PURE GOLD VALLEY

Montgomery County Board of Education agrees to purchase old Parisian building at mall during contentious meeting

During a contentious Tuesday evening meeting at Carver High School, the Montgomery County Board of Education approved the purchase of the former Parisian?s building in the old Montgomery Mall site to house the Montgomery Technical Education Center.

Board president Charlotte Meadows was the only member to vote against the purchase.

District representatives called the deal more of a gift that a purchase, saying the cost to the district would be minimal. The contract allows for a 60-day inspection period and cost estimates to ensure the building is suitable for district use.

Meadows said although she supports the mission of the tech center, she feels the board needs to rethink its priorities.

?I believe we need to be focusing on teaching and learning and not buildings and renovations,? she said.

Meadows also was the only board member to vote no on the ratification of a nearly $540,000 construction contract with Liberty Construction for a completed project at the current MTEC that never was approved by the board. Most of that contract already has been paid.

Though the motion was ultimately approved, board members debated at length about approving the ratification after Meadows pointed out that it violated state law, which requires that all contracts be approved first by the board.

?I think the board has the obligation to our constituents and our community to follow state law,? she said.

Board member Melissa Snowden questioned why that contract wasn?t approved during the summer, but Donald Dotson, assistant superintendent of operations, said it was overlooked in trying to have it open by the time school started in August.

MPS attorney Spud Seale confirmed that Meadows was correct, but called it an ?innocent mistake.?

Superintendent Barbara W. Thompson said she wants clear communication moving forward.

?I think we can go back and coordinate our efforts to make sure it doesn?t happen in the future,? she said.

The board also voted to hold a special-called meeting Friday to approve the 2012-13 School Continuous Improvement Plan, which was submitted to the board for viewing Monday night. That motion also received lengthy debate as some members felt they didn?t have adequate time to review the material and wouldn?t have felt comfortable approving it.

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This post was written by: Franklin Manuel

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