Members of Montgomery County council met with the county Inspector General Megan Limarzi and three members of the Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) staff to learn about progress the school district has made in dealing with personnel complaints.
The Office of Inspector General (OIG) had issued several reports faulting how MCPS follows up on staff complaints and for allowing former Principal Joel Beidleman to be promoted despite multiple harassment complaints against him.
Since receiving the report, 10 employees who were on administrative leave have been terminated and five others have had job reassignments. 16 cases were determined to be unsubstantiated, officials said during Thursday’s combined hearing with council’s Audit and Education and Culture committees.
A total of 32 cases have been closed and 22 incidents of workplace bullying and harassment have been completed and closed.
“MCPS has had a substantial impact on our office this year,” Limarzi said. During the past year, her office has received more than 400 complaints on its hotline, of which about 175 were related to MCPS, she said. The number of calls is 130% higher than during the previous year.
Dr. Henry Johnson, acting chief of staff at MCPS, said the Department of Compliance and Investigation, said all recommendations made by the OIG are “in progress.”
Some changes have been adopted, according to Jessica Boone, acting director of the Department of Compliance and Investigation. Now, anonymous complaints are handled the same as complaints attached to a particular person, she said.
A person filing a complaint is told within 24 hours that their complaint has been received. The filer also will be told the results of the complaint when the matter is completed, Boone said.
She said that staff in her office will be trained on how to deal with complaints. MCPS staff will be trained on new policies, including the mandating of reporting by supervisors of any romantic or sexual relationship among employees who work under the supervisor.
“I am confident we aren’t missing any complaints,” Boone said of her office, which has six investigators.
The Department of Compliance and Investigations deals with between 25 and 30 calls per week. There have been 180 consultations since April 29.
As the committee meeting closed, Councilmember Will Jawando thanked MCPS and OIG staff for providing updates, adding, “This is progress.”
