By Adam Pagnucco.
I have been quoting the Montgomery County Education Association (MCEA) a lot lately on the regular controversies in MCPS and there are good reasons for that. First, the crisis in the system that started with the promotion of a principal accused of sexual harassment has mushroomed into existential questions about district leadership. Second, teachers are an essential part of any school system and their opinions matter a lot to educational success. And third, the poor labor relations in MCPS predate the current scandal and must be improved. The extent of this magnitude of teacher unhappiness with leadership will eventually damage any school district – even MCPS.
I branded today’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) report as a punt, and with regards to the specific problematic promotion at hand, it was. But the report was not wholly without merit. The OIG found numerous problems with MCPS’s handling of complaints. Possibly the most damning finding was this: “Since 2019, MCPS has been notified at least four times of deficiencies with DCI [Department of Compliance and Investigations] management and operations.”
Those revelations occurred in July 2019, January 2022, June 2023 and August 2023. Superintendent Monifa McKnight, whose resignation has been requested by the school board, was named deputy superintendent in July 2019, was appointed interim superintendent in March 2021 and was announced as the new superintendent in February 2022. She has had plenty of time to address the problems with processing complaints and has apparently failed to do so.
This failure no doubt explains some of the rage in MCEA’s statement, which is reprinted below.
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Subject Line: MCEA Responds to OIG Report
January 24, 2024
Contact: Kate Hardwicke, mceapress@mceanea.org
For Immediate Release
Rockville, MD – We are continually disheartened and disgusted by the continuing revelations of corruption, malfeasance, and unsafe working conditions in MCPS. Said Danillya Wilson, MCEA Secretary and Vice President-Elect, “At a time when we should be working together to demand a budget that meets the actual needs of our students, we are constantly sidetracked with additional stories of MCPS’s mismanagement.”
Today’s release of the Office of the Inspector General’s (OIG) report on MCPS complaint processing makes clear that the superintendent and other top executives, either due to incompetence or willful avoidance of duty, allowed credible allegations of sexual harassment and bullying to go unaddressed.
This failure to put systems in place and follow them with fidelity–even after receiving multiple warnings about shoddy processes–indicates a callous disregard for the safety and wellbeing of staff and further erodes our confidence in senior leaders entrusted with oversight of this work.
As the OIG wrote, “Not taking action on observed deficiencies and choosing not to implement recommendations contributes to MCPS’s inability to appropriately respond to serious employee health and safety risks, degrades confidence in MCPS, and may leave staff vulnerable to other employees’ misconduct.”
The Board must put a swift end to the chaos. They should appoint leaders who will work to address the challenges we face in our work each day, such as staffing shortages in special education and other crucial areas, unfilled substitute teaching positions and related unpaid class coverage, and concerns over a lack of covid leave.
There’s ample evidence that changes in top leadership are needed if we are to restore trust in the system.
President Jennifer Martin stated, “Every day that the current controversy continues, the system is failing to support the 14,000 educators who strive to give our students the excellent learning opportunities they need and deserve. MCEA calls on the board to choose leaders who can restore trust in the system and who will support the critical work we do with students each day.”