanding for Land-Related Issues, and Land-Related Agreements of a Routine Nature 

Tell the Montgomery County Board of Education Not to Eliminate Transparency in Land Use Decisions @mocoboe

ACTION ALERT CLICK HERE 

The Montgomery County Board of Education is voting this Tuesday on a resolution that will hide controversial approvals like school cell towers and massive bus depots by delegating land use decision-making to a civil servant.

This action will remove the public scrutiny of the Board of Education having to vote on this issue.

If this resolution is approved on Tuesday, land use decisions, such as whether to install cell towers on MCPS property, will be made behind closed doors without public notice, public input, or a public vote of the Board of Education.

TAKE ACTION NOW

1. Send a Letter Now! CLICK HERE to tell the Board of Education to move the Delegation of Authority resolution out of the consent agenda. This item should have 30 days for public input and be left to the incoming Board. Send a Letter Now.

2. Contact the Board of Education TODAY

BOE Telephone: 240-740-3030

BOE Fax: 301-279-3860

Email Yourself: Brenda_Wolff@mcpsmd.org, Karla_Silvestre@mcpsmd.org, Shebra_L_Evans@mcpsmd.org, Rebecca_K_Smondrowski@mcpsmd.org, Lynne_Harris@mcpsmd.org, Scott_H_Joftus@mcpsmd.org, Arvin_kim@mcpsmd.org, Judy_Docca@mcpsmd.org, BOE@mcpsmd.org