MCPS BoE Gets Hands Slapped for Violating Open Meetings Act

[Anonymous]

Source: https://moco360.media/2023/05/15/board-of-education-violated-open-meetings-act-state-compliance-board-says/

The Montgomery County Public Schools Board of Education violated part of the state Open Meetings Act during a closed session last year by failing to provide sufficiently detailed disclosures to the public before meeting in closed session, according to an opinion letter from the Maryland Open Meetings Compliance Board that was made public Friday.

The state board’s finding comes as the school board and MCPS are responding defensively to a call for greater transparency from County Council President Evan Glass (D-At-large), which he described in an op-ed in MoCo360.

An MCPS spokesperson did not immediately respond to requests for comment via text and email Saturday.

Yikes. Dr. McKnight and Karla Silvestre's insistence that MCPS is open and accountable just lost the last leg that it was standing on. Evan Glass and the other council members are going to rightfully eat their lunch over this.

[Anonymous]

They also don’t allow the person/entity who filed the complaint being discussed in the closed session to attend. I understand why it needs to be private from the public but if you’re discussing a personnel matter, the employee in question is not permitted to be in the room during the discussion/vote on his matter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Source: https://moco360.media/2023/05/15/board-of-education-violated-open-meetings-act-state-compliance-board-says/

The Montgomery County Public Schools Board of Education violated part of the state Open Meetings Act during a closed session last year by failing to provide sufficiently detailed disclosures to the public before meeting in closed session, according to an opinion letter from the Maryland Open Meetings Compliance Board that was made public Friday.

The state board’s finding comes as the school board and MCPS are responding defensively to a call for greater transparency from County Council President Evan Glass (D-At-large), which he described in an op-ed in MoCo360.

An MCPS spokesperson did not immediately respond to requests for comment via text and email Saturday.

Yikes. Dr. McKnight and Karla Silvestre's insistence that MCPS is open and accountable just lost the last leg that it was standing on. Evan Glass and the other council members are going to rightfully eat their lunch over this.

"The complaint was filed by Janis Zink Sartucci of the Parents’ Coalition of Montgomery County [sic] and the response was posted on the coalition’s website Friday."

Did she also post the Open Meetings Compliance Board opinion from February 3, 2022, about a separate complaint that was presumably also filed by her, where the board found no violation? https://www.marylandattorneygeneral.gov/Opinions%20OMCB%20Documents/Vol16/16OMCB062.pdf

Or this other one, from March 30, 2022, where the board found no violation? https://www.marylandattorneygeneral.gov/Opinions%20OMCB%20Documents/Vol16/16OMCB085.pdf

Or how about this one, from March 31, 2022, where the board found no violation? https://www.marylandattorneygeneral.gov/Opinions%20OMCB%20Documents/Vol16/16OMCB088.pdf

Or this one, from August 9, 2021, where the board found no violation? https://www.marylandattorneygeneral.gov/Opinions%20OMCB%20Documents/Vol15/15OMCB091.pdf

I think the Open Meetings Act is a good thing, and every public agency should abide by it, but when you have someone who files Open Meetings Act complaints against you as a hobby, chances are, every now and then, the board will find a violation, no matter what you do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Source: https://moco360.media/2023/05/15/board-of-education-violated-open-meetings-act-state-compliance-board-says/

The Montgomery County Public Schools Board of Education violated part of the state Open Meetings Act during a closed session last year by failing to provide sufficiently detailed disclosures to the public before meeting in closed session, according to an opinion letter from the Maryland Open Meetings Compliance Board that was made public Friday.

The state board’s finding comes as the school board and MCPS are responding defensively to a call for greater transparency from County Council President Evan Glass (D-At-large), which he described in an op-ed in MoCo360.

An MCPS spokesperson did not immediately respond to requests for comment via text and email Saturday.

Yikes. Dr. McKnight and Karla Silvestre's insistence that MCPS is open and accountable just lost the last leg that it was standing on. Evan Glass and the other council members are going to rightfully eat their lunch over this.

"The complaint was filed by Janis Zink Sartucci of the Parents’ Coalition of Montgomery County [sic] and the response was posted on the coalition’s website Friday."

Did she also post the Open Meetings Compliance Board opinion from February 3, 2022, about a separate complaint that was presumably also filed by her, where the board found no violation? https://www.marylandattorneygeneral.gov/Opinions%20OMCB%20Documents/Vol16/16OMCB062.pdf

Or this other one, from March 30, 2022, where the board found no violation? https://www.marylandattorneygeneral.gov/Opinions%20OMCB%20Documents/Vol16/16OMCB085.pdf

Or how about this one, from March 31, 2022, where the board found no violation? https://www.marylandattorneygeneral.gov/Opinions%20OMCB%20Documents/Vol16/16OMCB088.pdf

Or this one, from August 9, 2021, where the board found no violation? https://www.marylandattorneygeneral.gov/Opinions%20OMCB%20Documents/Vol15/15OMCB091.pdf

I think the Open Meetings Act is a good thing, and every public agency should abide by it, but when you have someone who files Open Meetings Act complaints against you as a hobby, chances are, every now and then, the board will find a violation, no matter what you do.

So the assertions by Evan Glass and other council members that the board lacks transparency and accountability are baseless too? Even if you think Sartucci is an opportunist and just trying to make trouble for the board, there's no smoke without fire. And she wouldn't be successful if some of the things she's complaining about aren't in fact happening.

Hold MCPS accountable for its behavior and decisions. Don't make excuses for them.

[Anonymous]

Why is she the only person that can file an open meeting complaint? Is the law written just for her?

[Anonymous]

Do you genuinely think that the BOE meeting to discuss union negotiations without specifying which union they're meeting with or not specifying whether discussions about litigation were concerning on-going, impeding, or potential litigation actually compromised your ability to hold the board accountable?

They should comply with the law sure, but it's impossible for me to imagine a world in which any parent or voter would do anything differently in response to a statement that said the board was meeting to discuss "The Board’s strategy, positions, and parameters concerning collective bargaining negotiations" versus a statement that added "with MCEA" to the statement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why is she the only person that can file an open meeting complaint? Is the law written just for her?

She isn't the only person who can. Everyone can. But not everyone does.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you genuinely think that the BOE meeting to discuss union negotiations without specifying which union they're meeting with or not specifying whether discussions about litigation were concerning on-going, impeding, or potential litigation actually compromised your ability to hold the board accountable?

They should comply with the law sure, but it's impossible for me to imagine a world in which any parent or voter would do anything differently in response to a statement that said the board was meeting to discuss "The Board’s strategy, positions, and parameters concerning collective bargaining negotiations" versus a statement that added "with MCEA" to the statement.

In other words, you don't think this violation is that significant. I get it. You can say that and you're entitled to that opinion.

I'm just saying that this decision, on top of the EXISTING ALLEGATIONS about the board's lack of transparency and accountability from MULTIPLE FRONTS, not just Sartucci and the Parents' Coalition, are giving legitimate ammo to those individuals.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
So the assertions by Evan Glass and other council members that the board lacks transparency and accountability are baseless too? Even if you think Sartucci is an opportunist and just trying to make trouble for the board, there's no smoke without fire. And she wouldn't be successful if some of the things she's complaining about aren't in fact happening.

Hold MCPS accountable for its behavior and decisions. Don't make excuses for them.

That's silly. Sometimes there is smoke, or rather "smoke", without fire.

Now, is MCPS all that an organization could be? Far from it. However, whatever she's doing isn't "holding MCPS accountable" and doesn't contribute to it. All she does is fling mud.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is she the only person that can file an open meeting complaint? Is the law written just for her?

She isn't the only person who can. Everyone can. But not everyone does.

That is not what he said. He said all the complaints filed were filed by one person. He said that without any proof. Where are the articles on the other complaints that say they were all filed by one person?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you genuinely think that the BOE meeting to discuss union negotiations without specifying which union they're meeting with or not specifying whether discussions about litigation were concerning on-going, impeding, or potential litigation actually compromised your ability to hold the board accountable?

They should comply with the law sure, but it's impossible for me to imagine a world in which any parent or voter would do anything differently in response to a statement that said the board was meeting to discuss "The Board’s strategy, positions, and parameters concerning collective bargaining negotiations" versus a statement that added "with MCEA" to the statement.

You have a pretty limited mind. For you the Board of education can meet in closed session and change curriculum or the calendar because as long as they don’t disclose it you are blissfully unaware.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is she the only person that can file an open meeting complaint? Is the law written just for her?

She isn't the only person who can. Everyone can. But not everyone does.

That is not what he said. He said all the complaints filed were filed by one person. He said that without any proof. Where are the articles on the other complaints that say they were all filed by one person?

You're welcome to go through the "Parents' Coalition" website to see if they reported on the complaints where the board found no violation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
So the assertions by Evan Glass and other council members that the board lacks transparency and accountability are baseless too? Even if you think Sartucci is an opportunist and just trying to make trouble for the board, there's no smoke without fire. And she wouldn't be successful if some of the things she's complaining about aren't in fact happening.

Hold MCPS accountable for its behavior and decisions. Don't make excuses for them.

That's silly. Sometimes there is smoke, or rather "smoke", without fire.

Now, is MCPS all that an organization could be? Far from it. However, whatever she's doing isn't "holding MCPS accountable" and doesn't contribute to it. All she does is fling mud.

Like exposing hundreds of millions in no bid purchases? Funny right now when MCPS is saying the entire system will collapse if they don’t get $40M more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is she the only person that can file an open meeting complaint? Is the law written just for her?

She isn't the only person who can. Everyone can. But not everyone does.

That is not what he said. He said all the complaints filed were filed by one person. He said that without any proof. Where are the articles on the other complaints that say they were all filed by one person?

You're welcome to go through the "Parents' Coalition" website to see if they reported on the complaints where the board found no violation.

That’s not what he said. He said one person filed all the complaints. Source?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is she the only person that can file an open meeting complaint? Is the law written just for her?

She isn't the only person who can. Everyone can. But not everyone does.

That is not what he said. He said all the complaints filed were filed by one person. He said that without any proof. Where are the articles on the other complaints that say they were all filed by one person?

You're welcome to go through the "Parents' Coalition" website to see if they reported on the complaints where the board found no violation.

That’s not what he said. He said one person filed all the complaints. Source?

"He" who? I'm the PP who listed other complaints, and I said "presumably" - because I know for a fact that she has made a practice of filing Open Meetings Act complaints, for years. But you're right, maybe it wasn't her, maybe it was Gwyneth Paltrow or Justin Trudeau or Lionel Messi or who knows. The Open Meetings Compliance Board opinions don't say who filed the complaints.