Montgomery County Education Association (MCEA) President Jennifer Martin reiterated the teacher union’s strong desire to remove the Jackson Lewis law firm from an investigation surrounding reported sexual harassment allegations levied at former Farquhar Middle School and Paint Branch High School principal Joel Beidleman.
Beidleman, who was placed on extended leave as of Aug. 4, has had numerous complaints of sexual abuse and harassment levied against him by Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) staff, according to a report in the Washington Post.
During the public comments section of the Board of Education’s (BOE) meeting Thursday, Martin said she was “gravely disappointed” by the way MCPS is handling its investigation.
“Our members displayed extraordinary courage” when reporting instances of sexual abuse and harassment, Martin said. “We will not tolerate a work culture that silences victims while rewarding perpetuators. Nor will we accept a hasty review by an anti-worker law firm.”
“You so far have failed us,” Martin told Board of Education members.
The law firm Jackson Lewis specializes in protecting management from legal claims, “not in assuring safe working conditions for employees,” Martin said. “This approach suggests that MCPS is seeking cover rather than seeking the truth.”
MCEA as well as Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich and several councilmembers also have condemned the choice of Jackson Lewis, questioning the firm’s objectivity. They called on the BOE to turn the investigation over to the county’s Office of the Inspector General.
Dawn Iannaco-Hahn, who has two boys in MCPS, criticized both the BOE and the investigation during the public comments section of Thursday’s meeting.
MCPS has created a hostile work environment and “a culture of distrust and fear,” Iannaco-Hahn said. Parents and staff can’t trust a school system that shuffles employees to different jobs when complaints are filed, she said.
“People are starting to wake up.”
