By Adam Pagnucco.
Montgomery County Inspector General Megan Davey Limarzi has written Board of Education President Karla Silvestre to notify her of two “engagements” related to MCPS’s sexual harassment scandal. The first is a review of MCPS’s process for investigating misconduct allegations against its employees. The second is a specific review of the allegations against former principal Joel Beidleman, including any new ones made since July.
On the same day as Limarzi’s letter, Maryland Inspector General for Education Richard Henry wrote to Silvestre that his office would defer to Limarzi rather than launch its own investigation. Henry wrote that Limarzi has authority granted under state law to investigate MCPS. Also, Henry wrote:
As outlined in the IIR [Jackson Lewis’s independent investigation report], OIGE [Office of Inspector General for Education] previously engaged MCPS regarding these matters. As such, certain members of the OIGE investigative team would be barred from handling these matters going forward to ensure that no potential bias would exist. Given the public nature and history of these allegations, OIGE’s safeguards would not assuage the citizenry’s presumption that the OIGE findings could be affected by bias. MCOIG [Montgomery County Office of Inspector General] handling these matters would ensure public trust in the findings.
Limarzi’s letter to Silvestre is reprinted below.
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September 20, 2023
The Honorable Karla I. Silvestre
President, Board of Education
Montgomery County Public Schools
850 Hungerford Drive
Rockville, MD 20850
Dear President Silvestre:
Please accept this letter as notification that pursuant to §2-151 of the Montgomery County Code the Office of the Inspector General is opening two engagements related to allegations against Dr. Joel Beidleman and Montgomery County Public Schools’ (MCPS) handling of misconduct complaints. The first engagement is a review of MCPS’s process for receiving and responding to allegations of misconduct against school system employees. Through this review we will assess whether MCPS has effective procedures for the receipt, assignment, investigation, referral, resolution, documentation and retention of allegations of misconduct by its employees. The second engagement is an investigation into all allegations of misconduct by Dr. Beidleman that have been received since July 2023 as well as any previous allegations that were not yet investigated.
In conducting these engagements, we will inspect relevant records, interview pertinent staff, and review applicable laws, regulations, policies, and procedures. Moving forward, my office will work directly with Dr. McKnight and her staff.
Thank you in advance for your cooperation. Please contact me with any questions.
Sincerely,
Megan Davey Limarzi, Esq.
cc: Evan Glass, Montgomery County Council President
Marc Elrich, Montgomery County Executive
Will Jawando, Chair, Education and Culture Committee
Montgomery County Councilmembers
Dr. Monifa McKnight, Superintendent, MCPS
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The letter from the Maryland Inspector General for Education to Silvestre can be downloaded below.