MoCo OIG Blasts Taylor and MCPS for lies over backlog and non-compliance with background and CPS checks

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In response to the OIG's report, MCPS repeatedly agrees with the OIG on the need for "formal processes" for a number of things.

This is the same thing that was brought up with the Beidleman scandal, that MCPS had an incredible lack of "formal processes" for things the average parent or Montgomery County would have ASSUMED were standard practices for MCPS.

Given how brutal that episode was, how was it not a mandate from the BOE and Taylor for review all critical operations, identify areas that lacked formal documentation, and close that gap?

Cram doing damage control
Do your fckkng work, mcps, so no board has to be following up with you like you're a toddler or a teenager.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Parents: contact your STATE elected Delegates and State Senators

+1

Parents MUST let the state know that we want and expect them to reign MCPS in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Parents: contact your STATE elected Delegates and State Senators

Yep, each family who are concerned

[Anonymous]

So am I understanding correctly that the main issue here is that when MCPS started participating in the "Rap Back" system in 2019 that automatically notifies them of new criminal background check issues that come up for staff, they didn't go back and add existing employees to that system, and still haven't as of 2025? And the OIG notified Taylor of this a few months ago but he decided that since it would be expensive/inconvenient to assign a ton of CO staff to get them all entered ASAP (or hire a bunch of temps to do so), and since his predecessors since 2019 hadn't treated it with that level of urgency, he wouldn't either? And then in the last month (presumably because of the report coming out) he decided to do it after all?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm an MCPS employee. What really bothered me is that Taylor wrote us a "tongue in cheek" kind of email about the compliance training we had to do. Maybe he was trying to be funny but it really rubbed me the wrong way with all this stuff going on.

Anonymous wrote:And yet, Taylor, Jones and Moran had plenty of time to make their stupid snow day video. Priorities.

Fellow MCPS employee, and I agree.

Also, MCPS’ hiring process moves so slowly - I am shocked they’re having trouble finding the time to complete background checks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So am I understanding correctly that the main issue here is that when MCPS started participating in the "Rap Back" system in 2019 that automatically notifies them of new criminal background check issues that come up for staff, they didn't go back and add existing employees to that system, and still haven't as of 2025? And the OIG notified Taylor of this a few months ago but he decided that since it would be expensive/inconvenient to assign a ton of CO staff to get them all entered ASAP (or hire a bunch of temps to do so), and since his predecessors since 2019 hadn't treated it with that level of urgency, he wouldn't either? And then in the last month (presumably because of the report coming out) he decided to do it after all?

You got that right for most part. Don't leave out the CPS check portion of the story as well, which is a state law requirement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So am I understanding correctly that the main issue here is that when MCPS started participating in the "Rap Back" system in 2019 that automatically notifies them of new criminal background check issues that come up for staff, they didn't go back and add existing employees to that system, and still haven't as of 2025? And the OIG notified Taylor of this a few months ago but he decided that since it would be expensive/inconvenient to assign a ton of CO staff to get them all entered ASAP (or hire a bunch of temps to do so), and since his predecessors since 2019 hadn't treated it with that level of urgency, he wouldn't either? And then in the last month (presumably because of the report coming out) he decided to do it after all?

There are many

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So am I understanding correctly that the main issue here is that when MCPS started participating in the "Rap Back" system in 2019 that automatically notifies them of new criminal background check issues that come up for staff, they didn't go back and add existing employees to that system, and still haven't as of 2025? And the OIG notified Taylor of this a few months ago but he decided that since it would be expensive/inconvenient to assign a ton of CO staff to get them all entered ASAP (or hire a bunch of temps to do so), and since his predecessors since 2019 hadn't treated it with that level of urgency, he wouldn't either? And then in the last month (presumably because of the report coming out) he decided to do it after all?

You got that right for most part. Don't leave out the CPS check portion of the story as well, which is a state law requirement.

It seems like the issue with the delays on CPS checks is with the county/state offices who actually do them and are understaffed and way behind, right? I guess MCPS could be prohibiting people from working until the checks go through but that sounds like it would cause a huge staffing hole if they're really thousands of new hires behind.

I guess also you could argue Taylor should have been raising the alarm and lobbying harder and sooner for the other offices to handle this better, like he started doing in July. (It sounds like he is claiming he didn't know about it until now, though, and that he didn't get a heads' up on it from the OIG until last month. How could he not know though? I guess HR staff treated it as normal since it had been that way for years so didn't raise it to him as a problem, and he never asked?)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So am I understanding correctly that the main issue here is that when MCPS started participating in the "Rap Back" system in 2019 that automatically notifies them of new criminal background check issues that come up for staff, they didn't go back and add existing employees to that system, and still haven't as of 2025? And the OIG notified Taylor of this a few months ago but he decided that since it would be expensive/inconvenient to assign a ton of CO staff to get them all entered ASAP (or hire a bunch of temps to do so), and since his predecessors since 2019 hadn't treated it with that level of urgency, he wouldn't either? And then in the last month (presumably because of the report coming out) he decided to do it after all?

You got that right for most part. Don't leave out the CPS check portion of the story as well, which is a state law requirement.

It seems like the issue with the delays on CPS checks is with the county/state offices who actually do them and are understaffed and way behind, right? I guess MCPS could be prohibiting people from working until the checks go through but that sounds like it would cause a huge staffing hole if they're really thousands of new hires behind.

I guess also you could argue Taylor should have been raising the alarm and lobbying harder and sooner for the other offices to handle this better, like he started doing in July. (It sounds like he is claiming he didn't know about it until now, though, and that he didn't get a heads' up on it from the OIG until last month. How could he not know though? I guess HR staff treated it as normal since it had been that way for years so didn't raise it to him as a problem, and he never asked?)

If you read the OIG report, Megan Limarzi clearly says she advised him of the issue in Dec. 2024.

The fact is: By not complying with state law, and allowing MCPS staff to work without these MANDATED checks and clearances, Taylor is putting MCPS at risk for serious liability. This was also said in the OIG report.

Taylor has no excuse for NOT chasing this down aggressively in Dec when he was told about it by the OIG. He also failed to show up to a single meeting regarding this issue with the OIG's office.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So am I understanding correctly that the main issue here is that when MCPS started participating in the "Rap Back" system in 2019 that automatically notifies them of new criminal background check issues that come up for staff, they didn't go back and add existing employees to that system, and still haven't as of 2025? And the OIG notified Taylor of this a few months ago but he decided that since it would be expensive/inconvenient to assign a ton of CO staff to get them all entered ASAP (or hire a bunch of temps to do so), and since his predecessors since 2019 hadn't treated it with that level of urgency, he wouldn't either? And then in the last month (presumably because of the report coming out) he decided to do it after all?

You got that right for most part. Don't leave out the CPS check portion of the story as well, which is a state law requirement.

It seems like the issue with the delays on CPS checks is with the county/state offices who actually do them and are understaffed and way behind, right? I guess MCPS could be prohibiting people from working until the checks go through but that sounds like it would cause a huge staffing hole if they're really thousands of new hires behind.

I guess also you could argue Taylor should have been raising the alarm and lobbying harder and sooner for the other offices to handle this better, like he started doing in July. (It sounds like he is claiming he didn't know about it until now, though, and that he didn't get a heads' up on it from the OIG until last month. How could he not know though? I guess HR staff treated it as normal since it had been that way for years so didn't raise it to him as a problem, and he never asked?)

Read bottom of page 1 of this thread and top of page 2. He has been "initiated" into mcps

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So am I understanding correctly that the main issue here is that when MCPS started participating in the "Rap Back" system in 2019 that automatically notifies them of new criminal background check issues that come up for staff, they didn't go back and add existing employees to that system, and still haven't as of 2025? And the OIG notified Taylor of this a few months ago but he decided that since it would be expensive/inconvenient to assign a ton of CO staff to get them all entered ASAP (or hire a bunch of temps to do so), and since his predecessors since 2019 hadn't treated it with that level of urgency, he wouldn't either? And then in the last month (presumably because of the report coming out) he decided to do it after all?

You got that right for most part. Don't leave out the CPS check portion of the story as well, which is a state law requirement.

It seems like the issue with the delays on CPS checks is with the county/state offices who actually do them and are understaffed and way behind, right? I guess MCPS could be prohibiting people from working until the checks go through but that sounds like it would cause a huge staffing hole if they're really thousands of new hires behind.

I guess also you could argue Taylor should have been raising the alarm and lobbying harder and sooner for the other offices to handle this better, like he started doing in July. (It sounds like he is claiming he didn't know about it until now, though, and that he didn't get a heads' up on it from the OIG until last month. How could he not know though? I guess HR staff treated it as normal since it had been that way for years so didn't raise it to him as a problem, and he never asked?)

If you read the OIG report, Megan Limarzi clearly says she advised him of the issue in Dec. 2024.

The fact is: By not complying with state law, and allowing MCPS staff to work without these MANDATED checks and clearances, Taylor is putting MCPS at risk for serious liability. This was also said in the OIG report.

Taylor has no excuse for NOT chasing this down aggressively in Dec when he was told about it by the OIG. He also failed to show up to a single meeting regarding this issue with the OIG's office.

Taylor said she told him about the criminal background check issues back in December but that she did not mention the CPS issue until recently. Her response doesn't appear to me to contradict that-- which, given how hard she pushed back on other things he said, leads me to believe that is correct. (Not saying she did it on purpose, she may have only learned of it recently or have assumed he already knew.) That said, his own staff should have raised it for him and he should have been asking the right questions to learn about it on his own if they didn't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So am I understanding correctly that the main issue here is that when MCPS started participating in the "Rap Back" system in 2019 that automatically notifies them of new criminal background check issues that come up for staff, they didn't go back and add existing employees to that system, and still haven't as of 2025? And the OIG notified Taylor of this a few months ago but he decided that since it would be expensive/inconvenient to assign a ton of CO staff to get them all entered ASAP (or hire a bunch of temps to do so), and since his predecessors since 2019 hadn't treated it with that level of urgency, he wouldn't either? And then in the last month (presumably because of the report coming out) he decided to do it after all?

You got that right for most part. Don't leave out the CPS check portion of the story as well, which is a state law requirement.

It seems like the issue with the delays on CPS checks is with the county/state offices who actually do them and are understaffed and way behind, right? I guess MCPS could be prohibiting people from working until the checks go through but that sounds like it would cause a huge staffing hole if they're really thousands of new hires behind.

I guess also you could argue Taylor should have been raising the alarm and lobbying harder and sooner for the other offices to handle this better, like he started doing in July. (It sounds like he is claiming he didn't know about it until now, though, and that he didn't get a heads' up on it from the OIG until last month. How could he not know though? I guess HR staff treated it as normal since it had been that way for years so didn't raise it to him as a problem, and he never asked?)

If you read the OIG report, Megan Limarzi clearly says she advised him of the issue in Dec. 2024.

The fact is: By not complying with state law, and allowing MCPS staff to work without these MANDATED checks and clearances, Taylor is putting MCPS at risk for serious liability. This was also said in the OIG report.

Taylor has no excuse for NOT chasing this down aggressively in Dec when he was told about it by the OIG. He also failed to show up to a single meeting regarding this issue with the OIG's office.

Taylor said she told him about the criminal background check issues back in December but that she did not mention the CPS issue until recently. Her response doesn't appear to me to contradict that-- which, given how hard she pushed back on other things he said, leads me to believe that is correct. (Not saying she did it on purpose, she may have only learned of it recently or have assumed he already knew.) That said, his own staff should have raised it for him and he should have been asking the right questions to learn about it on his own if they didn't.

Sweep under the bus was that the approach?
If he can't handle this job, well, you know what he should do. What is the Associate Superintendent in charge of?

[Anonymous]

do at this moment
Parents: contact your STATE elected Delegates and State Senator

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So am I understanding correctly that the main issue here is that when MCPS started participating in the "Rap Back" system in 2019 that automatically notifies them of new criminal background check issues that come up for staff, they didn't go back and add existing employees to that system, and still haven't as of 2025? And the OIG notified Taylor of this a few months ago but he decided that since it would be expensive/inconvenient to assign a ton of CO staff to get them all entered ASAP (or hire a bunch of temps to do so), and since his predecessors since 2019 hadn't treated it with that level of urgency, he wouldn't either? And then in the last month (presumably because of the report coming out) he decided to do it after all?

You got that right for most part. Don't leave out the CPS check portion of the story as well, which is a state law requirement.

It seems like the issue with the delays on CPS checks is with the county/state offices who actually do them and are understaffed and way behind, right? I guess MCPS could be prohibiting people from working until the checks go through but that sounds like it would cause a huge staffing hole if they're really thousands of new hires behind.

I guess also you could argue Taylor should have been raising the alarm and lobbying harder and sooner for the other offices to handle this better, like he started doing in July. (It sounds like he is claiming he didn't know about it until now, though, and that he didn't get a heads' up on it from the OIG until last month. How could he not know though? I guess HR staff treated it as normal since it had been that way for years so didn't raise it to him as a problem, and he never asked?)

What was that saying, Cram? "If you see it, say it"... What happened there, Cram? They've been seeing it, but didn't say anything??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So am I understanding correctly that the main issue here is that when MCPS started participating in the "Rap Back" system in 2019 that automatically notifies them of new criminal background check issues that come up for staff, they didn't go back and add existing employees to that system, and still haven't as of 2025? And the OIG notified Taylor of this a few months ago but he decided that since it would be expensive/inconvenient to assign a ton of CO staff to get them all entered ASAP (or hire a bunch of temps to do so), and since his predecessors since 2019 hadn't treated it with that level of urgency, he wouldn't either? And then in the last month (presumably because of the report coming out) he decided to do it after all?

You got that right for most part. Don't leave out the CPS check portion of the story as well, which is a state law requirement.

It seems like the issue with the delays on CPS checks is with the county/state offices who actually do them and are understaffed and way behind, right? I guess MCPS could be prohibiting people from working until the checks go through but that sounds like it would cause a huge staffing hole if they're really thousands of new hires behind.

I guess also you could argue Taylor should have been raising the alarm and lobbying harder and sooner for the other offices to handle this better, like he started doing in July. (It sounds like he is claiming he didn't know about it until now, though, and that he didn't get a heads' up on it from the OIG until last month. How could he not know though? I guess HR staff treated it as normal since it had been that way for years so didn't raise it to him as a problem, and he never asked?)

If you read the OIG report, Megan Limarzi clearly says she advised him of the issue in Dec. 2024.

The fact is: By not complying with state law, and allowing MCPS staff to work without these MANDATED checks and clearances, Taylor is putting MCPS at risk for serious liability. This was also said in the OIG report.

Taylor has no excuse for NOT chasing this down aggressively in Dec when he was told about it by the OIG. He also failed to show up to a single meeting regarding this issue with the OIG's office.

Taylor said she told him about the criminal background check issues back in December but that she did not mention the CPS issue until recently. Her response doesn't appear to me to contradict that-- which, given how hard she pushed back on other things he said, leads me to believe that is correct. (Not saying she did it on purpose, she may have only learned of it recently or have assumed he already knew.) That said, his own staff should have raised it for him and he should have been asking the right questions to learn about it on his own if they didn't.

I'm inclined to take the OIG/Limarzi's version of events over Taylor's, since Taylor/MCPS have the track of lying and obfuscating and the OIG doesn't.

Even if you want to say that Limarzi didn't specifically state the CPS check issues in December, he certainly had that heads up when the draft reports were shared with MCPS in May. The reason why Taylor didn't know is because he delegated it to his staff. That they failed to communicate the issues to him is a management/leadership problem on his part.