Tuesday, December 13, 2016

Hate graffiti incidents expose another MCPS security weakness

Several incidents of hate graffiti in Montgomery County Public Schools in recent weeks have received much media attention. Several on the County Council gearing up to run for county executive in 2018 have used the incidents to promote themselves (see photos below). But perhaps the most troubling issue they have indirectly raised hasn't been reported on or questioned at all.

Where are the security cameras in MCPS buildings?

The lengthy investigations into these incidents have, with the exception of one at Quince Orchard High School's athletic field, had no surveillance camera images to assist in identifying the perpetrators. This clearly reveals that major portions of the school buildings where the incidents occurred are not under video surveillance.

Increasingly ubiquitous in America, modern surveillance tools like cameras and license plate readers have allowed law enforcement to solve cases more quickly, identifying suspects who might otherwise have escaped undetected.
BUSTED: County Councilmembers
George Leventhal and
Roger Berliner used County
staff, facilities and funds in
the guise of a "Council Resolution"
to create free campaign ads for
their County Executive campaigns;
Note above and below the
"Sponsored" disclaimer
on these Facebook posts; they
are paid campaign ads, using
the video and content produced
with your tax dollars

After raising our taxes to a historic new high last May, the County Council now finds itself redfaced once again, as we learn they've failed to deliver yet another basic piece of infrastructure - security cameras. Remember the failure of the 911 system that caused the deaths of two of their constituents? Remember the explosion at an apartment complex where the Council ignored warnings of people like myself that the Long Branch sector plan would result in landlords letting buildings decline, due to redevelopment incentives in the plan the Council passed? That killed seven of their constituents.

Now we learn that school administrators can't see who is in the common areas and corridors of their school property, during or after school hours, from a central location. This is quite troubling, considering that we are now nearly twenty years past the Columbine school shooting, and the post-9/11 age of terror. And we still don't have our school buildings under 24 hour video surveillance?

This simply adds to the concerns of parents, after MCPS was found to have multiple cybersecurity weaknesses in a State audit this year. These weaknesses put private student identity information, as well as the entire MCPS computer network, at risk, according to the audit report. Infamously, the County Council ignored calls by education advocates like the Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County to wait for the report's release before finalizing MCPS funding in the FY-2017 budget.

In fact, other than the Parents' Coalition, only this website reported on the audit results. All other local media was engaged in "fake news" reporting on the so-called "Education First" budget, which was complete bunk. Hiring extraneous support staff (not actual teachers) at some schools was falsely cast by the Council - and many in the media - as somehow hiring real teachers, and reducing class sizes at every school. That's a lie. Taxing residents, to give MCPS $90 million more funding for a strategy that has been proven an utter failure, was simply flushing that money down the toilet. Falling test scores and a widening achievement gap since 2010 confirm this.

As the hate graffiti incident investigations run their course, we should be asking why the efforts of detectives weren't made easier by video surveillance footage - and holding the County Council and Board of Education responsible for failing to provide this basic security infrastructure in our schools.

29 comments:

Anonymous said...

We had "hate" Graffiti in schools in the 70' and 80's. You should have seen some of the stuff at Harvard on the Pike during the Iranian revolution, and the silly bagheads marching "Down with the Shah" Our High schools had the occasional racially charged art on the walls as well. The difference being today, a PBJ sandwich is racist. (Google that) Police are called when a post-it note declaring "Suck it up snow flakes" is affixed to a bulletin board. First World problems for sure..

Anonymous said...

You're right to fault MCPS for this, but be careful of association with the "Parents Coalition". They're a bunch of hysterics whose use of the caps locks key knows no bounds -- it would tarnish your reputation to be associated with them.

Anonymous said...

How the heck did Dyer jump from hate graffiti in our public schools, to the gas explosion in the apartment building in Long Branch?

Anonymous said...

7:28 LOL..

Robert Dyer said...

7:28: The Council made it easy - its failure to address the fundamental, basic infrastructure needs is now a pattern: roads, school capacity, 911 service, code enforcement, etc., while wasting taxpayer money on wacky issues like pesticides, fracking, takeout containers, teenage tanning, et al. Embarrassing.

Robert Dyer said...

7:23: Actually they are one of the few vigilant watchdog groups in the County. MoCo has set some kind of world record, "Corrupt jurisdiction that has evaded FBI investigation for the longest period of time." Congrats.

Anonymous said...

Don't forget Garret Park, Nuclear Free Zone..

Anonymous said...

@ 8:54 - Do you understand the difference between County and municipal government?

Anonymous said...

What's "whacky" about wanting to protect our environment, and our teens from skin cancer?

Anonymous said...

11:39 Nobody ever said that life was free. Sank, swam, go down with the ship
but use your freedom of choice

Anonymous said...

1:41 - Word salad. Are you suggesting that our environment can just save itself? Do you have any education beyond third grade?

Anonymous said...

3:56 - In ancient Rome there was a poem about a dog who found two bones.
He picked at one he licked the other he went in circles he dropped dead

Anonymous said...

Dyer's blog jumped the shark after Poppy left.

Anonymous said...

He really ought to reform his comment system. But think he knows that these shit comments are the only reason some of us come here.

Anonymous said...

He keeps the current commenting system so that he can comment anonymously while claiming that all critical comments come from a single individual.

Anonymous said...

Dyer should check out Greater Greater Washington's new website.

Their website was great, now they've made it GREATER!

Anonymous said...

@ 7:17, 7:27, 7:36 am - Not an option with Dyer's "pay absolutely nothing for anything ever" Blogspot platform.

Robert Dyer said...

7:36: Greater Greater Washington has a billion dollar budget funded by developers - fortunately, I don't have a sugar daddy, so I can print the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

Anonymous said...

Just think, all that brain power you waste daily thinking up new ways to insult Dyer you could have used to make yourself successful. Pity.

Anonymous said...

"GGW has a billion dollar budget..."

More of Dyer's fake news.

Anonymous said...

GGW's 2016 budget: $253,126.

http://ggwash.org/view/40636/heres-greater-greater-washingtons-budget-for-2016

Dyer is only off by a factor of 4,000.

Anonymous said...

9:04AM You spend an inordinate amount of time fact-checking the Dyer. Hope it pays well!

Anonymous said...

Fighting over blog formats in a sure sign of lunacy. They're all the same chronological list of stories with comments.

Some, like Bethesda Magazine, insert alot of ads targeted to their audience. In Bethesda Magazine's case, they serve a lot of divorce attorney and Viagra advertising for their aging reader base.

Robert Dyer said...

9:00: You mean like Bethesda Magazine's fake news of claiming DC crime happened in Montgomery County, or that resident opposition to density of Westbard plan was "low-key" at recent meeting? Trust me, they've got the fake news market covered.

Robert Dyer said...

9:04: It's a billion compared to my budget - but the damning point is, WHERE DID THAT $200000 COME FROM - FROM WHOM?

G. Money said...

Dyer @ 12:36: So your budget is -$999,750,000?

You should probably just declare bankruptcy.

Anonymous said...

Math not your strong suit?
250,000 : 1,000,000,000 as 62.50 : 250,000
His budget is $62.50

G. Money said...

I think the wording of the problem was unclear, and either interpretation is correct.

I'm pretty good at math.

Anonymous said...

Me too. :)