Shortly after the Montgomery County Office of the Inspector General’s report that found numerous deficiencies in the way Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) deals with complaints was released Wednesday morning, county councilmembers scheduled a hearing.
Council President Andrew Friedson, Vice President Kate Stewart and Education and Culture Committee Chair Will Jawando will meet in a joint audit and education and culture oversight committee meeting Feb. 8 at 3 p.m. to discuss the report.
“The report provides the Board of Education, MCPS leadership, the Council and the public with an impartial evaluation and recommends multiple policy and procedure changes associated with investigating and handling allegations of wrongdoing,” the councilmembers said in a joint statement.
“During the committee meeting, we will examine the inspector general’s findings including concerning deficiencies which the inspector general indicates were previously identified and reported to MCPS,” the statement continued.
“The Council will continue to push for the increased accountability and transparency from MCPS that our educators and families deserve. Additionally, we will work with the Board of Education and MCPS leadership to ensure that identified deficiencies are addressed in a timely and comprehensive manner.”
During his weekly news briefing Wednesday, County Executive Marc Elrich said that after reading the report, he has more questions than answers concerning how the investigation concerning the promotion of former Principal Joel Beidleman was handled and why Board of Education members have asked McKnight to step down.
“The amount of information that we have right now obviously is minimal,” said Elrich, who called the OIG report “distressing.”
“The school board hasn’t shared anything with us that would lead us to understand this,” he said.
The report, he said, “deals with issues systemically” rather than specifically.
“I think Dr. McKnight is entitled to know what the issues are” that led to her being asked to step down. He noted that former Superintendent Dr. Joshua Starr also was asked to step down.
Most of the school polices in question have been around for years and were accepted by several school boards, Elrich pointed out. “It just can’t be that the system all by itself created these horrible outcomes without people in the system making decisions to make those kinds of horrible outcomes.”
Councilmembers Evan Glass and Dawn Luedtke issued a joint statement. They also noted there were many unanswered questions. They called on the school board “to take decisive action.”
“We and the public still have unanswered questions about the promotion process of Dr. Joel Beidleman, questions that must be answered to have full accountability and transparency within our school system. The public’s trust has been eroded and the school board must commit itself to leading with transparency and accountability, the two councilmembers wrote.
“We respect the role of the duly elected school board and urge them to act swiftly to bring closure to this matter.”
Read today’s statement on the Office of Inspector General’s MCPS Complaint Processing Report from President Friedson, Vice President & Audit Committee Chair Stewart & Education & Culture Committee Chair Jawando.
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🗓Joint oversight meeting on Feb. 8. pic.twitter.com/i6NUh89bo7— Montgomery Council (@MoCoCouncilMD) January 24, 2024
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