Montgomery County Public Schools has launched an independent investigation into how sexual harassment allegations made against a school principal were handled -- after a Washington Post investigation found that the principal was promoted despite years of complaints.
At a June meeting, the Montgomery County School Board unanimously approved Farquhar Middle School Principal Joel Beidleman for a promotion. The move allowed him to become principal at Paint Branch High School.
"Dr. Beidleman is eager to serve the Paint Branch community where his experiences will add value to the community he's so eager to serve," said one person presiding over the meeting.
The vote came in spite of the fact that, according to that Washington Post investigation, Beidleman had been accused by multiple staff members of sexual harassment and bullying over the years.
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"Members decided it was time to escalate and seek help outside of MCPS," said Jennifer Martin, head of the county teachers' union.
That led to the Post investigation, detailing more than a dozen complaints.
MCPS has since taken back Beidleman's promotion and placed him on administrative leave. The school system has hired a law firm to independently investigate the allegations and how he was able to advance to a job with a salary close to $200,000.
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The firm will also investigate how MCPS handled the complaints lodged against Beidleman.
"The scope of these allegations necessitates swift action to independently and objectively investigate, to gather ALL of the information, and then to take the appropriate actions to ensure that any issues are promptly addressed," said MCPS Superintendent Monifa McKnight in a statement.
For some members of the teacher's union, the investigation is overdue.
"I would say our members feel it's about time their concerns are taken seriously," Martin said.
The investigation has also captured the attention of County Executive Marc Elrich.
"Did the school system conduct reviews of the complaints before promoting this principal?" Elrich asked.
Meanwhile, County Council Chair Evan Glass wants the education committee to hold an oversight hearing this fall.
"To know that there was a predatory principal, who was working with all of these individuals and creating a hostile work environment, is not the type of situation we want in any of our schools, or quite frankly in any of our workplaces here in Montgomery County," he said.
The teacher's union hopes the investigation will lead to reforms on how complaints are handled, and how administrators are disciplined.
News4 was unable to reach Beidleman for comment, but the Post reported that he denied each of the allegations in "a lengthy written reply to questions" from the newspaper.
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