Parents of Montgomery County students know what they want in retiring Superintendent Jerry Weast’s replacement, and they’re not planning to be shy about it at community forums this week. Northwest High School parents are looking for a candidate “who honors diversity,” said Stephanie Ineh, the school’s Parent-Teacher-Student Association president.
| Community forums |
| Tuesday |
| » Bethesda Elementary School, 7600 Arlington Road, Bethesda |
| Montgomery Village Middle School, 19300 Watkins Mill Road, Montgomery Village |
| Wednesday |
| » Wheaton High School, 12601 Dalewood Drive, Silver Spring |
| » Carver Educational Services Center, 850 Hungerford Drive, Rockville |
| Note: All start at 7 p.m. |
“I don’t feel there’s enough emphasis placed on some of the needs of the minority children,” Ineh said. “The reading and math scores on performance tests vary greatly between the groups, and there’s not enough information and support in trying to close those gaps.”
Fred Stichnoth, president of the Gifted & Talented Association of Montgomery County, said he feels frustrated because the school system “has largely given up on equity, and I want someone to restore it.”
Stichnoth said the gifted program “has been taken hostage” because administrators were troubled to see white and Asian students in a gifted class while black and Hispanic students fell into another. That’s fine, he said, but “they have no plans to accomplish this — zip.”
Terrianne Small said Gaithersburg Middle School parents want Weast’s replacement to “focus beyond test scores, to create much more well-rounded students.”
“I really worry what will happen to students who are not strong in just math or reading,” the PTA president said.
Janis Sartucci, a leader of the Parents’ Coalition of Montgomery, said she wants a superintendent “that’s present.”
“In my experience, Jerry Weast did not show up in schools unless with an entourage, and did not meet with students unless it was an organized publicity event,” she said.
The wish-list of Joan Sabaka, co-chairwoman of the Special Education Advisory Committee, is short and simple: She says she’d like Weast’s replacement to accept a meeting with her team.
“We have begged him over the years by letters to come sit down and talk about special education, and he has refused [and offered lower staffers],” Sabaka said. “We were paying for his salary — we thought he had to meet with us, but he would never.”
A tense budget season between the school system and the council kicked off when Weast requested an additional $82 million in funding, which council members said was far from practical. The school board told the council they would not make $19 million in midyear cuts.
On that vein, Councilman Marc Elrich said he wants a superintendent “who plays well with others.”
“We’re all in this [budget] mess together,” Elrich said.
Still, Stichnoth said he does not want a “kinder, gentler superintendent” than Weast.
“I think we need another Machiavelli, another political player, even though I hate a lot of the things he’s done,” he said. “We need an operator.”
