Poor ventilation and air quality in California's schools could be impacting students' health and academic performance
Carbon Dioxide: The Invisible Indoor Air Pollutant in California’s Classrooms – NBC Bay Area
Thursday, May 18, 2023
Wednesday, May 17, 2023
@mcps Seth Adams putting classroom trailers on Einstein High School Tennis Courts. This is a consequence of a Board of Education that has checked out.
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Today we see an example of a consequence of the Board of Education delegating their authority.
According to a Tweet from the Albert Einstein High School football team, Seth Adams has made a decision to place classroom trailers on the Einstein High School tennis courts.
If true, obviously that decision wipes out the tennis team or any tennis instruction.
That's of no concern to Seth Adams. He's not an elected official and he's not accountable to anyone. His $172,885 salary is set.
The Board of Education can claim they don't know anything about this decision and ignore complaints from students.
Day 1: Hey @MCPS why are you taking away facilities from our school and community for more portables? Putting portables on tennis courts? Please provide and explanation and cite your evidence as to how this is equitable to our students
— AEHS Football (@AEHSfootball) May 17, 2023
Tuesday, May 16, 2023
MCPS Giving Parking Spaces at Gaithersburg Middle School Over to Public Use. Board of Ed. Approved this on their Consent Agenda. Board Did Not Discuss Security Issue.
MCPS is Piloting Electric Vehicle Charging Stations
...Additional pilot charging stations will be installed at Gaithersburg Middle School and are expected to be operational in July. These stations are available to be used by MCPS staff, students and the general public. Both locations will have Level 2 chargers that can charge a vehicle’s electric battery from empty in 4-10 hours, or a plug-in hybrid battery from empty in 1-2 hours. The cost per kWh is $0.18. There are three ways to pay:..
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Watch the Montgomery County Board of Education agree to give away school parking spaces to the public without discussion of security issues or discussion of any compensation for use of school land.
Vandalism, Police Training Take Over Abandoned MOCO School. Board of Education Allows School to be Vandalized... #RollingwoodElementarySchool
Chevy Chase residents are concerned about vandalism at the old Rollingwood Elementary School after a French international school moved out.
...Neighbors were caught off guard in early February when the Montgomery County Police Department used the vacant school grounds for SWAT training. One resident who was out for a jog saw a police officer point an assault rifle at her during the training session.
Other residents have seen teenagers climbing in and out of broken windows at the old Rollingwood Elementary School, which is owned by Montgomery County Public Schools. Neighbors are worried teens are using the vacant building at 3200 Woodbine Street —adjacent to scenic Beach Drive and parks along Rock Creek — as a gathering place to take drugs and engage in other dangerous activities...
...Another Rollingwood resident, who asked not to be identified, told Patch that "it’s fair to say I am less-than-impressed with MCPS's efforts in communicating with the residents of the nearby blocks about the school overall — security, planned events, future plans, or otherwise."..
..."When walking around the building, it was obvious that all doors are open and unlocked, many windows are now broken, and the inside of the building is trashed," he told his neighbors. "Some windows are even intentionally blacked out with trash bags, suggesting they want to conceal their activities further."..
Vandalism, Police Training Take Over Abandoned MOCO School | Bethesda, MD Patch
Monday, May 15, 2023
Silver Chips: The rise of truancy and chronic absenteeism
The room was slowly filling up as the first-period bell rang. People trickled in, and some pulled out phones while others chatted away about plans for the weekend. There was just one slight problem; the room wasn’t a classroom, portable or band room, but rather one of Blair’s many bathrooms.
If you go to Blair, that probably comes as no surprise. It seems every week or so that the administration tries something new to get students to go to and stay in class. After taking a closer look, this new wave of absenteeism seems to be impacting Blair in unprecedented ways...
The rise of truancy and chronic absenteeism | Silver Chips Online (mbhs.edu)
Sunday, May 14, 2023
Damascus High ‘brooming’ sex assault lawsuit can go to trial, judge rules. [...school officials knew of at least three, earlier sexual assaults inside Montgomery County high school locker rooms...]
The federal litigation stemmed from locker-room sex assaults by junior varsity football players in Maryland
...“Plaintiffs have put forward evidence that a reasonable jury could conclude that reckless or callous indifference occurred here,” U.S. District Judge Peter Messitte said from the bench.
Attorneys for the families say that school officials knew of at least three, earlier sexual assaults inside Montgomery County high school locker rooms, including an alleged 2017 incident among Damascus football players involving a broomstick that has emerged as perhaps the most critical and contentious part of the litigation. The families also say school officials, partly motivated to protect the powerhouse football program, allowed a player to remain on the JV squad despite his history of violence and sexual harassment, and that they left the JV locker room unchecked for an hour every day between the end of classes and the start of practice...
Saturday, May 13, 2023
Baltimore: 11 News learns of 4 finalists for superintendent of Baltimore County schools
...BCPS received 24 applications from 15 states for the superintendent's job. The list has since been whittled down to four people. Sources told 11 News that those being considered include:
- Myriam Yarbrough, a BCPS deputy superintendent who is the only in-house candidate who made the cut.
- Robert Taylor, a former candidate to become Mississippi's state school superintendent and a former high-ranking educator in North Carolina.
- Kenny Rodrequez, superintendent of schools in Grandview, Missouri, since 2016.
- Kentucky Education Commissioner Jason Glass, who has held his role since 2020...
Investigative Reporting: Two more alleged Catholic Church abusers revealed: ‘It still haunts me’
...Authorities redacted names from the report of some alleged abusers and church officials under an order from the courts. That’s frustrated survivors and their advocates, who have been working with reporters to identify the individuals.
The Banner used court and property records along with details from the survivor’s interview to identify the alleged abuser as Michael V. Scriber. Two additional people said they were either abused by or suspected Scriber of abuse, according to the report. The attorney general’s office declined to comment for this article.
In addition, The Banner used church directories that list priests’ job assignments to identify the Rev. Joseph G. Fiorentino as redacted priest No. 148 from the report. Fiorentino served for more than a decade at Our Lady of Pompei in Highlandtown in the 1960s and ’70s. His whereabouts today are unknown to the archdiocese and the attorney general’s office. The Banner was also unable to locate him...
Friday, May 12, 2023
Council Supports School Contracts But Not Entire Funding Request
Montgomery County Councilmembers Friday voiced support for fully funding Montgomery County Public Schools’ employee contracts but appeared unlikely to fully fund the school district’s entire budget request.
Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich requested a 10-cent property tax increase in his proposed $6.8 billion budget for Fiscal Year 2024. That includes a $3.2 billion allocation for MCPS, which is a $288.5 million increase from the previous year.
During an often-times emotional and testy discussion, councilmembers discussed keeping many of the district’s financial requests as high priority but moving two others to a lower category...
***Breaking*** Board of Education Cited for Violating 4 Sections of MD Open Meetings Act: Board of Ed Hid in Closed Session and Did Not Disclose Discussions on Multiple Topics. @mocoboe @mcps
The Maryland Open Meetings Compliance Board has cited the Montgomery County Board of Education for violating the Maryland Open Meetings Act by failing to disclose what they were discussing in a Closed Session.
Violating the Maryland Open Meetings Act is not a sign of an open and transparent public body. It's not the first time they have been cited and it won't be the last as the Board of Education has consistently shown they have no intention of abiding by the Maryland Open Meetings Act.
From the Opinion:
...The Complainants assert that the resolution “contains only uninformative boilerplate language” and therefore violates the Act. We agree that the required disclosures are missing necessary details...
...Here, the Board of Education invoked four exceptions under § 3-305(b) that required disclosures: the personnel matters exception of § 3-305(b)(1), the collective bargaining exception of § 3-305(b)(9), and the legal advice and litigation exceptions of §3- 305(b)(7) and (8).3 Each disclosure is lacking in some respect...
...Merely restating the language of the exception itself was insufficient and a violation of the Act...
The following Maryland Open Meetings Act Opinion was issued in response to a Complaint filed by Janis Zink Sartucci on behalf of the Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, MD.
Wednesday, May 10, 2023
**Breaking: 5/11/23 Board of Education to Unanimously Support Using Dedicated School Land in Gaithersburg for Cell Towers Instead of School***
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:
Council Votes to Raise Recordation Tax to Add Funding for @mcps Construction [And MCPS Personnel Because those Costs are Also Hidden in the Capital Budget]
“The recordation tax premium will increase from its current rate ($2.30 per $500) as follows: recordations between $600,000 and $750,000 will be charged $5.75 per $500; those more than $750,000 to $1 million will be charged $6.33 per $500; and those valued at more than $1 million will be charged $6.90 per $500,” the release continues...
Montgomery County council looks to reduce MCPS funding to lower 10% tax hike (fox5dc.com)
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Here's what's hidden in the MCPS Capital Budget, more personnel!
fy2023_appendix-e_non-operatingbudgetpositions.pdf (montgomeryschoolsmd.org)
Middle School Student Critically Injured While Crossing Street in Germantown
According to police and Councilmember Will Jawando, at 8:53 p.m. a 15-year-old male was crossing Wisteria Drive after Great Seneca Highway, when for reasons still under investigation he was struck by a high school student, who was driving an Acura.
The student suffered life-threatening injuries and was transported to the hospital. The driver remained on the scene.
The student remains in critical condition at Children’s Hospital, according to Jawando...
Montgomery County council looks to reduce MCPS funding to lower 10% tax hike
Lawmakers in Montgomery County are trying to trim back a controversial budget increase by Montgomery County Public Schools that would trigger a 10% property tax hike.
After public reaction and public forums, the Montgomery County Council’s education committee is recommending reducing MCPS’ fund balance by $22.3 million, which would slightly lower the proposed tax hike. Councilmember Will Jawando – who just announced a run for U.S. Senate – is the committee chair. He told FOX 5 that MCPS should tap into its unused funds.
"We voted 3-0 to recommend to reduce by $22.3 million which is equivalent to 1% of the tax increase because of the fund balance. The school system's been carrying a pretty large fund balance of $25 to $35 million," said Jawando...
Montgomery County council looks to reduce MCPS funding to lower 10% tax hike (fox5dc.com)
Monday, May 8, 2023
'Waste of time': Community college transfers derail students
America's high school graduates are often encouraged to start at a community college before getting a bachelor's degree, but the money-saving move rarely works as planned
First came the good news. After taking classes at a community college, Ricki Korba was admitted to California State University, Bakersfield, as a transfer student. But when she logged on to her student account, she got a gut punch: Most of her previous classes wouldn’t count.
The university rejected most of her science classes, she was told, because they were deemed less rigorous than those at Bakersfield — even though some used the same textbooks. Several other courses were rejected because Korba exceeded a cap on how many credits can be transferred.
Now Korba, a chemistry and music major, is retaking classes she already passed once. It will add a year to her studies, plus at least $20,000 in tuition and fees.
“It just feels like a waste of time,” said Korba, 23, of Sonora, California. “I thought I was supposed to be going to a CSU and starting hard classes and doing a bunch of cool labs.”..
'Waste of time': Community college transfers derail students - ABC News (go.com)
Friday, May 5, 2023
A spokeswoman for Montgomery County Public Schools declined to answer questions... ...The case took a year to put together...
The 911 call was bad enough: an unresponsive teenager inside a Maryland townhouse. It was only when police arrived that they understood the full horror of what was happening.
A 17-year-old victim, who weighed 79 pounds and for months couldn’t move on her own, had been living on a makeshift bed in the living room, the windows of the home covered in blankets, officials said Thursday. Inside were the girl’s parents and six other minor children as young as four years old, according to court records...
...Maryland law stipulates that parents or guardians who opt to home-school their kids have to annually verify their home-school program with the local school system or another institution that provides oversight.
The parents are required to submit reviews to the local school system. and school officials can ask for material that proves the student is receiving regular instruction. But the reviews can only be conducted at a time and place mutually agreed on by both the parents and the school system.
Montgomery County Public Schools requires reviews in December or January and May or June of each year, said schools spokeswoman Jessica Baxter, but there is no state requirement that students have to be present for their reviews — only their academic work does. Baxter declined to provide information about whether annual reviews were conducted for the Moore family in the 2020-21 and 2021-22 school years, again citing privacy laws...
Prosecutor alleges Md. parents watched teen daughter ‘slowly die’ - The Washington Post
Thursday, May 4, 2023
MCPS pilots vape detectors in six high schools’ bathrooms
There are three separate detection systems, designed to alert staff via text or email when they identify smoke or vape fumes...
MCPS pilots vape detectors in six high schools’ bathrooms, including RM – The Tide (thermtide.com)
Wednesday, May 3, 2023
TODAY County Council Poised to Take "Straw" Vote Behind Closed Doors to Select Next Planning Board Chair: Restore confidence in the Planning Board with Artie Harris for Planning Board Chair
MoCo Wants A Fresh Start on the Planning Board
The County Council needs to hear from you! Let them know that the only candidate that has hands-on experience with building affordable, mixed-use and market rate housing, who can restore the confidence in the Planning Board both with the public and developers is Artie Harris.
Click here https://epicofmoco.
CLICK HERE: Artie Harris for Planning Board Chair
Dear Council President Glass, Vice President Friedson, Councilmember Albornoz,
Councilmember Balcombe, Councilmember Fani-González, Councilmember Jawando, Councilmember Katz, Councilmember Luedtke, Councilmember Mink, Councilmember Sayles, and Councilmember Stewart:
Artie Harris is the only applicant for Planning Board Chair with the education and experience needed to restore confidence in the Planning Board with the public and developers.
I ask that the Council appoint him as Planning Chair.
His work with Montgomery Housing Partnership (MHP) and his work with The Bozzuto Group give him unique, in-depth, and practical insight into the challenges of and the pressing need for affordable, mixed use, and market rate housing. His familiarity with land use and zoning policies and regulations means he can jump right into regulatory processes.
His hands-on experience with project financing options prepares him to bring a pragmatic and creative perspective to proposed policies and projects. As a LEED-accredited professional, Mr. Harris is also well versed in the environmental and energy impacts of development.
Mr. Harris is known for his integrity, and his respect for colleagues, staff, and residents.
I urge the Council to appoint Mr. Harris as Planning Board Chair.
Sincerely,
What's on the Agenda in MoCo This Week, Artie Harris for Chair (salsalabs.org)
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