Montgomery County Council President Andrew Friedson (D-Dist. 1) is not supporting a call brought forward by two councilmembers to have Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) officials testify under oath at a joint session on Thursday.
A Jan. 23 report from the county’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) will be the topic of discussion during the joint session between the Education and Culture Committee and the Audit Committee on Thursday. The report found that MCPS had failed to address failures in its investigative processes despite being advised four times that the system was in disarray. The issue came up during an investigation of sexual harassment allegations against former Farquhar Middle School principal Joel Beidleman.
“Putting people under oath, in certain circumstances will somehow suggest that at other times we don’t expect people to be forthright or truthful, which is not a circumstance that we’re comfortable with,” Friedson told MoCo360 on Friday.
Friedson added that most councilmembers he spoke with also disagree with requiring the officials to testify under oath.
Councilmembers Evan Glass (D-At-large) and Dawn Luedtke (D-Dist. 7) called for the measure in a memorandum on Jan. 31, citing a provision in county code that states that “the county council shall have power to issue subpoenas for witnesses, and the president thereof shall have power to administer the oath to any witness who may be examined before the council, such oath to have all the qualities of an oath taken before any other judicial tribunal or officers, and violations thereof to be punishable as other perjuries are punishable.”
In the memo, Glass and Luedtke said that taking this “unprecedented” action is necessary to condemn Beidleman’s alleged actions.
“Using our legal authority sends a clear message that the Council is unequivocal in its pursuit of the truth,” the memo stated.
Friedson said he is concerned that this action would set a precedent suggesting that testimony not given under oath isn’t as serious, or even as truthful, as one given under oath. He said that presumably, any statement given to the council should be the truth.
“I have no interest in taking actions that are performative, not substantive,” Friedson said. “I understand wholeheartedly where the public is coming from and in many ways share the same concerns many members of the public have about transparency and accountability and the demand for what happened, who was involved, who was implicated. … I have real questions as to whether what has been suggested would actually do anything to solve that and in fact, could make it harder, not easier.”
Friedson said he’s also concerned the action could add tension in the council’s relationship with the school system at a time when county officials are asking for greater collaboration and transparency from MCPS. He noted that county officials and community members have had to resort to invoking the Maryland Public Information Act (MPIA) at times to get information from the school system.
“[MCPS officials] could hide further behind the MPIA to avoid even a chance of saying something wrong. That’s not a productive or constructive hearing,” Friedson said.
The OIG report that will be discussed Thursday was developed in light of sexual misconduct and bullying allegations against former Farquhar Middle School Principal Joel Beidleman. However, it did not delve into specifics pertaining to how MCPS handled that investigation while approving a promotion for Beidleman to principal of Paint Branch High School.
Last month, Friedson publicly called for the release of an unredacted version of the October 2023 investigative report of Beidleman, which was managed by the Jackson Lewis law firm. On Friday, Friedson issued an official letter addressed to Board of Education President Karla Silvestre (At-large).
“We are responsible for the appropriation of taxpayer dollars … as such, we must be informed of the extent and nature of the current endemic problems in MCPS leadership, and we must see meaningful and swift progress from the Board to address those problems,” Friedson wrote. “In the interest of transparency and accountability, we urge the Board to publicly release the full, unredacted Report immediately to the fullest extent permitted under the law. The public deserves no less.”