Statement from the Board of Education, August 3, 2018

August 3rd, 2018

The following statement was issued today by the Howard County Board of Education:

A recent Baltimore Sun article about complaints filed, and subsequently withdrawn, by three former HCPSS employees with the Howard County Office of Human Rights falsely maligns the Board and attributes comments to some members that are untrue and fabricated. The Board would like to assure everyone, particularly the LGBTQ community, that it remains committed to providing a safe and inclusive teaching and learning environment, and that all students and families are welcomed and supported. Our commitment is demonstrated through the great strides we have made in the last 15 months to improve the functioning, responsiveness, transparency, and climate of the school system. Each of us is committed, and collectively we have affirmed that equity and inclusion remains a priority for the system and have worked with HCPSS Superintendent Dr. Michael Martirano to advance initiatives to support that goal. 

The allegations reported in the article are part of an employment discrimination claim that has no factual or legal basis. The complainants’ withdrawal denied the Board, and individual Board members, the opportunity to vindicate itself. Instead, these reports were leaked to the news media. We want the HCPSS community to know that the complainants’ allegations are false, and that the Board categorically disclaims the investigator’s version of events. The reports rely on hearsay and the uncorroborated allegations of a few over the testimony of Board members and HCPSS staff. We believe that the fact that these complaints have been withdrawn by the former employees is acknowledgement that even they know that their complaints would not stand up to scrutiny. The Board is outraged that these false allegations have caused unrest in our community.