A Montgomery County high school principal already under investigation by the school district for operating a consulting business on the side is now facing allegations of plagiarism.
A lawyer for the Breakthrough Coach, an educational consulting firm that ran principal seminars in Montgomery County in spring 2006, is looking into legal action against Moreno Carrasco, principal of Rockville’s Richard Montgomery High School, for allegedly co-opting some of the company’s tactics.
Carrasco recently stopped leading his Breakthrough Principal institutes after an Examiner investigation revealed he may be in violation of the school board’s code of ethics for scheduling his private business events on school days, sometimes at Richard Montgomery.
“We are reviewing our options but we are glad he has said he won’t be offering the seminars anymore,” said Jonathan Drimmer, a lawyer with D.C.-based Steptoe and Johnson.
Carrasco’s company, Executive Coaching Services, was incorporated in October 2006, about six months after he allegedly went through the Breakthrough Coach seminar. A spokeswoman for the Montgomery County school system confirmed the district held the events.
Although Carrasco’s Web site was removed last week, minutes after speaking with The Examiner, earlier versions show similarities between the two companies.
Both offer leadership training for principals and their secretaries held over two days at about the same cost: $469 per team for Carrasco, and between $400-$550 per team for the Breakthrough Coach.
“Do the principal’s job in eight hours a day. … Spend two days per week in the classroom,” said Carrasco’s site, Savetheprincipal.com.
“Work a 40- [to] 50-hour week … allow [principals] to spend two full days a week in classrooms,” says the Breakthrough Coach.
“Let me be very clear,” said Jill Pancoast, vice president of the Florida-based business, Carrasco “has no affiliation with us; he has never had an affiliation with us; if his materials look like they have an affiliation with us, that is completely false.”
Though Carrasco spoke openly about his business in a phone interview and said he is no longer pursuing it, his name was not listed on the Web site except as a testimonial to the program’s effectiveness.
Executive Coaching Services was incorporated by Jeanette Plew, but the mailing address is Carrasco’s home in Germantown. Though people familiar with the family say Plew is Carrasco’s wife, she refused to comment on the question.
Drimmer referred concerns over transparency back to Montgomery County.
“Whatever ethical issues that may exist associated with what he’s doing are up to the school district, and not legal counsel,” Drimmer said.
