An investigation found Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) used improper methods to obtain more than $200,000 in services primarily used to manage publicity surrounding allegations against a former principal.
According to the county’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG), last fall MCPS used emergency contracting provisions to get crisis management services to help with inquiries about the school system’s handling of misconduct allegations against Joel Beidleman, a former principal who was the center of a Washington Post story last year exposing his promotion despite numerous sexual harassment complaints against him.
“The OIG substantiated that MCPS improperly used emergency procurements to acquire crisis management and communication services totaling $210,000, in violation of MCPS policy,” according to a release Thursday from the OIG.
According to the OIG, the contract between MCPS and the vendor seem more geared toward reputational risk rather than countering an incident that would result in “termination of essential services or a dangerous condition,” which is part of the criteria for emergency procurement. Using emergency procurement to get these services primarily to manage this negative publicity does not meet the necessary criteria, according to the OIG.
A statement from MCPS reads, “Montgomery County Public Schools has received the latest report from the Office of the Inspector General (OIG). We appreciate the time and effort invested by the OIG in this investigation. We take their findings very seriously and view them as an opportunity to strengthen our current processes.”
The Montgomery County Education Association (MCEA) issued a statement: “The OIG’s Memorandum of Investigation confirms an ongoing pattern of personnel and financial mismanagement at the top of MCPS. As MCPS misspent valuable tax dollars on covering up misdeeds, it shifted time and attention away from what should have been its top priority: our students.”
“This latest revelation comes as no surprise since MCPS has subjected its students and educators to an atmosphere of mistrust and instability over the past year. Unfortunately, this disclosure does little to help the district repair its credibility with the community. Incoming Superintendent Dr. Taylor’s first order of business must be to get his house in order, rebuild the community’s confidence in MCPS leadership, and restore MCPS’s reputation as a great place to learn and work,” MCEA states.
The investigation started after the OIG’s hotline received a complaint.
