Request For Constituent Assistance From Nancy Navarro

-----Original Message----From: Louis Wilen [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Wednesday, March 11, 2009 11:18 PM To: '[email protected]' Cc: 'BOE' Subject: Assistance requested by your constituent

Dear Ms. Navarro: I am reaching out to you, as one of your constituents, for assistance in obtaining an answer to a question that I submitted to Director of School Performance Mr. Stephen Bedford. A few weeks ago, I submitted an appeal to Dr. Weast over a curricular fee matter. The fee was ultimately rescinded. However, there is still an open question that I have asked multiple times, in writing and on the phone, to Mr. Bedford, who heads the MCPS Office of School Performance and who oversees the curricular fee matters. As you can see from the notes below, Del. Saqib Ali advised me to contact Mr. Bedford's office if I had any questions, but Mr. Bedford has not answered my question. The question that I need an answer to is: Does the decision to rescind the fee for my daughter's cooking class apply just to me, or does it apply systemwide in MCPS? I haven't actually spoken with Mr. Bedford -- his assistant, Patricia Wade (301517-8258), acts as the intermediary, even though I have asked to speak directly with Mr. Bedford. Here is the only response that Ms. Wade will give me, and she refuses to put the response in writing: "The response is that the letter that you received from Mr. Bowers is the system response to your citizen complaint. That is the only answer that I am authorized to give you." I told Ms. Wade that the above response does not address my question. She then just repeats the above response. We keep going in a circle. This has been going on for days. I have included notes below that provide background information, and Mr. Bedford and Mr. Larry Bowers will certainly be able to give you more details if the notes below are not sufficient. All I want is a written answer to my simple question stated above. As my elected BOE representative, I request that you find the answer and forward it to me in an email or letter.

Thank you for your anticipated reply. Louis Wilen ----- Original Message ----From: Louis Wilen To: Delegate Saqib Ali ; [email protected] Cc: [email protected] ; BOE ; [email protected] ; [email protected] ; [email protected] Sent: Friday, February 20, 2009 5:38 PM Subject: Re: Setting the record straight on MCPS curricular fee policies

Dear Delegate Ali: Thank you for your prompt action on my note from this morning. Shortly before I received your note below, I received a note from the Magruder principal, Mr. Evans, advising that he had changed his decision on the fee for my daughter and decided to rescind the fee. While his cancellation of the fee helps my daughter's situation, it is my understanding that my son and other students will continue to be charged curricular fees unless they go through the written appeals process. It would be extraordinarily burdensome for each student's parents to have to work though the appeals process. By copy of this note, I will ask Mr. Bedford to advise whether the curricular fee rescission applies to only my daughter or if curricular fees are being rescinded system-wide without regard to whether an individual student appeals a fee. Thank you again for your prompt response and action. Louis Wilen