Fox5: Health Concerns over Wi-Fi Technology Exposure in MCPS

Feds Finally Take Action on Crumb Rubber Turf

Crumb rubber is still in use today on Montgomery County Public School football fields. 



http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/artificial-turf-debate/feds-finally-take-action-crumb-rubber-turf-n517726

Broken discipline tracking systems let teachers flee troubled pasts

A fragmented system for checking the backgrounds of teachers leaves students at risk.

 http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/02/14/broken-discipline-tracking-system-lets-teachers-with-misconduct-records-back-in-classroom/79999634/

Assault at Wyngate ES

Robert Dyer @ Bethesda Row: Assaults at Barnes & Noble, Wyngate ES; sex offens...: Here's a roundup of crimes reported across Bethesda on Wednesday, February 10, according to crime data: Assault. Barnes and Noble at...

Parkland Parents Say Resounding No to Cell Tower in School's Loading Dock. 53 Opposed 0 in Favor

Red area shows planned location for cell tower compound.

The Montgomery County Board of Education presented their plan for building a cell tower compound in the loading dock of Parkland Magnet Middle School to parents and neighbors last night.

Of the 56 parents and neighbors in attendance at the meeting last night, no one was in favor of this plan.  The vote of those in attendance was 53 opposed, 3 abstentions, and 0 in favor.  

Parents at the meeting question why the Board of Education representative was advocating for the plan?  The money from these construction projects does not go into the MCPS Operating Budget, does not pay for teachers, and does not contribute to classrooms. 

Why is Board of Education staff pushing for this construction project that would take away much needed space for this middle school's operations?

Where does the money from the placement of cell towers on public school land really go, and how is it spent?

Q.: Do we care about these kids that are being excluded, or not? A.: In MCPS, we do not.

Ohio schools charge a wide variety of fees for students to take part in activities such as sports, band or other clubs, and those fees prevent some students from participating, a report issued Tuesday by State Sen. Cliff Hite, R-Findlay, concludes.
“The question we must ask ourselves is, do we care about these kids that are being excluded, or not? As a former coach and professional educator for 30 years, I believe this is egregious and something needs to be done,” Hite said in the report....

 http://thecourier.com/local-news/2016/02/10/school-activity-fees-report-released/

Open Meetings Compliance Board will meet at 2 p.m. on February 12, 2016

Special Meeting
The Open Meetings Compliance Board will meet at 2 p.m. on February 12, 2016, to discuss any legislation that is pending in the General Assembly as of that date or expected to be introduced after the bill introduction deadlines. A tentative agenda will be posted on their website by February 11.

The meeting will be held in Room 161 of the Arundel Center, 44 Calvert Street, Annapolis, MD. Members of the public are advised to check this website on the day of the meeting, as it may be canceled if there is no legislation to discuss.

****Revised****Agenda is posted here.
Basically, Senator Raskins' SB 754 - Open meetings Act - Annual Reporting requirement, Enforcement, and Training got added as well as a cross-filed bill.

WTOP: Lawsuit: Red flags raised about volunteer aide’s behavior

A lawsuit filed against Prince George’s County Public Schools claims that the predatory behavior of a volunteer aide, who is now facing child sex abuse and child pornography charges, was well known by students, teachers and parents and even reported to the school’s principal.
The guardian of a 9-year-old Judge Sylvania Woods Elementary School student is suing the school board, Principal Michelle Williams and the aide, Deonte Carraway, for the sexual exploitation that the boy suffered at the hands of Carraway.
Carraway, of Lanham, was arrested on Friday on charges that he manufactured child pornography, some of which was created on school property. Also, he faces charges of sexual abuse of a minor and a second-degree sex offense....

http://wtop.com/prince-georges-county/2016/02/lawsuit-red-flags-raised-about-volunteer-aides-behavior/

Another Cell Tower for the Red Zone. Meeting Feb. 11th at 7 PM #parklandmms @ParklandMMSPrin

Base of MCPS cell tower.

The Board of Education wants to put another cell tower at a Red Zone school.

At this school, there is no playground to use because the playground is not owned by the Board of Education.

The Board of Education is going to put this cell tower smack up against the school in the loading dock.  

The Board of Education is holding a parent meeting to discuss this cell tower proposal on Thursday, February 11, 2016, at 7 PM at Parkland Middle School, 4610 West Frankfort Drive, Rockville, MD 20853 

Red lines show proposed cell tower compound.

Collision Involving School Bus in Wheaton at Connecticut and Randolph

http://www.mymcmedia.org/collision-involving-school-bus-in-wheaton-at-connecticut-and-randolph-photo/

Parents have been urged to limit screen time at home, now it's time to address the same dangers at school.

Guidelines needed for screen safety at school

The National Educational Technology Plan, released just weeks ago by the U.S. Department of Education, encourages more computer use in the classroom. However, it makes no mention of any health risks to students, even though the U.S. Surgeon General's Office has safety guidelines that limit screen time, as does the American Academy of Pediatrics. The state's lengthy guiding documents, such as the Maryland Educational Technology Plan, also promote additional computer use at school while failing to mention any health risks to students. Since the health warnings are ignored by the educational leadership at the national level, it's not surprising that state and local leaders also fail to protect students.

Perform an online search for the phrase "Computer Vision Syndrome" or "digital eye strain" and you will learn how well documented the dangers of screens are: nearsightedness, blurry vision, dry eyes, headaches and neck and shoulder pain. And the way children use screens makes them particularly vulnerable to complications: They stare at them for long periods without taking significant breaks; computer work stations often don't fit them well; and they don't complain about blurry vision because they don't realize it's a problem that will just get worse.

If your child is having trouble sleeping, school assignments that require computer use in the evening could be the cause. Blue light emissions reduce melatonin, which is needed for sleep. Additional issues arise when a child isn't rested, including behavioral problems, irritability and the inability to concentrate. A child glued to a computer also isn't exercising, which contributes to childhood obesity, another major concern of the U.S. Surgeon General and the American Academy of Pediatrics. Children's eyes may also absorb more blue light than adults from digital device screens, according to a recent study, putting them at greater risk for premature retinal damage risk.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has had guidelines for using computer monitors safely at work since at least 1997...

 http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bs-ed-children-technology-20160201-story.html

"I am appalled that a public agency would rely on and relay a document containing numerous misrepresentations including outright falsehoods." Engineer Lloyd Morgan's letter to MCPS

I have read the online report “MCPS Statement Concerning Deployment of Wireless Computing Technologies.” I am appalled that a public agency would rely on and relay a document containing numerous misrepresentations including outright falsehoods. Permit me to detail a few brief examples of serious errors.  Should the Board request, Environmental Health Trust would be glad to provide more detailed review.

First, let me give you a short background on my qualifications.   I am an electronics engineer with 38 years of high tech corporate experience to the Vice-Presidential level. For the past twenty years, I have been engaged in the field of bioelectromagnetics (the science of the interaction of biology with electromagnetic radiation).  A list of my recent peer-reviewed publications is attached..

The World Health Organization (WHO) via its International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) declared in May 2011 that RFR from cell phones and other wireless transmitting devices are a Group 2B (possible) Human Carcinogen (among other 287 Group 2B carcinogens are: DDT, Diesel fuel, gasoline, and phenobarbital).  MCPS falsely asserts that the WHO/IARC classified only cell phone radiation as a possible carcinogen and did not include other sources of wireless radiation.

The MCPS website cited above discusses the installation of Wi-Fi throughout the school district. This would create much higher exposures to RFR in every classroom, from wireless transmitting devices (WTDs) used by the students to access the Internet via Wi-Fi routers.  The reason the WTDs are the primary source of exposure is because RFR decreases very rapidly with distance from the source.  In a typical classroom, almost all of the RFR exposure for a given student comes from the student’s own WTD and from other students’ WTDs nearby (from her/his left and right, front and back).

Children’s risk from exposure to any carcinogen is greater than adults’. Younger children, who are smaller and growing rapidly face greater risks.

MCPS presents answers 10 hypothetical questions, many of which are incorrect or misleading.

Here  I include a couple of the most egregious MCPS claims:

1. MCPS’ answer to their question 9 incorrectly claims, “Using the Group 2B classification of the entire spectrum of radiofrequencies as an indication that Wi-Fi is harmful when the classification came about due to extremely heavy cell phone use and not Wi-Fi does not accurately represent the intention of the classification.”

First, Dr. Robert Baan who led the IARC investigation by 30 experts from 14 countries, said that the intention of the study was “to assess the carcinogenicity of radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF).” In regard to children Baan stated, “When used by children, the average RF energy deposition is two times higher in the brain and up to ten times higher in the bone marrow of the skull, compared with mobile phone use by adults.” [Lancet-Oncology (July 2011)]

Second, the “extremely heavy cell phone use” that resulted in the Group 2B Human Carcinogen determination was at most about 27 minutes per day.  The students’ exposure to Wi-Fi from their devices takes place over the entire school day, 5 days a week six or more hours a day.

2.   The MCPS answer to question 5 erroneously states, “The FCC, the American Cancer Society (ACS), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) all have conducted reviews as recently as 2013 and found that there is no basis to establish a different safety threshold.”

None of these organizations have conducted any such safety reviews.

The Board of Education has an obligation to protect health and safety, and to provide the safest possible learning environment, so must take all reasonable measures to keep exposures to a minimum, and to inform staff, parents and students of the risks. There are also serious financial risks if the Board proceeds to install wireless devices It should be noted that insurance companies will not cover health damages from any wireless devices., as staff and students will be experiencing exposures to an agent for which they cannot obtain insurance protection.  

Finally, multiple human epidemiological studies from a number of major industrial countries report statistically significant risks for brain, eye, hearing nerve, salivary gland, and leukemia cancers from exposure to RFR. Additionally, there are cell, animal and human studies showing deleterious effects on sperm including but not limited to sperm DNA fragmentation.  Our website ehtrust.org provides an overview of scientific findings.  The website showthefineprint.org provides information on distances that devices should be respected, noting that tablets are tested at 20 cm (8 inches) from an adult male body phantom.

The health and financial risks are completely unnecessary, because wired cable connections can provide computer access without exposing schools to radiation.  I very much look forward to working with you to provide a more balanced and accurate accounting of effects of wireless radiation, and alternative technologies, so that MCPS can make informed decisions as they proceed.

I invite you to read some my published research.

L. Lloyd Morgan

Senior Research Fellow, Environmental Health Trust

 Read his full letter with research studies here. 
Go to the parent blog SafeTech For Schools Maryland here. 

Board of Education Will Ask For Million More in Next Year’s Schools Budget that Superintendent Requested

Board of Education Will Ask For Million More in Next Year’s Schools Budget that Superintendent Requested: Board has prioritized its request with three tiers that include funding for more teachers and a bigger high school graduation venue

Corporations Now Have Voting Rights in Montgomery County PTAs

Your local PTA is now longer just the voice of parents and guardians.  

Montgomery County PTAs are now giving corporations voting rights in local PTAs.  

This is not a corporation donating to a PTA, this is giving a corporation an actual membership with voting rights in PTAs.  Google, Pearson, FieldTurf, and many of the other Board of Education no-bid favorite corporations should be snapping up PTA memberships to ensure their continued presence in MCPS classrooms. 

   Pta Corporate-business Membership Form by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland

NYC Schools To Close Monday For Lunar New Year

NYC Schools To Close Monday For Lunar New Year: This is the first time city schools will have a day off for the holiday.

Radon hot spots revealed in new MCPS tests

Roughly two months after the Parents' Coalition initially revealed the MCPS had not taken remediation action to reduce
high levels of radon at dozens of schools, new test results are gradually being made public.   The newest results can be found at:

http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/facilities/maintenance/default.aspx?id=460457

DuFief Elementary School is one of many that continue to show high levels of radon.   The new tests show that 24 of the 50 rooms have levels at or above the EPA "action level" of 4.0 pCi/L.   Note, however, that a level below 4.0 pCi/L is not considered a "safe" level.

"Charette is French for Charade" - Planned Overcrowding of Public Schools

Tom Hearn gave the following public comment at the February 4, 2016, Montgomery County Council public hearing on the Westbard Sector Plan.  
Mr. Hearn's statement applies to a number of communities that have participated in the County planning process in the last few years. 

WPost: “People are still divided about Jack.”

...As word began to circulate Thursday about the board’s expected choice, some were disappointed that the next superintendent would not reflect the increasing diversity of the school system. Smith is the system’s third white male superintendent in a row, following Starr and Jerry Weast.

“I think it’s time that people be a little more bold with their leadership choices,” said Joseph Hawkins, a longtime activist on education issues in Montgomery.

“Our leaders should reflect the new demographics,” he said.

Durso, the school board president, said that diversity in leadership “was an important factor and remains an important factor, but we felt we made the best choice.” 

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/montgomery-is-expected-to-name-a-new-schools-superintendent-thursday/2016/02/04/155f9db2-caca-11e5-ae11-57b6aeab993f_story.html?hpid=hp_rhp-moreheds_super655p%3Ahomepage%2Fstory

NBC4: Job Before Has Caused Some Concern

http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Montgomery-County-Board-of-Education-Appoints-New-Superintendent-367754161.html?_osource=SocialFlowTwt_DCBrand

NBC4: Mixed Reaction over New Superintendent

http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Montgomery-County-Board-of-Education-Appoints-New-Superintendent-367754161.html?_osource=SocialFlowTwt_DCBrand