‘Hate-based’ graffiti found at Montgomery Co. school

Police in Montgomery County are investigating who posted “hate-based vandalism” on the Wilson Wims Elementary School in Clarksburg, Maryland.

A school employee discovered “racially-themed words” were spray-painted into a sidewalk near the side of the school on Thursday, June 18, according to a Montgomery County Department of Police statement...

https://wtop.com/montgomery-county/2020/06/hate-based-graffiti-found-at-montgomery-co-school/

MoCo Judge Lets MCPS Aide out on $3,150 bond on Sexual Abuse of Child Charge, Aide Disappears. Is Aide Working with Children Some Place Else?

NEW: A warrant has been issued for former MCPS paraeducator Hector Toro.

Last year, MoCo Police arrested the 59yo for allegedly making kids search for candy in his pant pockets.

The court set bond, Toro paid $3,150 and was released from jail. He has been missing ever since... pic.twitter.com/My6Qu8fWIs

— Kevin Lewis (@ABC7Kevin) January 24, 2019

8 Schools: Former Montgomery County school aide charged with abuse of 7-year-old

Police have accused a former school aide in Maryland of sexually abusing a female student who as a second-grader allegedly searched for candy in the aide’s pants pocket and touched his genitals.

Hector Hermes Lagos Toro, 58, was arrested and charged with sexual abuse of a minor and a third degree-sex offense for the alleged conduct at Stedwick Elementary School — the latest in a line of onetime Montgomery County school system employees accused of inappropriate contact with students.

Toro, who worked for the Montgomery County school system for more than a decade as a classroom aide and lunch-hour assistant, left the system in 2012 and is a longtime Spanish-language teacher at extracurricular foreign language programs across the county...

...Most recently, Toro worked as a Spanish-language instructor for before- and after-school foreign language programs run out of county elementary schools — one called FLES and the other, Foreign Language for Kids.

Since 2000, he worked with the FLES program operated by Big Learning, which was created by Montgomery’s countywide council of PTAs. This school year, he taught with FLES at Potomac Elementary and at Thurgood Marshall Elementary and Whetstone Elementary, both in Gaithersburg.

Since 2015, he also worked for Foreign Language for Kids, an educational company in Potomac, through which he taught at schools including Wilson Wims Elementary in Clarksburg, Carderock Springs Elementary in Bethesda and Seven Locks Elementary in Potomac.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/former-montgomery-county-school-aide-charged-with-abuse-of-7-year-old/2018/04/03/e41cc566-36cb-11e8-8fd2-49fe3c675a89_story.html?utm_term=.6ed2bf861512

MCCPTA, Wison Wims ES, Stedwick ES, South Lake ES: Germantown Man Allegedly Sexually Abused Student When Working as MCPS Paraeducator

...MCPS hired Toro in 2001 and he worked at Stedwick Elementary from 2001 to 2012, according to Kimball. He also worked at a summer school program at South Lake Elementary School in Montgomery Village from 2001 to 2006.

Kimball wrote Toro currently works for an extracurricular after-school language program not run by MCPS, but contracted through parent-teacher associations. In that role, he worked with children at Wilson Wims Elementary School in Clarksburg. Kimball wrote MCPS is looking into whether he worked at any other schools through the extracurricular program, which she didn’t name...

Germantown Man Allegedly Sexually Abused Student When Working as MCPS Paraeducator: Faces sex offense charges in connection with incident at Stedwick Elementary School

Arrest of former MCPS aide: Toro, in his role as a paraeducator, allowing a 7-year-old female elementary school student to reach into his pants pocket to look for candy.

Former Montgomery County Public Schools Employee Charged with Sexual Offense

Posted on 04/02/2018

Detectives with the Special Victims Investigations Division (SVID) have charged Hector Hermes Lagos Toro, age 58, of Locustdale Drive in Germantown, with sexual abuse of a minor and a third degree sex offense.  The charges stem from an incident that occurred in the 2010 – 2011 school year and involve Toro, in his role as a paraeducator, allowing a 7-year-old female elementary school student to reach into his pants pocket to look for candy.

In March 2018, the victim, (who is now 15), came forward to police and reported the abuse.  The victim stated that on a date in the 2010-2011 school year, Toro was monitoring second grade indoor recess as part of his role as an instructional assistant at Stedwick Elementary School.  The victim stated that Toro allowed her to reach into his pockets and manipulate his private area as she searched for candy.

During an interview with detectives, Toro confirmed that children at the school frequently placed their hands in his pockets in search of treats.

Toro was arrested on the strength of a criminal warrant on Friday, March 30, and was transported to the Central Processing Unit.  He was released on bond.

Detectives are requesting that parents of juveniles who may have had contact with Hector Hermes Lagos Toro to talk to their children about any interaction with him and contact SVID detectives at 240-773-5400 if they believe their child was victimized.

http://www.mymcpnews.com/2018/04/02/former-montgomery-county-public-schools-employee-charged-with-sexual-offense/

Surprise! BOE Finds $1.8 Million, Transfers it to BCC Middle School #2 Project #nootherpriorities?

Do you love surprises?  Well here in Montgomery County we do! Check this out.  The Board of Education just found $1,800,000 dollars in a drawer!  

As there is no priority list for Capital projects, no projects that need Capital Budget funding, no emergency Capital repairs, the Board of Education can spend the money anywhere, anytime, right?

Who knew there was a surplus of $1.8 million sitting around in the Capital Budget?  

Here's the message from parents monitoring the BCC Middle School #2 construction project:  
 

[The Board of Education is] Proposing to CIP TRANSFER $1.8M from the Clarksburg Cluster Elementary School Project "unliquidated surplus account" to build the SHELL of the [BCC Middle School #2] addition to "provide for the future expansion of 12 additional classrooms; bus canopy; brick veneer and ornamental railing for the site retaining walls; and other alternates."  They are classifying the retaining wall brick veneer and railings as "alternates," meaning that they only intended to build concrete walls from the start.  They MIS-LED THE COMMUNITY, because the original plan submitted in the Mandatory Referral stated that the walls would be brick with capstone and iron railing on top, AND that there would be a bus canopy. Now the budget submission to the BOE states this was an "ALTERNATE" plan, along with other items!!  It does not mention what other items are "alternate" that we are not aware of.  This is just another example of how the community has been MIS-LED and LIED TO!!!!!

 

   FY16 Cap Bgt FY15-20 CIP Transfer by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland