Friedson will not support oath for MCPS officials at hearing

Montgomery County Council President Andrew Friedson (D-Dist. 1) is not supporting a call brought forward by two councilmembers to have Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) officials testify under oath at a joint session on Thursday.

A Jan. 23 report from the county’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) will be the topic of discussion during the joint session between the Education and Culture Committee and the Audit Committee on Thursday. The report found that MCPS had failed to address failures in its investigative processes despite being advised four times that the system was in disarray. The issue came up during an investigation of sexual harassment allegations against former Farquhar Middle School principal Joel Beidleman.

“Putting people under oath, in certain circumstances will somehow suggest that at other times we don’t expect people to be forthright or truthful, which is not a circumstance that we’re comfortable with,” Friedson told MoCo360 on Friday...

https://moco360.media/2024/02/06/friedson-will-not-support-oath-for-mcps-officials-at-hearing/#:~:text=“Putting people under oath%2C in,Friedson told MoCo360 on Friday

Day #1: New Councilmember Exposes Council's Dirty Little Secret: Votes taken behind closed doors through "polling."

Today was the first day of the new Montgomery County Council session. It was the first day of the new 11 member County Council and the first day for 6 new councilmembers, including Councilmember Kristin Mink. 

In opening remarks, Councilmember Kristin Mink said,

"I want to speak about something which I think we are all in agreement - and I think it is important to name.  After the election when I became privy to more of the Council's inner workings, I was surprised to learn that there are some processes which pre-date our current Council and current outgoing Council leadership that can in some instances remove some debate and decision-making from the public eye...

...I'm speaking about polls taken in various manners, that could be treated with the same finality as a vote on the dais, without as much public debate or oversight..."