A Kensington psychiatrist who committed suicide after killing her 13-year-old son last week blamed her distress on dealings with Montgomery County Public Schools. “School — can’t deal with school system,” began Margaret Jensvold’s suicide note, her sister told the Associated Press. She went on to write, “Debt is bleeding me. Strangled by debt.”
Jensvold shot her son, Ben Barnhard, in the head before taking her own life.
Barnhard, who had an austim disorder, completed sixth grade at Herbert Hoover Middle School, confirmed Lesli Maxwell, a spokeswoman for Montgomery County Public Schools.
Family members told the AP that Jensvold wanted to send her son to a private school for special-needs students. But MCPS denied the mother’s request for a tuition assistance program — available when the school system can’t adequately address a child’s needs — and Jensvold felt she could not afford the private school without it.
When reached by The Washington Examiner, Maxwell declined to comment on Barnhard’s case, citing privacy issues. She said school officials generally rule out tuition assistance when MCPS has the resources to teach a special-needs student.
There are roughly 17,000 special-education students in MCPS. Last school year, the school system provided tuition assistance, or “private placements,” for 500 to 600 students, Maxwell said.
Robert Baum, an attorney who represented Jensvold in her divorce, said he referred her to a lawyer who specializes in education issues when he “saw how involved the Jensvold case was going to be with MCPS.”
That lawyer, Patrick Hoover of Rockville, did not return calls seeking comment.
Maxwell said she was not aware of any legal action against the school regarding the murder-suicide.
