On Friday, Watkins, 56, entered a guilty plea to a charge of misconduct in office linked to his failure to — according to prosecutors — “properly manage the contract for the purchases of school buses and the use of purchasing cards” in his department. The charge is a misdemeanor and carries a penalty that ranges from probation to six months in jail...
Former Montgomery Co. School department head pleads guilty to misconduct in office - WTOP News
...Watkins arranged an “off-the-books” system with the bus company, and the vendor kept a record of money owed to the school system. The company deducted those owed amounts from its payments from the school system; Watkins received about $13,000 from those payments. The former director provided documentation of those payments and is not charged with theft...
A pre-indictment plea is set for Friday at 11 a.m.
According to court records, his alleged offense dates back to 2016.
Former MCPS Assistant Director of Transportation Charles Ewald pleaded guilty May 18 to a theft scheme involving more than $100,000 and misconduct in office. He will be sentenced Sept. 6 in Montgomery County Circuit Court.
Ewald, along with Watkins, have been under investigation for using almost $600,000 of MCPS funds for their personal use...
Case Information |
| Court System: | Circuit Court For Montgomery County - Criminal |
| Location: | Montgomery Circuit Court |
| Case Number: | C-15-CR-23-000712 |
| Title: | State of Maryland vs. TODD MICHAEL WATKINS |
| Case Type: | Criminal - Information |
| Filing Date: | 06/23/2023 |
| Case Status: | Open |
| Tracking Number(s): | 237015000622 |
Defendant Information |
| Name: | WATKINS, TODD MICHAEL |
| Race: | WhiteSex:MaleHeight:0'0"Weight:0 |
| HairColor: | EyeColor: |
| DOB: | 12/13/1966 |
| Address: | 3750 HORINE ROAD |
| City: | JEFFERSONState:MDZip Code:21755 |
Attorney(s) for the Defendant |
| Name: | MCGANN, TERRENCE MICHAEL |
| Appearance Date: | 06/23/2023 |
| Address Line 1: | 51 Monroe Street |
| Address Line 2: | Suite 803 |
| City: | RockvilleState:MDZip Code:20850 |
Involved Parties Information |
| Name: | State of Maryland |
Attorney(s) for the Plaintiff |
| Name: | ROSLUND, BRYAN |
| Appearance Date: | 06/23/2023 |
| Address Line 1: | Assistant Stae's Attorney For Montgomery County |
| Address Line 2: | 50 Maryland Avenue |
| City: | RockvilleState:MDZip Code:20850 |
| Name: | State's Attorney - Montgomery County |
| Appearance Date: | 06/23/2023 |
| Address Line 1: | 50 Maryland Avenue |
| Address Line 2: | 5th Floor, North Tower |
| City: | ROCKVILLEState:MDZip Code:20850 |
Court Scheduling Information |
| Event Type | Event Date | Event Time | Judge | Court Location | Court Room | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hearing - Pre-Indictment Plea | 06/30/2023 | 11:00:00 | McAuliffe, Michael | Chambers Calendar | Courtroom 9D - North Tower |
Charge and Disposition Information |
| Charge No: | 1CJIS Code:2-0645Statute Code:CL |
| Charge Description: | MISCONDUCT IN OFFICECharge Class:Misdemeanor |
| Probable Cause: |
| Offense Date From: | 07/01/2016To: |
| Agency Name: | Officer ID: |
Document Information |
| File Date: | 06/23/2023 |
| Filed By: | |
| Document Name: | Criminal Information |
| File Date: | 06/23/2023 |
| Filed By: | |
| Document Name: | Attorney Appearance for State |
| File Date: | 06/23/2023 |
| Filed By: | |
| Document Name: | Plea/Sentence Agreement |
| File Date: | 06/23/2023 |
| Filed By: | |
| Document Name: | Consent Order |
| File Date: | 06/23/2023 |
| Filed By: | |
| Document Name: | Summons Issued (Service Event) |
Service Information |
Below is the MCPS web page announcing the beginning of free summer meals.
The image clearly shows £ for the prices of the items in the cafeteria. Clicking on the image shows that the name of the image is schools-meals-getty. A quick look in Getty Images shows another angle of the same image with the caption:
Having. A Light Snack - stock photo
An aerial view of two high school students with snacks for lunch out their trains in the school cafeteria in the school they go to in the North East of England. On display in the chiller fridge is lots of fruit and healthy options for lunch.
This internal MCPS memo sent to principals was leaked to parents and teachers in March of 2023.
The crowd was filled largely with Muslim and Ethiopian Orthodox parents, who say the school system is violating their religious rights protected under the First Amendment by not providing an opt-out. Three families have filed a lawsuit against the school system...
Hundreds of Md. parents protest lessons they say offend their faiths (msn.com)
Today the Montgomery County Board of Education put out a Tweet through the @mcps Twitter account that said that attendance at their Tuesday, June 27, 2023, meeting will be restricted to "scheduled speakers and invited attendees."
Do you wonder if that restriction on the public's ability to attend this open meeting of a public body might violate the Maryland Open Meetings Act?
Here's the Maryland Open Meetings Compliance Board Opinion that explains why restricting attendance at a meeting of a public body by the reservation of seats for those selected is a violation of the Maryland Open Meetings Act.
7omcb049.pdf (marylandattorneygeneral.gov)
...we find that the exclusion of members of the public on May 21 based on the reservation of seats for those individuals selected by the County violated the Act...
...“However, the newspaper’s concern is that the meeting was conducted purposefully to limit public participation.” The location limited the number of people who could attend and a few members of the public who were not invited were turned away. The newspaper’s concern is that allowing attendance by invitation only, “it suggests a deliberate effort to stifle the dialogue and public participation in the government process.”
Ms. Brewer also focused on the May 21 session. She attempted to attend the meeting held at the College of Southern Maryland, but was blocked at the door and was told that the meeting was by invitation only. She was told that unless her name was on the list, she could not attend due to limited seating capacity. She was also told that the meeting would be taped and broadcasted on the local cable channel. The complaint pointed out that the county government building has an auditorium which is used for Commissioner meetings and public hearings. Ms. Brewer estimated the auditorium seats close to 200 people. In the complainant’s view, “this meeting was, intentionally, held at a smaller venue to limit attendance and offer exclusivity of attendees.”..
The Maryland Family Network, which has managed grant programs that serve child care centers since 1989, was notified Tuesday that the department would distribute funding directly to the centers beginning in July, bypassing the nonprofit. The announcement shocked Maryland Family Network officials, who worried child care providers could lose out on crucial funding and face staff furloughs if they had to navigate an unfamiliar application process on short notice. The nonprofit slammed the sudden shift in a letter delivered Wednesday to the state’s top leadership...
PCBs, which stands for polychlorinated biphenyls, were manufactured by the chemical giant Monsanto. They were widely used as reliably sturdy sealants in building materials from the 1930s through the 1970s, until the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency banned their manufacture in 1979.
Researchers have estimated that thousands of school buildings nationwide still contain these chemicals, which can cause a wide range of short- and long-term health issues if they become airborne, as Education Week extensively reported last year...
Vermont Is First State to Sue Monsanto Over PCBs in Schools (edweek.org)
LEESBURG, Va. — A longtime Loudoun County Public Schools employee charged with perjury was found not guilty on Thursday, just a couple hours after the case went to the jury.
Wayde Byard, dubbed “the face of LCPS” by his attorney, was indicted after he testified last year that he was unaware of a sexual assault allegation at Stone Bridge High School in May 2021 until months after the second incident at a different school by the same perpetrator...
Jury deliberating in perjury trial against LCPS spokesperson | wusa9.com
To combat antisemitism, Education Department to propose rules on shared ancestry bias
The move follows White House calls to counter harassment and discrimination, as well as data showing a rise in hate crimes.
In Higher Ed Dive, reporter Kara Arundel. To read the full story go here.
The U.S. Department of Education plans to propose amending regulations that address the enforcement of K-12 and college cases involving harassment or discrimination based on shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics, according to a regulatory announcement.
The proposed rulemaking for Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which comes amid an increase in school-based antisemitic incidents, is expected to be released in December.
In its announcement, the Education Department said the proposed rule would align with the Biden administration’s initiatives on combating antisemitism and advancing racial equity and support for underserved communities. Additionally, the department noted that its Office for Civil Rights has received complaints of harassment and assault directed at Jewish, Muslim, Hindu and other students based on their shared ancestry or ethnicity.
ELKRIDGE, Md. (WBFF) — Parents in a Howard County neighborhood are outraged after learning their young children are losing their school bus, forcing students as young as kindergarten to walk more than a mile to school...
https://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2023/06/20/baltimore-catholic-church-priest-abuse-contd-orig-aw.cnn
Wayde Byard is charged with felony perjury for allegedly lying under oath about when he knew a 14-year-old female student was sexually assaulted by a classmate in May 2021.
The same perpetrator transferred to Broad Run High School later in the year where he sexually assaulted another girl. The teen was later convicted in juvenile court.
The controversy over how the school district handled the cases catapulted Loudoun County into the national spotlight. Gov. Glenn Youngkin, R-Virginia, used it as a campaign platform and launched an executive order as soon as he was sworn into office to investigate LCPS.
During the special grand jury, which lasted for months and involved 40 witnesses, Byard said he was unaware of allegations of sexual assaults months after the second incident.
The Commonwealth accused Byard of making a false statement, arguing the principal of Stone Bridge High School, where the first incident took place, informed him of the allegations.
The prosecution said Principal Tim Flynn called Byard to tell him “everything” including that the female student made allegations she was raped in a school bathroom. Flynn said he called Byard to figure out what kind of statement to release to the school community after the victim’s father, Scott Smith, caused an explosive scene on campus.
In the phone call, prosecutor Theo Stamps said Flynn told Byard, “This is bad.”..
Loudoun County principal takes stand in perjury trial | wusa9.com
Montgomery County Public Schools Superintendent Monifa McKnight will craft the plan that would institute the requirement beginning in the 2024-25 school year, or for the graduating class of 2028. The Board of Education will then vote on whether to move forward with that plan, which would officially determine whether a finance course would become a graduation requirement...
Concerned about global warming? That's not a concern here in Montgomery County, Maryland.
The Montgomery County Board of Education and the Montgomery County Council have finalized their plan to put down a massive sheet of plastic on the playing field at the new high school under construction on Old Georgetown Road. The Board of Education and the Montgomery County Council have made a choice to cover the ground with plastic and create a heat island.
You can see the size of the giant sheet of plastic in this image from the Mandatory Referral documents filed with the Montgomery County Planning Board.
The big purple oval shown in the image below is the massive sheet of plastic that will be installed at the Woodward High School construction site.
The green areas on this image are the parts of the site that will be grass and dirt.
