Does Starr Really Support Fighting Parents of Disabled Children?

Twitter screen showing that Superintendent Starr retweeted
a tweet from @nawlins.  Starr's picture is on far right side
at bottom of screen shot.

Twitter seems to be one way to find out what Superintendent Joshua Starr ("Josh") likes and doesn't like.

Yesterday, I saw that Josh (aka @mcpssuper) had re-tweeted a quote from one of the current Board of Education candidates, Jeanne Ellinport (aka @nawlins)

The quote? "What you permit is what you promote."

So, since Josh arrived at MCPS last July, what has he permitted? And by extension, what is he "promoting?"

Well, it seems that Josh is promoting the "scorched earth" litigation policy begun by his predecessor, Jerry Weast. This unwritten policy from the central office at 850 Hungerford Drive is to fight parents of children with disabilities when the parents request more or different services for their child.

Let's look at how much money MCPS has spent on special education litigation since Josh arrived in town. This money doesn't include the so-called office of Equity Assurance, or the existing Legal Services unit (which just hired a new lawyer, by the way). No, the money reflected in the MCPS legal fees report only represents money spent on outside counsel. (Wonder if Josh has asked why we need to spend money on high priced outside counsel when we already have in-house lawyers...but that's a post for another day.)

November 8, 2011 BOE meeting:
Special education legal fees for outside counsel for August 2011 totaled $9,994. 
The year-to-date total of $57,398 is $10,459 (15 percent) lower than the same period in the previous fiscal year.
The Jeffrey A. Krew bill for August 2011 totaled $7,180. The bill included work on five cases, two
of which involved administrative hearings ($2,947), two of which involved an appeal to federal court
($3,233), and one of which involved an Individualized Education Program ($1,000).
The Carney Kelehan bill for August 2011 totaled $2,814 and involved work on two Individualized
Education Programs


December 6, 2011 BOE meeting:
Special education outside counsel bill for September 2011 was $20,581 = four cases.


January 10, 2012 BOE meeting:
Special Education Legal Expenses
Special education legal fees for outside counsel for October 2011 totaled $75,533. The year-to-date total of $153,512 is $8,162 (6 percent) higher than the same period in the previous fiscal year.


The Jeffrey A. Krew bill for October 2011 totaled $73,563. The bill included work on nine cases, six of which involved administrative hearings ($71,239) and three of which involved an appeal to federal court ($2,057). In addition there were legal service fees of $267.
The Carney Kelehan bill for October 2011 totaled $1,970 and involved work on one Individualized Education Program.

So, Josh: what you permit is what you promote? Looks like you're promoting fighting families instead of working with them. And I'm not interested in a letter from one of your henchmen trying to explain this away. Let's hear exactly what you have to say about this, and why you think spending this kind of money is in children and taxpayers' interests, at the special ed forum coming up at Seneca Valley HS on Monday, April 16.

Baltimore Sun on MD State Board Vote on GT education

Don't leave gifted students behind - Baltimore Sun

...Out of 34 countries, the U.S. ranked 14th in reading, 17th in science and 25th in mathematics. And between 1995 and 2008, American college graduation rates slipped from second in the world to 13th...

Montgomery legislators, officials scuffle over transparency

From the Washington Post. Now even the Post can't get their MPIA'd documents from Montgomery County government. How's that for transparency?

By Victor Zapana, Posted at 05:59 PM ET, 02/02/2012 To read the full article, go here.

It was supposed to be a mundane Thursday meeting, an update on how the Montgomery County government audits itself. But by the time it ended, County Council members butted heads with the executive branch over how transparent it is.

On Thursday, council members met to discuss reports from two county auditing agencies — the inspector general’s office, which serves the County Council, and the Office of Internal Audit, which serves County Executive Isiah Leggett (D).

and

The construction funding report, which the county did provide to The Post, said that county officials investigated how $27 million dollars of county construction funding was used and that they could not properly account for nearly 30 percent of it.

County officials did not mention that finding. Instead, they disclosed another finding of the report — that there were good internal controls in place to monitor construction funding.

So, let's get this straight: There are good internal controls to monitor the construction funding. Thirty percent of construction funding cannot be accounted for. This implies that county officials knew about the missing 30 percent of our tax dollars, and it was fine with them. Have I got that right? Business as usual in Montgomery County.

Council "Streamlines" Public out of the Development Process

Welcome to the new transparent Montgomery County! Here is the latest from your elected officials: they plan to "streamline" the development and permitting process to make it more "user friendly."

And what's the best way to do that? Hold forums in the middle of the day so working men and women can't attend!

Here is the text, below. Here is the link where you can see the text illustrated with a lovely photo provided by -- wait for it -- developer JBG. Just so it isn't clear already who is running the show here in Montgomery County.

The Streamlining Development initiative is a collaborative multi-agency effort to analyze the entitlement process from project conception to occupancy and identify where within government and quasi-government authorities there are bottlenecks, duplication of reviews, inconsistent positions and process inefficiencies. The objective is to streamline the approval process so that it is more user-friendly, understandable, reliable, consistent and efficient without compromising public participation, quality of development, environmental protection or public safety.

The information acquired during the forums will be used by work groups to investigate expressed problems and recommend solutions.

Representatives from the following agencies will be present to listen to your comments regarding the development process. Written comments can be posted through March 31, 2012 on the Streamlining Development website at http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/permittingservices/
DPS/streamlinedevelopment/StreamliningDevelopment.aspx

Please register for one of the two public forums by clicking on the links
below.
Board of Appeals
County Council
Department of Permitting
Services
Department of Economic Development
Department of Environmental
Protection
Department of Fire and Rescue Services
Department of Housing
and Community Affairs
Department of Transportation
Maryland National
Capital Park and
Planning Commission
Office of the County
Attorney
Office of Zoning and Administrative Hearings
State Highway
Administration
Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission

Sign language interpreter services or oral language interpreter services can be
provided upon request with at least 5 days advance notice. Alternative formats
of this document are availableupon request as far in advance as possible, but
not less than 5 days prior to the event. If youneed other services or accommodations to participate in this activity, please call Alexia Roundtreeat (240) 777-6280, Voice or (240) 777-6256, TTY. Or you may send a request via email to Alexia.
Roundtree@montgomerycountymd.gov

Streamlining the Development Process
Public Forum
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
2:30pm – 4:30pm
Executive Office Building, 101 Monroe St.
Lobby Auditorium
Rockville, MD 20850

Streamlining the Development Process
Public Forum
Friday, March 9, 2012
1:30pm – 3:30pm
Executive Office Building, 101 Monroe St.
Lobby Auditorium
Rockville, MD 20850

Board & Starr to students: No cash? No class!

Educational extortion continues in MCPS.
The Maryland State Education Association (MSEA) video statement below from a MCPS teacher at Edison High School in Silver Spring says it all.


Curricular fees are alive and well in MCPS under the new superintendent. 
Students will be turned away from classes if they don't come up with the cash for the class.


If you don't pay up, you can't take the class.


The Maryland Constitution guarantees ALL children a free, public education. Curricular fees are illegal in Maryland.
But Montgomery County isn't in Maryland, right?


There has not been a single county or state elected official, Board of Education member, past superintendent (Jerry Weast) or current superintendent (Joshua Starr) that will stand up for the right of ALL Montgomery County children to a free public education.


And so, the practice of denying Montgomery County children access to a free public education if they don't fork over cash for classes continues. 


The charging of illegal curricular fees by Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) has no bearing on funding from the state of Maryland. MCPS has been charging students to attend classes in violation of the Maryland Constitution for years.  


MCPS curricular fees are not authorized by Maryland law, are not accounted for in the MCPS Operating Budget, and are often collected as cash payments without receipts. 


Pay up, or drop the class.  
This is how we close the achievement gap in MCPS! 

MoCo Council MCPS Capital Improvements--Public Hearings

Montgomery County Council Agenda

Council Hearing Room, 100 Maryland Avenue, Rockville, Maryland 20850
(240)777-7900 · TTY (240)777-7914 · FAX (240)777-7989
www.montgomerycountymd.gov/council

FUTURE PUBLIC HEARINGS
To testify call 240-777-7803

Feb 7, 2012
1:30 pm Supplemental appropriations to the M-NCPPC’s FY12 Capital Budget and amendments to the FY11-16 Capital Improvements Program

$1,058,940 for Acquisition: Local Parks

$325,000 for ADA Compliance: Non-Local Parks

7:00 pm FY13 Capital Budget and FY13-18 Capital Improvements Program

Feb 8, 2012
7:00 pm FY13 Capital Budget and FY13-18 Capital Improvements Program –CANCELLED

Feb 9, 2012
7:00 pm FY13 Capital Budget and FY13-18 Capital Improvements Program - MCPS

Feb 14, 2012
1:30 pm Supplemental appropriation to the MCPS’ FY12 Capital Budget and the FY11-16 Capital Improvements Program - $1,339,200 for E-Rate Program for the Technology Modernization project and a transfer for the Relocatable Classrooms project

County Exec. Spokesperson Invokes Mother Theresa

Just a note to the Montgomery County Executive's spokesperson, Patrick Lacefield, the land in question is public SCHOOL land.

It's land for a school. It's a 20 acre dedicated public school site to benefit the educational needs of public school children.

What's up with the current County Executive and the previous County Executive trying to hand this public SCHOOL land over to private entities? Do you think Mother Theresa would want to put a school on this land, or would she want to hand it over to private developers? We look forward to your answer, Mr. Lacefield.

The Sentinel:  Brickyard battle continues

...Williams said that the Brickyard Coalition is opposed to the lack of transparency, the secrecy and the failure to consult our community regarding the best use of the Brickyard public property. “Mr. Lacefield’s Statements are not true,” said Williams. “Potomac has both multiple soccer fields and affordable housing within a mile of the Brickyard site. In fact, an unused soccer field site exists within this same area. Why not build a soccer field on that site?”

Lacefield disagreed that that’s truly what residents of Potomac are against, the process in which the lease was handled. “If the process was different and Mother Theresa was doing a project on that land, they would still oppose it,” said Lacefield. “This is a "Not-In-My-Backyard" from the One-Percenters. I love Potomac. I live there. These folks don't speak for Potomac as a whole.”

MoCo IG Blansett Speaker at Feb Civic Fed Meeting

Hi,

Please join the Montgomery County Civic Federation for our monthly meeting when Montgomery County Inspector General Ed Blansitt will be our speaker. Please pass this along.

Thanks,

Paula Bienenfeld

Education Committee Chair, Montgomery County Civic Federation

Monday, February 13, 2012
7:45 p.m.

County Council Building - 1st Floor Auditorium 100 Maryland Avenue, Rockville

For directions go here.

Program - Office of Inspector General mission and work program

Speaker - Edward L. Blansitt III, Montgomery County Inspector General

Bus fines will be up to $250, but cost to install unknown

PATCH: County Moves Toward Cameras on School Buses

...The bill, introduced by County Councilmember Valerie Ervin, does not specify a cost, fine amount or number of cameras...

Girl Scouts Celebrates 100 Years

Parents’ Coalition was honored to be invited to the celebration of the 100th Anniversary of the founding of the Girl Scouts (and yes, I was a girl scout – and a brownie!). This year, 2012, Girl Scouts celebrates 100 years of encouraging scouting and leadership among girls. As part of the celebration, Girl Scouts commissioned a study, ToGetHerThere: Girls Insights on Leadership, about girls’ perceptions of leadership – some of the findings are surprising. To read the Executive Summary, go here. For more about the kickoff celebration, go here.

The study, commissioned by the Girls Scouts of the USA in partnership with Roper Research, is designed to better understand how girls today view the concept of leadership. The study analyzed data from girls ages 8-17 and aspires to raise awareness on the ways in which girls are engaging, or disengaging, in leadership roles.

Findings include:

59% of girls agree it is easier to be a follower than a leader, and a sizable minority (39%) also say a leader has to speak in front of a group and that they don’t want to.

More than one-third (35%) of girls say they wouldn’t feel comfortable trying to be a leader. A strong minority (38%) are not sure if they are cut out to be a leader.

A majority of girls say they have not been offered the opportunity to visit the workplaces of successful women in their community (60%) or serve on a committee with a successful woman (50%) in the last school year.

Overwhelmingly, girls expressed strong interest in having women leaders reach out to them so that girls can learn from real world successes of adult women.

The study seems to suggest that girls need to be invited to the ‘seats of power’ much more often than is currently the case, whether in business or government. So, if you are reading this post, and do hold such a position – and I know you are out there – please be mindful that inviting a girl into the world of business or government can make a huge difference in the life of that child.

And, Congratulations to Girl Scouts on their Centenary Anniversary.

Primary and Secondary Education Bills

The Maryland General Assembly is currently considering over 30 bills which affect public education.   The bills can be accessed at the following link:

http://mlis.state.md.us/2012rs/filecode/F1.htm

Free = $50

Just so you know, when the MCPS website tells you something is "free" that really means it costs $50.

From MCPS website

The George B. Thomas Saturday School tutoring program is supported by state and local funds. That is, it does receive funding from your tax dollars.  It should be free as is stated on the MCPS website. See the image at the left.

From G.B.Thomas website

But, as you can see from the George B. Thomas Saturday School website, when students apply for this "free" tutoring program they are told to provide a check for $50 or $40.  


Maybe someone can ask the Math Dude to explain why "free" equals $50 in MCPS land. 

Balt. sun publishes Baltimore City school system salaries

Baltimore Sun:  Inside Ed 

Today, The Sun published a database with the salary and overtime for every school system employee--by name and job title--dating back to 2008.  It's part of a series of databases that we will be compiling on public employee pay in the city. So far, we have published the same information for Baltimore City government, and the Baltimore County School System. 

More school districts will join the bunch in the coming months.However, the Baltimore City school system salaries that you see only tell part of the story about how much system employees make--particularly administrators at North Avenue, whose salaries can shift more than school-based personnel. 

I feel compelled to offer a glimpse into a rather tortured journey to transparency in obtaining this information--and why the public still doesn't really know what they're paying the stewards of the city's public education system, and the $1.3 billion budget it takes to run it. The journey began when The Sun requested the school system's salaries--normally, the most basic public information request you can make, and the most readily available--on Nov. 16. 

After blowing the 30-day response deadline outlined by the Maryland Public Information Act--a law--by nearly three weeks, the city school system produced inconsistent, and incomplete data...

Article continues here.

MontCo teacher/coach charged with having sex with student | Washington Examiner

...Montgomery County police said 47-year-old Scott D. Spear was arrested Thursday after investigators received information last week that he had sex with a student at Richard Montgomery High School in Rockville. Police said the girl was on Spear's track team at the school, but the school district says Spear coached boys basketball and the co-ed cross-country team.
Investigators determined that Spear -- who is also a social studies teacher at Julius West Middle School in Rockville -- had sex with a girl he coached in April or May 2011, police said. Spear and the girl contacted each other on their cell phones during school hours, after school and on weekends, and Spear asked if she wanted to meet, police said...

Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://washingtonexaminer.com/local/crime-punishment/2012/02/montco-coach-charged-having-sex-student/2164196#ixzz1lKWmwfVV

-----------------
UPDATE:  Charges dropped due to Maryland law

College Rankings Scam

Thomasson: College rankings aren't always reliable | ScrippsNews

...Suddenly, we find out what we have all suspected for some time: that some citadels of scholarly integrity aren't really. They have been embellishing the records they report to U.S. News & World Report and others who determine the "best" colleges and universities in America. The stakes are high. Making it to the top 50 or even 100 can improve an institution's attractiveness to applicants, and that translates into millions of dollars in tuitions and alumni donations.

The lid on this scam was lifted by Claremont McKenna College in California, the ninth-ranked liberal arts school in the nation. It has acknowledged it got there by falsifying the SAT scores sent to U.S. News, a former weekly news magazine that has become the leading judge of academic excellence. A spokesman for U.S. News was quoted as saying Claremont was the highest-ranked school ever to admit cheating, and a spokesman for Claremont said one official took the blame and has resigned. Are you surprised?...

"...[MCPS] students chose to stand in their seats, hang their hands or heads out the window, jump from seat to seat..."

The Montgomery County Public Schools bus operators who drive for Julius West Middle School faced struggles with their students’ behavior similar to those of most bus drivers across the country. Some students chose to stand in their seats, hang their hands or heads out the window, jump from seat to seat, talk disrespectfully to each other and the driver or eat food on the bus... article continues at link below

Establishing positive behavior on the bus - Article - School Bus Fleet

Kippah-Wearing MCPS Student Told to Prove Religion

Patch:  The principal at Northwood High School told Patch that “students are asked for verification when their religious headwear is not traditional headwear that we are accustomed to seeing.”


Update:  Worldwide coverage

http://www.wtop.com/?nid=46&sid=2734812http://www.theblaze.com/stories/high-school-student-needed-rabbis-note-to-wear-yarmulke-in-school/

http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Mont-Co-Student-138708369.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/maryland-schools-insider/post/montgomery-student-needed-a-rabbis-note-to-wear-yarmulke-to-school/2012/02/03/gIQAg4YKnQ_blog.html 


http://www.jta.org/news/article/2012/02/02/3091478/md-student-asked-to-defend-wearing-kippa 


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/caleb-tanenbaum

http://www.jewishjournal.com/religion/article/md_student_asked_to_defend_wearing_kippah_20120202/

http://www.jspace.com/news/articles/md-student-asked-to-defend-wearing-kippah/7357

http://www.allvoices.com/news/11437213-md-student-asked-to-defend-wearing-kippah

http://www.tlj-news.com/2012/02/01/kippah-wearing-student-told-to-prove-religion/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=kippah-wearing-student-told-to-prove-religion

http://baltimorejewishlife.com/news/news-detail.php?ARTICLE_ID=26697&SECTION_ID=1

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/high-school-student-needed-rabbis-note-to-wear-yarmulke-in-school/

http://findalismonkeyinthemiddle.blogspot.com/2012/02/i-need-to-bring-in-note-from-my-rabbi.html

http://www.stljewishlight.com/news/world/article_3dc066fa-c7f1-52df-96d8-23a79b14ae70.html

Starr ups FY13 budget request to $46,052,899 over FY12

On January 25, 2012, Superintendent Joshua Starr released his latest FY 2013 Operating request.  The detailed memorandum to the Board of Education is below.

• In this memo Superintendent Starr asks for an overall increase of $46,052,899 over the FY 12 MCPS Operating budget 
• Starr states that there will be an increase in State aid of $28.5 million.
• Increase of $93 in per pupil expenditures.
• Alternate governance plans are proposed for Forest Oak Middle School and Neelsville Middle School 
• Additional $221,021 for prekindergarten programs
• $300,000 for a Gallup survey of staff
• $825,000 for professional development for Curriculum 2.0 (aka Pearson/North Star)

Jan 25, 2012 Starr Operating Budget Request

Population changes, growing poverty drive up costs for MontCo | Washington Examiner

Population changes, growing poverty drive up costs for MontCo | Washington Examiner

Starr eliminates non-Pearson standardized test

We might have to start a new series on this blog called "Read it and Grin."


Gazette:  Montgomery eliminating second grade reading/math test

...TerraNova is produced by CTB/McGraw-Hill, an education publishing company. The school system has a contract with Pearson Education, another education publishing company, to help develop a new elementary school curriculum. Tofig said the decision to stop giving TerraNova is not linked to the system’s curriculum deal with Pearson.