Md. Senate delays vote on state super selection

The Maryland Senate will decide next week whether it should have a say in who is chosen as the next state superintendent of schools.

The Senate was scheduled on Friday to vote on a bill that would change the selection process of the state superintendent. Instead, it delayed action after questions were raised about whether the Senate has the legal authority to confirm the head of the state’s school system.

The Senate plans to ask for an opinion from the state Attorney General’s office on whether the legislation infringes on separation of powers. The bill is scheduled to be taken up on Tuesday.

The decision to delay the vote came after a lengthy debate about why Democratic legislative leaders were trying to change a system that has been in place for 100 years. Under the current process, the Senate confirms the members of the state Board of Education, who are appointed by the governor. The board then makes the selection of the school superintendent.

“It’s not broken,” said Sen. George C. Edwards (R-Washington), noting that there have only been seven superintendents in the past century. “I think it’s worked over the last 100 years.”

[Some Maryland lawmakers want a say in who is state’s next schools chief]

Republican senators repeatedly asked why the Senate wanted to change the process now.

Some see it as a power grab by the Democratic-controlled General Assembly.

Sen. Paul Pinsky (D-Prince George’s), the bill sponsor, said the measure is designed to provide oversight.

Doug Mayer, a spokesman for Gov. Larry Hogan (R), called the argument “utter rubbish.”

“This bill would radically change 100 years of progressive policy, and add a duplicative and unnecessary political layer to what is already a well-functioning process,” Mayer said. “In terms of policy, process, and politics, this is a flawed and poorly considered piece of legislation that would endanger the very nature of the state’s educational system.”

But Sen. William C. Ferguson (D-Baltimore) said the policy-making power that the state superintendent has is “enormous.” Those powers will only increase, he said, under the new federal law that gives state’s more authority over education policy.

“It makes absolute rational sense to do this now,” Ferguson said.

The state Board of Education plans to name a new superintendent later this year. The current position is held by Interim Superintendent Jack Smith, who took over when Lillian Lowery resigned in September. He was recently chosen as the new Montgomery County superintendent.

Hogan has pushed some education policies that have not been received well by the Democratic-controlled legislature, including a measure last year to give charter schools greater authority and a proposal this year to provide tax credits to businesses that donate to schools. The tax credit is expected to help non-public schools more than public schools.

via Washington Post 

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Maryland school ranking scandal.

…Md. excluded large number of special-education students in national test

Sour Grapes

Maryland’s scores on a national reading test may have been inflated because  the state’s schools excluded a higher percentage of special-education students  than any other state, according to data from the U.S. Department of  Education.

The National Center for Education Statistics, which administers the test,  estimates that Maryland’s scores were 7 points higher for fourth-grade reading  and 5 points higher for eighth-grade reading because of the exclusion.

Maryland has always earned high scores on the National Assessment of  Educational Progress, and its steady increases in test scores over the years has  helped earn it the ranking of No. 1 in the nation by Education Week, an  often-quoted measure.

Read more: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/education/blog/bs-md-naep-exclusion-rates-20131115,0,4258634.story#ixzz2l2l06wh6

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Dr. Lillian Lowery pictured here is presiding over deep-seated corruption and doing very little to investigate the many corruption allegations brought against her appointees and elsewhere in Maryland schools. She is currently without any oversight.

Outrageous Petition Drive in PG County.

Today we received news through the Washington post that Shameful display of misplaced sympathies and loyalties are in play with some few individuals who want to maintain the status quo within PG County schools. Where is the outrage when it is needed the most to defend “helpless kids and staff” who are not popular or connected to these self-rightious groups?

The papers are stone dead and quiet when the same system has subjected its students and staff to abuse and conditions which are unfathomable in other school districts such as MPCPS, Carvert etc.  Why do we have to be on the wrong side of righteousness? Let us try something new, which can bring accountability to this madness in PGCPS school District. Enough is enough. We can no longer hide under the banner of democracy. Democratic society requires strong protection, but also carries with it equal responsibilities and creates accountability measures.

We support Mr. Rushern Baker and we will be watching developments as well as providing unsolicited advise during his tenure. We are not going give anyone a blank check. However, let us give a chance and try something new. Everyone in the Board of Education have had their chance, it is Mr. Baker’s chance now.

The question we are asking the critics is this, What are the motives of these groups and persons opposing the new school governance structure?  Who is standing for the poor students and staff members? The PG County chapter of NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) should not adopt the tactics and bad attitudes of some corrupt Unions with some hidden agenda. We will not let a very good organization be high jacked by a few misguided individuals who are out to rubble rouse some naive elements in PG County.

Instead of these organizations trying to defend the power brokers with ill gotten wealth, they should be fighting for the less fortunate instead of trying to maintain the status quo. The only thing constant in life is change. Unless they learn to adopt, they are destined to obsolesce .

Lastly, there are people and cases which are beginning to be derailed for lack of representation in various forums. The Unions are not performing their rightful roles and keeping the PGCPS management accountable. We must say “NO” to such misplaced allegiance and false solidarity.

PGCPS Employees Help oppose House Bill HB1080

Call your elected officials now and request them to oppose House Bill HB1080

March 12, 2013

Maryland Legislature – House and Means Committee

Chairwoman Sheila Hixson,

131 House Office Building

Annapolis, MD 21401

Re:  House Bill HB1080 – Prince George’s County Public Schools – Certificated Professional Individuals – Termination of Employment PG 417-13

Dear Chairman Hixson:

The Reform Sasscer Movement for Prince George’s county strongly opposes House Bill (HB) 1080, Prince George’s County Public Schools – Certificated Professional Individuals – Termination of Employment PG 417-13

This bill alters the date by which a certificated professional of the Prince George’s County Public School System, who seeks to terminate his or her contract of employment, must provide notice to the Prince George’s County Board of Education. Specifically, regardless of the date that a certificated professional was hired (and therefore of the date that termination would occur), notice must be given by the individual no later than May 1.

Prince George’s County Public school is currently a swamp of corruption, professional misconduct and nepotism. House Bill HB1080 was written in mind to target certain individuals because of discriminatory conduct as practiced by top managers in PGCPS. Once the notice is given in the current scenario, the current management which has exhibited harassing behavior and cover ups will retaliate and discharge the employees UNDER drummed up charges once the notice goes out. The PGCEA attorney involved in the grievance procedure a Mr. Damon Felton from MSEA in conspiracy with others are engaged in corruption with regards to processing grievances and other matters currently being addressed by attorney grievance commission. The grievance system in PG county has failed in accomplishing its initial mission and in this scenario, students and families of Prince George’s County suffer.

Reform Sasscer Movement for Prince George’s county strongly opposes House Bill HB1080. For further information, please contact Moses Mackenzie at reformsasscer@gmail.com Or call your delegate and oppose the bill. The delay in communicating this opposition is deadly to all teachers and certified administrators in the State of Maryland as the hearing is scheduled for March 14, 2013.

Moses Mackenzie

Policy Director.

Reform Sasscer Movement for Prince George’s County

“Change will not come if we wait for some other person, or if we wait for some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” – President Barack Obama

Statement regarding the appointment of Dr. Alvin Crawley.

Dr. Alvin Crawley (picture above) will serve as Interim Superintendent of Prince George’s County Public Schools for the 2012-13 school year.

Reform Sasscer Movement welcomes the appointment of a new leader – Dr. Alvin Crawley on temporary basis as the superintendent of schools. He seems like a decent man, so we plan to give him a chance for as long as he sustains the transparency and accountability reform agenda.   However,  we must denounce those in the system loudly shouting about their tainted reform credentials. Many of them starting with some Board of Education (BOE) members have neither censured nor condemned acts of hooliganism and lawlessness as demonstrated by Synthia Shilling, Monica Goldson, Roger Thomas and William Hite Jr.

As a movement, we must reject the appointment of Ms. Monica Goldson as a Chief Operating Officer (COO).  This is a decoy which resembles siphoning of  gas out of  our fuel tanks and it’s not going to work.  In the last five years, she has been the woman behind unpopular policies of the corrupt Superintendent Dr. William Hite Jr.  Her actions, whether deliberate or not,  led to her divorce proceedings in 2009 which have now become final. Please read between the lines and connect the dots.  Ms. Monica Goldson should not be allowed to  pass judgment over any staff when she was a failure as a principal. She has low moral standards is very nasty and should go with Synthia Shilling, Dr. Hite and the rest of the corrupted people. PGCEA and other unions needs to help force out all the high-ranking administrators  bringing down the system.  The other person who should be rejected and shown the door as quickly as possible is Chief legal Counsel Mr. Roger Thomas who has been on that position for close to 20 years now. During his tenure, we have seen corruption increase under his watch and he was the person behind hiring of Synthia Shilling aka Kucner (pictured below). He was also the force behind Andre Hornsby saga, who was convicted on July 23, 2008, of honest services wire fraud, witness and evidence tampering and obstruction of justice among other issues by the FBI. (Read more).

Beer and liquor consumption at Sasscer administrative building was another issue which led to Synthia shilling losing her job. We demand the resignation of Monica Goldson for the benefit of staff, students and parents of Prince George’s county. The time has come to move forward firmly and in the right direction. There is clearly a light at the end of the tunnel.

Without mentioning names we must say that “these fake and hypocritical reformists who use empty rhetoric to woo votes but do not care about the true taste of our county school system must be rejected on Tuesday, November 6, 2012 election. They drink wine but preach water. ” said Morris Flecher Beyene.  Just look at the bathrooms in many of these schools which are poorly cleaned? If we expect a world-class school system, we must be prepared for sacrifices.

In any case, we must say that we are very excited about the effects of our blogs. We have precipitated “tectonic shifts and volcanic eruptions” and now many PG Citizens are asking the way forward after the revelations interpreted by political commentators as might a considerable impact on the Board of Education candidature of the current Board.

“It is our wish that we focus our attention as a people and as a county on the illusive but yet incomplete liberation struggle for our county system in the next year! The struggle involves liberation from unemployment, intolerance, exploitation, inequalities, corruption, racism, discrimination, professional misconduct and nepotism”.

As a movement, we are calling on voters to retire unnamed “political dinosaurs” and “merchants of impunity” who are still trying to cling to power.  Abuse of office, corruption, political trickery, and public deception orchestrated or covered up in William Hite’s office must be cleaned once and for all.

We have the necessary proof of poor leadership and “deception, duplicity, and hypocrisy” in the William Hite’s camp

This county requires a leader with the ability and will power not only to unite the people but roll out sound development agenda and rid the society of socio-economic problems it is currently faced with.

Above all, a new leader must get a clean break from the crisis which has become the “Maryland scandal” and is morally dead because of the actors involved. Dr. William Hite, Synthia Shilling, Pierre Dickson, etc. are on the run!

Synthia Shilling aka Kucner will be reporting to Anne Arundel County  Detention Center on September 7, 2012 to serve time for her bad behavior. The rest of 58 days of suspended jail time will be spent at home. She also faces one (1) year probation. She cried like a baby in the court room on August 27, 2012 when she told the judge her father passed away last week. But the tough Maryland judge did not want to hear it because she has had four drunk driving records.  Stay tuned here, we will bring you updates as time goes.

This is such an embarrassment for PG County. We have a history of hiring individuals that no one else wants to hire, and the results are devastating. Case in point: Andre Hornsby (currently serving time in prison),  County Executive Jack Jackson (also serving time in prison) and a host of other leaders who are only interested in furthering their own careers rather than the education and well-being of our students and county residents. We are disgusted for sure. It’s time to say “No” to these shenanigans and a shame the devil! No one should rest easy until the bad leadership is off the door…. Call your elected officials now and demand a regime change for the few elements connected to Dr. William Hite Jr. It’s time….

Moses Mackenzie

Policy Director

Reform Sasscer Movement for Prince George’s County.

Synthia Shilling, Dr. Hite Jr and Monica Goldson are picture above.