Council hearing on MCPS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As mentioned at the hearing, the evidence shows a culture of protecting the reputation of MCPS over protecting staff and students.

Biedleman was not the only employee MCPS received complaints about harassment and bullying in recent years. Is anyone in MCPS, the IG, or the County Council willing to relook at those cases as well. It seems that the same culture in MCPS that promoted Biedleman would allow equally damaging individuals to also continue their employment in MCPS because of MCPS response to ignore complaints.

To clean house and rebuild trust in the school system would mean to relook at other complaints that were originally ignored.

It’s not just principals. There’s a systemwide culture of bullying. There are RT’s who should be investigated but surely have not. There are many administrative assistants who have been mistreated and abused.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it’s just one person casting shade on the QO principal with no evidence, or they would have shared it by now. Maybe they wish she had been taken down in this debacle with them.

Kimball has the evidence.

Breadcrumbs in this forum. Hopefully the right people are looking here.

Better yet, instead of posting anonymous claims on DCUM, people with information should be contacting the inspector general's office.

Yes this! Best way out of this culture of lies and hiding is to report what is known clearly and openly. I can’t imagine that ‘breadcrumb’ evidence spread through this forum will be much to bring issues to the light of day. I am so very ready for simple straight forward speaking.

You don't work in a (still) bullying system where you fear retribution and need the paycheck to pay bills.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As mentioned at the hearing, the evidence shows a culture of protecting the reputation of MCPS over protecting staff and students.

Biedleman was not the only employee MCPS received complaints about harassment and bullying in recent years. Is anyone in MCPS, the IG, or the County Council willing to relook at those cases as well. It seems that the same culture in MCPS that promoted Biedleman would allow equally damaging individuals to also continue their employment in MCPS because of MCPS response to ignore complaints.

To clean house and rebuild trust in the school system would mean to relook at other complaints that were originally ignored.

It’s not just principals. There’s a systemwide culture of bullying. There are RT’s who should be investigated but surely have not. There are many administrative assistants who have been mistreated and abused.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As mentioned at the hearing, the evidence shows a culture of protecting the reputation of MCPS over protecting staff and students.

Biedleman was not the only employee MCPS received complaints about harassment and bullying in recent years. Is anyone in MCPS, the IG, or the County Council willing to relook at those cases as well. It seems that the same culture in MCPS that promoted Biedleman would allow equally damaging individuals to also continue their employment in MCPS because of MCPS response to ignore complaints.

To clean house and rebuild trust in the school system would mean to relook at other complaints that were originally ignored.

It’s not just principals. There’s a systemwide culture of bullying. There are RT’s who should be investigated but surely have not. There are many administrative assistants who have been mistreated and abused.

+1 All bullying and harassment complaints should be re-examined. This would include complaints filed by students. The BOE was complicit in complaints that were raised to their level on appeal. To say that MCPS only ignored and promoted one heinous individual is ignoring the pervasiveness of the culture when complaints were made.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As mentioned at the hearing, the evidence shows a culture of protecting the reputation of MCPS over protecting staff and students.

Biedleman was not the only employee MCPS received complaints about harassment and bullying in recent years. Is anyone in MCPS, the IG, or the County Council willing to relook at those cases as well. It seems that the same culture in MCPS that promoted Biedleman would allow equally damaging individuals to also continue their employment in MCPS because of MCPS response to ignore complaints.

To clean house and rebuild trust in the school system would mean to relook at other complaints that were originally ignored.

It’s not just principals. There’s a systemwide culture of bullying. There are RT’s who should be investigated but surely have not. There are many administrative assistants who have been mistreated and abused.

+1 All bullying and harassment complaints should be re-examined. This would include complaints filed by students. The BOE was complicit in complaints that were raised to their level on appeal. To say that MCPS only ignored and promoted one heinous individual is ignoring the pervasiveness of the culture when complaints were made.

Beidleman and Mcknight took the fall for everyone and we know why. All complaints should be re evaluated and results should be the same. There are principals right now that flew under the radar and I hope mcps opens those complaints back up. There are principals who have sexually harassed subordinates and subsequently became principal of the year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As mentioned at the hearing, the evidence shows a culture of protecting the reputation of MCPS over protecting staff and students.

Biedleman was not the only employee MCPS received complaints about harassment and bullying in recent years. Is anyone in MCPS, the IG, or the County Council willing to relook at those cases as well. It seems that the same culture in MCPS that promoted Biedleman would allow equally damaging individuals to also continue their employment in MCPS because of MCPS response to ignore complaints.

To clean house and rebuild trust in the school system would mean to relook at other complaints that were originally ignored.

It’s not just principals. There’s a systemwide culture of bullying. There are RT’s who should be investigated but surely have not. There are many administrative assistants who have been mistreated and abused.

+1 All bullying and harassment complaints should be re-examined. This would include complaints filed by students. The BOE was complicit in complaints that were raised to their level on appeal. To say that MCPS only ignored and promoted one heinous individual is ignoring the pervasiveness of the culture when complaints were made.

Beidleman and Mcknight took the fall for everyone and we know why. All complaints should be re evaluated and results should be the same. There are principals right now that flew under the radar and I hope mcps opens those complaints back up. There are principals who have sexually harassed subordinates and subsequently became principal of the year.

Since you’re the one who has a beef with the QO principal, why don’t you share your complaint. Or go back to the drawing board and file your complaint again if it was ignored.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As mentioned at the hearing, the evidence shows a culture of protecting the reputation of MCPS over protecting staff and students.

Biedleman was not the only employee MCPS received complaints about harassment and bullying in recent years. Is anyone in MCPS, the IG, or the County Council willing to relook at those cases as well. It seems that the same culture in MCPS that promoted Biedleman would allow equally damaging individuals to also continue their employment in MCPS because of MCPS response to ignore complaints.

To clean house and rebuild trust in the school system would mean to relook at other complaints that were originally ignored.

It’s not just principals. There’s a systemwide culture of bullying. There are RT’s who should be investigated but surely have not. There are many administrative assistants who have been mistreated and abused.

+1 All bullying and harassment complaints should be re-examined. This would include complaints filed by students. The BOE was complicit in complaints that were raised to their level on appeal. To say that MCPS only ignored and promoted one heinous individual is ignoring the pervasiveness of the culture when complaints were made.

Beidleman and Mcknight took the fall for everyone and we know why. All complaints should be re evaluated and results should be the same. There are principals right now that flew under the radar and I hope mcps opens those complaints back up. There are principals who have sexually harassed subordinates and subsequently became principal of the year.

It hasn’t just been principals doing the bullying and harassing, however principals who received complaints helped to squash them along with their Directors and Associate Superintendents. Many of the bad apples remain. MCPS may automatically delete emails but not those who filed complaints.

If the Washington Post ever wanted to do a follow up series, there are more complaint cases that were swept under the rug by MCPS.

[Anonymous]

After reading the unredacted report, I feel like a critical problem with the complaint handling process is that the department in charge investigating complaints is also allowed to self-determine which complaints to investigate. Meaning they have a huge incentive to not investigate as it only creates more work for themselves. That, and if they find a complaint to be substantiated, it creates even more work for themselves, so they're pretty motivated to avoid that outcome. The whole sad story just sounded like a lot of people that would much rather go home to dinner than deal with anything unpleasant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:After reading the unredacted report, I feel like a critical problem with the complaint handling process is that the department in charge investigating complaints is also allowed to self-determine which complaints to investigate. Meaning they have a huge incentive to not investigate as it only creates more work for themselves. That, and if they find a complaint to be substantiated, it creates even more work for themselves, so they're pretty motivated to avoid that outcome. The whole sad story just sounded like a lot of people that would much rather go home to dinner than deal with anything unpleasant.

This is also true of police fyi - the office in charge of investigating complaints about police is also allowed to determine which complaints to investigate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:After reading the unredacted report, I feel like a critical problem with the complaint handling process is that the department in charge investigating complaints is also allowed to self-determine which complaints to investigate. Meaning they have a huge incentive to not investigate as it only creates more work for themselves. That, and if they find a complaint to be substantiated, it creates even more work for themselves, so they're pretty motivated to avoid that outcome. The whole sad story just sounded like a lot of people that would much rather go home to dinner than deal with anything unpleasant.

+1 This is why MCPS is a safe haven for bullies, harassers, and sexual predators. Even when someone is seriously harmed and goes out on a limb to file a complaint, the complaint at a minimum is unheard and in the worst cases, the complainant faces harsh retaliation.

The BOE cannot rebuild trust in MCPS without getting rid of the toxic staff that have been reported but remain in their school system. Biedleman was just the tip of the iceberg.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:After reading the unredacted report, I feel like a critical problem with the complaint handling process is that the department in charge investigating complaints is also allowed to self-determine which complaints to investigate. Meaning they have a huge incentive to not investigate as it only creates more work for themselves. That, and if they find a complaint to be substantiated, it creates even more work for themselves, so they're pretty motivated to avoid that outcome. The whole sad story just sounded like a lot of people that would much rather go home to dinner than deal with anything unpleasant.

+1 This is why MCPS is a safe haven for bullies, harassers, and sexual predators. Even when someone is seriously harmed and goes out on a limb to file a complaint, the complaint at a minimum is unheard and in the worst cases, the complainant faces harsh retaliation.

The BOE cannot rebuild trust in MCPS without getting rid of the toxic staff that have been reported but remain in their school system. Biedleman was just the tip of the iceberg.

And ultimately they chose to scapegoat McKnight rather than address the systemic issues for which the board is largely responsible

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:After reading the unredacted report, I feel like a critical problem with the complaint handling process is that the department in charge investigating complaints is also allowed to self-determine which complaints to investigate. Meaning they have a huge incentive to not investigate as it only creates more work for themselves. That, and if they find a complaint to be substantiated, it creates even more work for themselves, so they're pretty motivated to avoid that outcome. The whole sad story just sounded like a lot of people that would much rather go home to dinner than deal with anything unpleasant.

+1 This is why MCPS is a safe haven for bullies, harassers, and sexual predators. Even when someone is seriously harmed and goes out on a limb to file a complaint, the complaint at a minimum is unheard and in the worst cases, the complainant faces harsh retaliation.

The BOE cannot rebuild trust in MCPS without getting rid of the toxic staff that have been reported but remain in their school system. Biedleman was just the tip of the iceberg.

And ultimately they chose to scapegoat McKnight rather than address the systemic issues for which the board is largely responsible

It's not scapegoating to hold a superintendent responsible for the systemic issues in the system they are the head of.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:After reading the unredacted report, I feel like a critical problem with the complaint handling process is that the department in charge investigating complaints is also allowed to self-determine which complaints to investigate. Meaning they have a huge incentive to not investigate as it only creates more work for themselves. That, and if they find a complaint to be substantiated, it creates even more work for themselves, so they're pretty motivated to avoid that outcome. The whole sad story just sounded like a lot of people that would much rather go home to dinner than deal with anything unpleasant.

+1 This is why MCPS is a safe haven for bullies, harassers, and sexual predators. Even when someone is seriously harmed and goes out on a limb to file a complaint, the complaint at a minimum is unheard and in the worst cases, the complainant faces harsh retaliation.

The BOE cannot rebuild trust in MCPS without getting rid of the toxic staff that have been reported but remain in their school system. Biedleman was just the tip of the iceberg.

We still do not know if any on the Board have connection with any in CO who are no longer. How and why should we trust the BOE?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:After reading the unredacted report, I feel like a critical problem with the complaint handling process is that the department in charge investigating complaints is also allowed to self-determine which complaints to investigate. Meaning they have a huge incentive to not investigate as it only creates more work for themselves. That, and if they find a complaint to be substantiated, it creates even more work for themselves, so they're pretty motivated to avoid that outcome. The whole sad story just sounded like a lot of people that would much rather go home to dinner than deal with anything unpleasant.

+1 This is why MCPS is a safe haven for bullies, harassers, and sexual predators. Even when someone is seriously harmed and goes out on a limb to file a complaint, the complaint at a minimum is unheard and in the worst cases, the complainant faces harsh retaliation.

The BOE cannot rebuild trust in MCPS without getting rid of the toxic staff that have been reported but remain in their school system. Biedleman was just the tip of the iceberg.

And ultimately they chose to scapegoat McKnight rather than address the systemic issues for which the board is largely responsible

It's not scapegoating to hold a superintendent responsible for the systemic issues in the system they are the head of.

Exactly. I don't think anyone is arguing that McKnight was the originator of all of these issues. It's that she was aware of them and allowed them to continue, did not follow several recommendations to improve the systems, and did not share critical information with the board.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:After reading the unredacted report, I feel like a critical problem with the complaint handling process is that the department in charge investigating complaints is also allowed to self-determine which complaints to investigate. Meaning they have a huge incentive to not investigate as it only creates more work for themselves. That, and if they find a complaint to be substantiated, it creates even more work for themselves, so they're pretty motivated to avoid that outcome. The whole sad story just sounded like a lot of people that would much rather go home to dinner than deal with anything unpleasant.

+1 This is why MCPS is a safe haven for bullies, harassers, and sexual predators. Even when someone is seriously harmed and goes out on a limb to file a complaint, the complaint at a minimum is unheard and in the worst cases, the complainant faces harsh retaliation.

The BOE cannot rebuild trust in MCPS without getting rid of the toxic staff that have been reported but remain in their school system. Biedleman was just the tip of the iceberg.

And ultimately they chose to scapegoat McKnight rather than address the systemic issues for which the board is largely responsible

It's not scapegoating to hold a superintendent responsible for the systemic issues in the system they are the head of.

Exactly. I don't think anyone is arguing that McKnight was the originator of all of these issues. It's that she was aware of them and allowed them to continue, did not follow several recommendations to improve the systems, and did not share critical information with the board.

It’s hard to argue she did not follow recommendations to improve the systems when investigations were still ongoing and she did create a plan of action. She was asked to resign before anything effectual could be done, besides removing people. That’s why folks say she was the scapegoat for the BoE and the system.