Vote to accommodate Muslim holiday could cause earlier start date for MCPS

Retired Principal, Former Student Member Eye County Board of Education Seat - Bethesda Beat - Bethesda, MD

Retired Principal, Former Student Member Eye County Board of Education Seat - Bethesda Beat - Bethesda, MD

Dad at party that led to N. Potomac fatal crash pleads guilty

http://www.wusa9.com/story/news/local/potomac/2015/12/10/montgomery-county-dad-pleads-guilty-/77087164/

New BOE Meeting

We are so lucky.

The Board of Education announced a new meeting for Monday, December 14 just to discuss the MCPS calendar!

The agenda is posted early.  Way to go, BOE.

But - no public comment?  How are all the good folks of Montgomery County Maryland going to provide public input?

Seems as if, once again, the Board of Education isn't following its own policies.  As a reminder, this is right from the MCPS web:

Public Comments at Board Meetings
Who Can Make a Public Comment?
The regular business meetings of the Board usually include a public comments period in which any citizen, group representative, parent, or student may make a statement regarding an item on a past, present or future Board open-session agenda, or a matter of general policy over which the Board has jurisdiction.
How Do I Sign Up to Make a Public Comment?
At most business meetings, 30 minutes are set aside for Public Comments from residents to encourage public participation. The first fifteen (15) speakers who contact the Board office by telephone on the Monday prior to the business meetings are granted three (3) minutes each to speak 

For those of us who have other obligations - really - who among us isn't working or waiting for a child to return from school at 2:30 in the afternoon, you can send in your comments to BOE@mcpsmd.org.  Better yet, call MCPS at (301) 279-3617.

And we had hoped that Josh Civin would help the BOE and Larry B. understand their responsibilities under Maryland law.  Even if the BOE does not consider this a "regular" business meeting, we think some opportunity for public comment is in order.

Board Sets New Meeting for December 14, 2015 #calendar

Mon, December 14

02:30 PM

Board Business Meeting

Agenda Webcast

There is no Agenda up for this meeting yet, but one can guess this will be the vote on the 2016-17 Calendar that was removed from the December 8, 2015, meeting Agenda.

http://montgomeryschoolsmd.org/boe/meetings/

2014: The Creation of a Loophole: Sen. Raskin wanted Sports and Rec Center Coaches to legally be able to have sex with teens

Reposting from March 12, 2014:

Raskin wants Sports and Rec Center Coaches to be able to have sex with teens

Sorry, Senator Jamie Raskin, you are the lead sponsor on Senate bill 460 and somehow major changes have been made to the Senate version of this bill without the ability of the public to track how these changes were made!  

The new change made in the Senate would exempt sports or recreational facilities from Maryland law prohibiting sexual contact between persons in a position of authority and teens.  Now, that's a big loophole!  

Who wants to exclude sports programs and recreational centers from this law? Who offered this amendment? Listen to the Senate Committee discussion at this link. Amendments were not offered, were not seconded and were not discussed!

Continues at this link:
Raskin wants Sports and Rec Center Coaches to be able to have sex with teens

Flashback to 2014: Sen Frosh Tells Senate to Reject House Bill to Protect Children from Sexual Abuse by Coaches, Volunteers...

Breaking: Sen Frosh Tells Senate to Reject House Bill to Protect Children from Sexual Abuse by Coaches, Volunteers...

In 2014: Senators Raskin, Forehand, King, Frosh and Zirkin Left Loopholes in Sex Abuse of Teens Law

April 8, 2014
Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County 
2014 Press Release on passage of SB460 and HB781

...Loopholes still remain in Maryland law with regard to volunteers, coaches in programs outside schools, and recreational programs.  These loopholes give persons in positions of authority a free pass to sexually exploit teenagers...

http://parentscoalitionmc.blogspot.com/2014/04/press-release-md-legislators-eliminate.html


Here is the result of Senator Raskin, Forehand, King, Frosh and Zirkin's intense efforts to KEEP THESE LOOPHOLES in Maryland law.  

The Senators won, this student lost.

http://parentscoalitionmc.blogspot.com/2015/12/civil-lawsuit-coach-sleeps-with-teenage.html 

Read about the legislation that was passed in 2014, that allows this coach to escape criminal charges.  Our Montgomery County legislators fought hard to KEEP THESE LOOPHOLES in the law, and they won.  

http://parentscoalitionmc.blogspot.com/search/label/SB460

Civil Lawsuit: Coach sleeps with teenage athlete, but dodges criminal charges

Montgomery County Taxpayers League Meeting Wed Dec 16 7-9PM

Montgomery County Taxpayers League Meeting

                            http://www.mctaxpayersleague.org/

 

                         Wednesday, December 16, 2015  -  7:00 - 9:00 pm
                                        5th Floor Conference Room,  Council Office Building
                                              100 Maryland Avenue, Rockville, MD 20850
                                                                       

Topic:   " The Factors Driving the Cost of Government in Montgomery County"

In a change from our usual practice, there will be no speaker.  This meeting will be an open discussion on the topic above.  The County Executive is preparing the budget for FY 2017 for submission to the County Council in mid-March.  Given the revenue picture, the growing demands for more services, the threat of tax increases and unpredictable legislative action at the state level, this could be a lively discussion.

Here is a link that provides useful information that can guide your thinking in preparation for the meeting.

http://montgomerycountymd.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=6&event_id=4527&meta_id=92534

Less than half of students in Maryland pass PARCC

Less than half of Maryland elementary and middle school students can pass the tough new standardized tests, a result school officials attribute to an overhaul of teaching and testing standards in the past several years. Maryland raised the standards for what public school students are expected to learn two years ago and the results show that teachers and students have not yet adjusted to the higher expectations of the new Partnership for Assessments of Career and College Readiness or PARCC.
On the reading test, nearly 40 percent of Maryland students in grades three through eight failed to meet the standard set by educators from Maryland and about 10 other states. Only 30 percent met the standard in math. That standard could be adjusted by the Maryland State school board if they believe it is too high.
"We have set the bar high, and this data reflects that," said Interim State Schools Superintendent Jack Smith, in a statement. "These results should be viewed in combination with other measures when assessing student progress."
The results were not as good as those in Massachusetts and New Jersey, but slightly better than those in Illinois, Louisiana and Rhode Island. Not all of the states that give the test have released all of their data yet...

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/education/bs-md-parcc-scores-20151208-story.html

Maryland public schools spend between $12K and $17K per student in 2013

Maryland per-pupil spending
Create your own infographics

"We cannot afford to experiment in this manner on our children and grandchildren" writes Director of the California Brain Tumor Association to Montgomery County Schools

Dear Dr. Andrew Zuckerman and Montgomery County Public Schools Board of Education,

I am the Director of the California Brain Tumor Association and I am writing to you because I have recently become aware that your school district is making decisions on how to respond to the health risks of cellphones and wireless radiation. I am appreciative of your interest in this serious topic.

In 2008 my seemingly healthy 56 year old husband had a grand mal seizure and diagnosis of a lethal brain tumor. Ironically our son worked for Senator Ted Kennedy in his private office. Just 10 days after my husband’s diagnosis the Senator suffered the same fate. His family felt it was his cell phone that caused his tumor and subsequent death but they chose to keep that quiet. However, our son knew and was concerned as my husband was an early adopter of a cell phone and used it often holding it to the side of the head where his glioma grew. My research began immediately and later that year I testified to the United States Congress and in the years following have appeared on many television and radio programs. Many others have reached out to me that had lost loved ones to cancers related to wireless radiation.. All were far younger than my husband- the youngest was a 12 year old boy who died from a brain tumor after keeping the iPad on under his pillow for a year.

Read the rest of the letter by Ellie Marks, Director of the California Brain Tumor Association, detailing her concerns about the wireless network at this link

http://safetechforschoolsmaryland.blogspot.com/2015/12/we-cannot-afford-to-experiment-in-this.html

Board of Education Delays Decision on Moving Up Start of 2016-2017 School Year - Bethesda Beat - Bethesda, MD

Board of Education Delays Decision on Moving Up Start of 2016-2017 School Year - Bethesda Beat - Bethesda, MD

.@MoCoBOE spends $15,154 in one month fighting families of children with disabilities

Special education legal fees for outside counsel for September 2015 totaled $15,154.
The fiscal year-to-date (July-September) total is $27,090.

Can you think of other places MCPS could use $27,000? How about spending that money on an extra paraeducator for an overcrowded classroom? Sorry folks, MCPS thinks it is more important to beat down families who are trying to receive appropriate services for their children with disabilities.

It's time for taxpayers in Montgomery County to realize that the money wasted on fighting special education families could be better used to provide actual services to children.

WJLA TV / ABC7: MCPS promises transparency amid radon scandal, later bans press from schools

ROCKVILLE, Md. (ABC7) — In a written statement released Sunday afternoon, interim MCPS superintendent Larry Bowers promised to swiftly, and transparently, purge radon from all 28 school buildings impacted by the colorless-odorless gas that is widely linked to lung cancer.

On Monday, ABC7 News asked to speak on-camera with Mr. Bowers, but our request was denied; a spokeswoman saying Monday's agenda was simply too busy for Montgomery County's top educator.

ABC7 News also asked for permission to record video of the radon testing currently taking place at a number of schools, including Glenallan Elementary in Silver Spring. Again, our request was denied. The same spokeswoman claimed a television news camera would interfere with MCPS' primary mission of teaching children. Requests for photos of the testing apparatus were also denied.

Read and watch the entire story at:
http://wjla.com/news/local/mcps-promises-transparency-amid-radon-scandal-later-bans-press-from-schools

MCPS continues to stonewall on providing historical radon test results

The Parents' Coalition is continuing our pursuit of the historical radon test results.

In the meantime, we want to know who performed the radon tests in the past.  To reduce the paperwork burden and lessen the chance that MCPS Public Information Director Brian Edwards will demand hundreds of dollars to obtain the documents, we decided to ask for the invoices for just two of the radon test projects that were performed before 2015. 

Here is the Public Information Act request the we sent today to pio@mcpsmd.org:

This is a request under the Maryland Public Information Act. It is separate and distinct from all other MPIA requests that I have submitted.

I am seeking copies of any two (2) invoices for radon test services performed by outside vendors in Montgomery County public school buildings during the period January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2014.

The documents that I am seeking may be mailed to me at the following address:

(address)

In responding to this request, please ensure that you fully comply with the current requirements of the Maryland Public Information Act. Please make copies of only existing documents. Do not create any new documents to fulfill this request.

Thank you for your anticipated reply to this request.

Louis Wilen

Anyone can submit a public information act request to obtain radon test results or any existing documents.  Feel free to submit your own request and share the response with parents, teachers, and the Parents' Coalition.

Don't Let Kids Play Football

Opinion Piece from Dr. Bennett Omalu in the New York Times. Omalu is the Chief Medical Examiner of San Joaquin County, California, and an associate clinical professor of pathology at University of California, Davis.

We are born with a certain number of neurons. We can only lose them; we cannot create new neurons to replenish old or dying ones.

and:

Over the past two decades it has become clear that repetitive blows to the head in high-impact contact sports like football, ice hockey, mixed martial arts and boxing place athletes at risk of permanent brain damage. There is even a Hollywood movie, “Concussion,” due out this Christmas Day, that dramatizes the story of my discoveries in this area of research. Why, then, do we continue to intentionally expose our children to this risk?

If a child who plays football is subjected to advanced radiological and neurocognitive studies during the season and several months after the season, there can be evidence of brain damage at the cellular level of brain functioning, even if there were no documented concussions or reported symptoms. If that child continues to play over many seasons, these cellular injuries accumulate to cause irreversible brain damage, which we know now by the name Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, or C.T.E., a disease that I first diagnosed in 2002.

Depending on the severity of the condition, the child now has a risk of manifesting symptoms of C.T.E. like major depression, memory loss, suicidal thought and actions, loss of intelligence as well as dementia later in life. C.T.E. has also been linked to drug and alcohol abuse as the child enters his 20s, 30s and 40s

To read the whole story go here.

BOE Shuts Down Mont. College Parking Lot, Finds $1.7 Million to Temporarily Park 100 Buses

Fortunately, money grows on trees here in Montgomery County!

Unable to find a permanent solution for County Executive Ike Legget's plan to boot 400 school buses from the MCPS Shady Grove Bus Depot, the Board of Education will temporarily park 100 of the buses at 850 Hungerford Drive in the parking lot that is currently used by Montgomery College.

For Montgomery College students, that's Lot 13.

Developers NVR and LCOR want the land the MCPS buses are currently using, so the buses will be moved even if there is no permanent location for them.

The cost to temporarily park 100 school buses at 850 Hungerford Drive will be over $1.7 million.

Neighbors impacted by the noise shown in yellow.

That's $17,250 per school bus for a temporary parking spot.

MCPS is going to need to find at least another $5 million to pay for temporary parking for the other 300 school buses that will be booted from the Shady Grove Bus Depot.

Next, MCPS will have to find the money to pay for a permanent solution for parking the 400 school buses at the Shady Grove bus depot.

A note to the neighbors of 850 Hungerford Drive: Get ready to fill out lots of Montgomery County Noise Ordinance Complaint forms.
The MCPS school buses will be violating the Noise Ordinance. 

   FY16 Supp Approp Depot Interim Sol CESC(1) by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland

WJLA TV: MCPS responds to 7 ON YOUR SIDE report of dangerous radon levels in schools

The actual radon test reports continue to be withheld from parents and teachers, but in the meantime, MCPS is reportedly going to test all schools again.

Read and watch the story at:
http://wjla.com/news/local/mcps-responds-to-7-on-your-side-report-of-dangerous-radon-levels-in-schools