MoCo school board ordered to pay $518K to former B-CC High teacher accused of racism

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unbelievable. Glad the teacher got a favorable resolution after all that MCPS induced trauma but sad that there is 500k less going into our kids’ educations next year.

Does the MCPS Board have a budget line item to pay out lawsuits for its incompetence or do we just expect class sizes to be bigger next year?

This. The BOE needs to be held accountable as does Taylor and central office.

Taylor wasn't even here when this happened. Nor were half of the board members.

The half the board members who were here when this happened should be held accountable. This is a lot of money and the jury found the Board to be liable for its actions.

This is where being cheap about having good competent oversight ends up costing you more money in the end. 500k in this case

Which board members were there when this happened? Karla Silvestre was I think…

Karla
Brenda
Grace
Julie

Taylor could have settled this long before today. He knew what would come out in court.

They should have investigated it better and never let it go to court. They owe the teacher an apology.

No, they owe him 500k.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unbelievable. Glad the teacher got a favorable resolution after all that MCPS induced trauma but sad that there is 500k less going into our kids’ educations next year.

Does the MCPS Board have a budget line item to pay out lawsuits for its incompetence or do we just expect class sizes to be bigger next year?

This. The BOE needs to be held accountable as does Taylor and central office.

Taylor wasn't even here when this happened. Nor were half of the board members.

The half the board members who were here when this happened should be held accountable. This is a lot of money and the jury found the Board to be liable for its actions.

This is where being cheap about having good competent oversight ends up costing you more money in the end. 500k in this case

Which board members were there when this happened? Karla Silvestre was I think…

Karla
Brenda
Grace
Julie

Taylor could have settled this long before today. He knew what would come out in court.

They should have investigated it better and never let it go to court. They owe the teacher an apology.

No, they owe him 500k.

Now they owe him money as they mishandled it. They could have handled it better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unbelievable. Glad the teacher got a favorable resolution after all that MCPS induced trauma but sad that there is 500k less going into our kids’ educations next year.

Does the MCPS Board have a budget line item to pay out lawsuits for its incompetence or do we just expect class sizes to be bigger next year?

This. The BOE needs to be held accountable as does Taylor and central office.

Taylor wasn't even here when this happened. Nor were half of the board members.

The half the board members who were here when this happened should be held accountable. This is a lot of money and the jury found the Board to be liable for its actions.

This is where being cheap about having good competent oversight ends up costing you more money in the end. 500k in this case

Which board members were there when this happened? Karla Silvestre was I think…

Karla
Brenda
Grace
Julie

Taylor could have settled this long before today. He knew what would come out in court.

They should have investigated it better and never let it go to court. They owe the teacher an apology.

No, they owe him 500k.

Now they owe him money as they mishandled it. They could have handled it better.

Ya think? No money for copy paper and spending big money to compensate a teacher for defaming him because they didn’t handle the investigation professionally and according to its own guidelines.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unbelievable. Glad the teacher got a favorable resolution after all that MCPS induced trauma but sad that there is 500k less going into our kids’ educations next year.

Does the MCPS Board have a budget line item to pay out lawsuits for its incompetence or do we just expect class sizes to be bigger next year?

This. The BOE needs to be held accountable as does Taylor and central office.

Taylor wasn't even here when this happened. Nor were half of the board members.

The half the board members who were here when this happened should be held accountable. This is a lot of money and the jury found the Board to be liable for its actions.

This is where being cheap about having good competent oversight ends up costing you more money in the end. 500k in this case

Which board members were there when this happened? Karla Silvestre was I think…

Karla
Brenda
Grace
Julie

Taylor could have settled this long before today. He knew what would come out in court.

They should have investigated it better and never let it go to court. They owe the teacher an apology.

No, they owe him 500k.

Now they owe him money as they mishandled it. They could have handled it better.

Ya think? No money for copy paper and spending big money to compensate a teacher for defaming him because they didn’t handle the investigation professionally and according to its own guidelines.

We have no labs in HS science, few textbooks (but this may also be the teachers refusing to use thema s they give us them and never use them) and if we are lucky we get pdf's of books they read and they only read 2-3 a school year (and even those are a video or audio in class). Its absurd what teachers have to pay for and what they go without to fund their pet projects.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unbelievable. Glad the teacher got a favorable resolution after all that MCPS induced trauma but sad that there is 500k less going into our kids’ educations next year.

Does the MCPS Board have a budget line item to pay out lawsuits for its incompetence or do we just expect class sizes to be bigger next year?

This. The BOE needs to be held accountable as does Taylor and central office.

Taylor wasn't even here when this happened. Nor were half of the board members.

The half the board members who were here when this happened should be held accountable. This is a lot of money and the jury found the Board to be liable for its actions.

This is where being cheap about having good competent oversight ends up costing you more money in the end. 500k in this case

Which board members were there when this happened? Karla Silvestre was I think…

Karla
Brenda
Grace
Julie

Taylor could have settled this long before today. He knew what would come out in court.

Yes he could have. Does MCPS not hire lawyers who are competent at assessing the merits of a case? Mooney embarrassed all of BCC when he testified that he made up the quote defaming the teacher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can someone just tell me if the guy is racist.

Email him and ask him yourself

I'm just saying i get that he won his defamation suit, but did he do the thing the students said?

Which students? They all gave conflicting statements.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Unbelievable. Glad the teacher got a favorable resolution after all that MCPS induced trauma but sad that there is 500k less going into our kids’ educations next year.

Does the MCPS Board have a budget line item to pay out lawsuits for its incompetence or do we just expect class sizes to be bigger next year?

MCPS definitely has a line item for all of the SpED lawsuits.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unbelievable. Glad the teacher got a favorable resolution after all that MCPS induced trauma but sad that there is 500k less going into our kids’ educations next year.

Does the MCPS Board have a budget line item to pay out lawsuits for its incompetence or do we just expect class sizes to be bigger next year?

This. The BOE needs to be held accountable as does Taylor and central office.

Taylor wasn't even here when this happened. Nor were half of the board members.

The half the board members who were here when this happened should be held accountable. This is a lot of money and the jury found the Board to be liable for its actions.

This is where being cheap about having good competent oversight ends up costing you more money in the end. 500k in this case

Which board members were there when this happened? Karla Silvestre was I think…

Karla
Brenda
Grace
Julie

Taylor could have settled this long before today. He knew what would come out in court.

Yes he could have. Does MCPS not hire lawyers who are competent at assessing the merits of a case? Mooney embarrassed all of BCC when he testified that he made up the quote defaming the teacher.

I think Mooney has embarrassed BCC more times than just admitting in court that he lied.

The way he handled the lockdown was embarassing.

But then you had a group of kiss-ass teachers who rallied around him and finger-wagged at those who said Mooney should be held accountable: https://bethesdamagazine.com/2025/03/18/bethesda-chevy-chase-high-staff-show-support-safety-concerns/

Concern that Mooney might be made a scapegoat led the representatives to organize a walk-in for Tuesday morning to demonstrate staff support and urge MCPS to help the school work on systemic change to improve safety. Dozens of emails of support for Mooney were sent to MCPS leaders, according to Michael Arden, an English teacher and MCEA building representative.

Disgusting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unbelievable. Glad the teacher got a favorable resolution after all that MCPS induced trauma but sad that there is 500k less going into our kids’ educations next year.

Does the MCPS Board have a budget line item to pay out lawsuits for its incompetence or do we just expect class sizes to be bigger next year?

This. The BOE needs to be held accountable as does Taylor and central office.

I’m just worried more lawsuits are coming as the political climate is very favorable to them.

Meanwhile, I have colleagues who are racist and there doesn’t seem to be anyway to dislodge them from positions working with our most vulnerable students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unbelievable. Glad the teacher got a favorable resolution after all that MCPS induced trauma but sad that there is 500k less going into our kids’ educations next year.

Does the MCPS Board have a budget line item to pay out lawsuits for its incompetence or do we just expect class sizes to be bigger next year?

This. The BOE needs to be held accountable as does Taylor and central office.

I’m just worried more lawsuits are coming as the political climate is very favorable to them.

Meanwhile, I have colleagues who are racist and there doesn’t seem to be anyway to dislodge them from positions working with our most vulnerable students.

Isn't that what the antiracism audit and action plan that MCPS spent millions of taxpayer dollars on in consulting fees and staffing supposed to be combatting?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unbelievable. Glad the teacher got a favorable resolution after all that MCPS induced trauma but sad that there is 500k less going into our kids’ educations next year.

Does the MCPS Board have a budget line item to pay out lawsuits for its incompetence or do we just expect class sizes to be bigger next year?

This. The BOE needs to be held accountable as does Taylor and central office.

I’m just worried more lawsuits are coming as the political climate is very favorable to them.

Meanwhile, I have colleagues who are racist and there doesn’t seem to be anyway to dislodge them from positions working with our most vulnerable students.

Don't blame this on the "political climate." The BCC principal admitted he fabricated evidence defaming a teacher on the stand. The jury didn't even have to deliberate for more than a few hours. MCPS had a crap case. But yes, I would be worried if this is the level of competence MCPS has. So much of our education tax dollars are going to go to pay out people who have legit claims of being harmed by MCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unbelievable. Glad the teacher got a favorable resolution after all that MCPS induced trauma but sad that there is 500k less going into our kids’ educations next year.

Does the MCPS Board have a budget line item to pay out lawsuits for its incompetence or do we just expect class sizes to be bigger next year?

This. The BOE needs to be held accountable as does Taylor and central office.

I’m just worried more lawsuits are coming as the political climate is very favorable to them.

Meanwhile, I have colleagues who are racist and there doesn’t seem to be anyway to dislodge them from positions working with our most vulnerable students.

Don't blame this on the "political climate." The BCC principal admitted he fabricated evidence defaming a teacher on the stand. The jury didn't even have to deliberate for more than a few hours. MCPS had a crap case. But yes, I would be worried if this is the level of competence MCPS has. So much of our education tax dollars are going to go to pay out people who have legit claims of being harmed by MCPS.

Then why did the jury absolve him of responsibility?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unbelievable. Glad the teacher got a favorable resolution after all that MCPS induced trauma but sad that there is 500k less going into our kids’ educations next year.

Does the MCPS Board have a budget line item to pay out lawsuits for its incompetence or do we just expect class sizes to be bigger next year?

This. The BOE needs to be held accountable as does Taylor and central office.

I’m just worried more lawsuits are coming as the political climate is very favorable to them.

Meanwhile, I have colleagues who are racist and there doesn’t seem to be anyway to dislodge them from positions working with our most vulnerable students.

Don't blame this on the "political climate." The BCC principal admitted he fabricated evidence defaming a teacher on the stand. The jury didn't even have to deliberate for more than a few hours. MCPS had a crap case. But yes, I would be worried if this is the level of competence MCPS has. So much of our education tax dollars are going to go to pay out people who have legit claims of being harmed by MCPS.

Then why did the jury absolve him of responsibility?

Because he said a whole lot of people at MCPS approved his statement that fabricated evidence. The jury found the MCPS Board responsible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unbelievable. Glad the teacher got a favorable resolution after all that MCPS induced trauma but sad that there is 500k less going into our kids’ educations next year.

Does the MCPS Board have a budget line item to pay out lawsuits for its incompetence or do we just expect class sizes to be bigger next year?

This. The BOE needs to be held accountable as does Taylor and central office.

I’m just worried more lawsuits are coming as the political climate is very favorable to them.

Meanwhile, I have colleagues who are racist and there doesn’t seem to be anyway to dislodge them from positions working with our most vulnerable students.

Don't blame this on the "political climate." The BCC principal admitted he fabricated evidence defaming a teacher on the stand. The jury didn't even have to deliberate for more than a few hours. MCPS had a crap case. But yes, I would be worried if this is the level of competence MCPS has. So much of our education tax dollars are going to go to pay out people who have legit claims of being harmed by MCPS.

Then why did the jury absolve him of responsibility?

Because he said a whole lot of people at MCPS approved his statement that fabricated evidence. The jury found the MCPS Board responsible.

How would they know though

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unbelievable. Glad the teacher got a favorable resolution after all that MCPS induced trauma but sad that there is 500k less going into our kids’ educations next year.

Does the MCPS Board have a budget line item to pay out lawsuits for its incompetence or do we just expect class sizes to be bigger next year?

This. The BOE needs to be held accountable as does Taylor and central office.

I’m just worried more lawsuits are coming as the political climate is very favorable to them.

Meanwhile, I have colleagues who are racist and there doesn’t seem to be anyway to dislodge them from positions working with our most vulnerable students.

Don't blame this on the "political climate." The BCC principal admitted he fabricated evidence defaming a teacher on the stand. The jury didn't even have to deliberate for more than a few hours. MCPS had a crap case. But yes, I would be worried if this is the level of competence MCPS has. So much of our education tax dollars are going to go to pay out people who have legit claims of being harmed by MCPS.

Then why did the jury absolve him of responsibility?

Because he said a whole lot of people at MCPS approved his statement that fabricated evidence. The jury found the MCPS Board responsible.

Well, it's a litlle more Russian doll than that. The jury found that MCPS is responsible and that the board is responsible for MCPS.