School Board President Julie Yang acknowledged Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) has had several negative reports from the Montgomery County’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) in recent times. However, she insisted improvements are being made.
“When you have a challenge, you have an opportunity to fix it. We own it, and we fix it,” Yang told MCM. “The only way to fix things is to act on them, not sit on things,” said Yang, who is running for county councilmember in District 1.
“It’s very clear. We don’t lack vision from the Board on what our system needs to be,” she added.
The Inspector General’s Report
According to a report released Monday from the OIG, the criminal histories of more than 12,000 Montgomery County Public School employees have not been added to the FBI’s Rap Back and therefore are not being monitored.
The 25-page report, Review of MCPS Background Screening Office, pointed out that Maryland law requires the school district conduct criminal history checks for all employees when they are hired. The applicants must undergo a Child Protective Services (CPS) check and submit fingerprints through the Rap Back program.
Besides the 12,000 employees not added to the Rap Back list, 4,900 people who “potentially have access to students have not received Child Protective Services queries,” according to the OIG report.
Problem Undiscovered until Report
“It’s not great to have mistakes. You just need to correct them,” Yang said.
The recent report detailing problems and backlogs with employee background checks “didn’t come as a total surprise. The superintendent has let us know. We knew he was in conversation with the OIG,” Yang said.
“I am not sure whether he [Superintendent Taylor] knew there was a problem before the OIG report” was discussed, she added.
Yang recalled being fingerprinted when she joined the Board of Education. “I knew there had to be improvements with the customer service experience,” she said. During her first year on the board, money was added into the budget to hire additional employees to strengthen that area, she said.
When asked if much of the blame could be levied during the term of the previous superintendent, Dr. Monifa McKnight, Yang replied, “It’s hard to gauge.”
The school district has a Corrective Actions Progress report website that has not been updated since June 20, 2024.
MCPS Response
Yang said she was pleased that Superintendent Dr. Thomas Taylor took immediate action to improve the reporting of background checks.
“The board will hold the superintendent accountable to carry out the action plan,” she said. “I expect us to have regular conversations about where we are with this challenge.”
Previous Inspector General Findings
The school district has been cited for not keep an accurate track of its Chromebooks.
MCPS was also cited by the OIG for not properly handling bullying and harassment complaints against former Farquhar Middle School Principal Joel Beidleman, who is no employed by MCPS.
It also was flagged for using emergency procurements to handle the media response concerning charges against Beidleman when those funds were designed “to protect personal, safety or property.”
In September of 2024, the OIG issued its annual report. According to that report, 43% of the complaints it handled were related to MCPS.
The County Executive Weighs In
County Executive Marc Elrich said he was very concerned about the most recent OIG report. “MCPS has a profound responsibility to ensure the safety and security of over 160,000 students across 211 schools,” he said in a statement. “These lapses are unacceptable and must be addressed immediately.”
Elrich requested that the county Department of Health and Human Services work with MCPS “to develop a timeline for processing the backlog of background check applications.”
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Inspector General Reports Problems with Criminal Background Checks of School Employees
