County councilmembers and school system officials joined for a meeting Thursday afternoon to discuss a recently-released report that found issues with how Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) handles employee misconduct complaints.
Councilmembers scheduled the joint committee hearing more than two weeks ago, shortly after the report was released.
The report — conducted by the county Inspector General — found “numerous issues” with how MCPS handles misconduct complaints. It also found that many deficiencies were previously identified to MCPS and that the school system failed to implement corrections.
The review was initiated following The Washington Post story revealing that Dr. Joel Beidleman — no longer an MCPS employee — was promoted to Paint Branch High School principal despite numerous sexual harassment complaints against him.
The Office of the Inspector General released the report last month on Jan. 23. It is the most recent of multiple reports relating to the subject.
During Thursday’s meeting, Board of Education President Karla Silvestre apologized before the council for “the pain” caused to employees and harm to the district.
“It is just really deeply troubling that it seems that for years there has been more concern about reputational harm than actual harm to actual people,” Council President Andrew Friedson said.
County Inspector General Megan Limarzi said the goal is to close out all recommendations within one year of the report’s publication. Recommendations include implementing comprehensive policies and procedures around receipt and processing of employee misconduct complaints.
There are currently two full-time investigators within the Department of Compliance and Investigations (DCI) for the entire district, an official confirmed, to which Councilmember Kristin Mink said, “That’s very concerning.” Next steps include working with an external HR firm for technical guidance on policies, procedures and protocols, which will inform any restructuring of the department.
Councilmember Kate Stewart thanked officials, but added, “I will say I feel like we’re talking about Bandaids when a lot more needs to be done.”
“There’s a lot of blame to go around here,” Councilmember Will Jawando said.
“This is something that was systemic.”
A separate report was conducted by the law firm Jackson Lewis, hired by the school board. It investigates the promotion of Beidleman. The school board released a redacted version in October. Friedson has said councilmembers want to see the unredacted Jackson Lewis report, and, shortly before Thursday’s meeting, the school board released a less-redacted version of the report.
