A concerning pattern of statutory violations and ‘inadvertent mistakes’ have been made by the BOE over the past two months under the leadership of Chairwoman Mavis Ellis that is eroding public confidence and trust.
We’re finally starting to receive responses to the Maryland Public Information Act (MPIA) requests that were submitted following the controversial ending to this year’s HCPSS school redistricting process back in November and WOW, is there some interesting stuff.
The complaint below was submitted on December 18, 2019 to the Open Meetings Act (OMA) Compliance Board, detailing recurring OMA violations via electronic communications between BOE members over the past year. The BOE has until January 17, 2020 to respond to this complaint.
Here’s a tiny glimpse into how the sausage got made during this Fall’s school redistricting process — text messages between BOE members Sabina Taj & Jen Mallo during the November 18, 2019 work session. I wonder which move was “nice to Chao”?
The discussion about the statement that Mavis Ellis made on behalf of the Board prior to the redistricting ‘ratification vote’ held on December 17, 2019 is so concerning that it deserves further attention.
On December 17, the BOE held a ‘ratification vote’ on the controversial Clemens Crossing redistricting vote that occurred on November 21, 2019, in which the vote initially failed 3-4 and then was overturned 4-3 after a sudden and seemingly illegal recess by the Board.
Tonight’s unprecedented controversy was a fitting end to this entire broken process. It has shaken me to the core. I’m stunned, and my heart aches for Ms. Coombs, for the Clemons Crossing community who suffered severe “redistricting whiplash”, and for everyone else caught up in this mess.