MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. — Years of bullying, sexual harassment and a culture where some staff felt threatened, are just some of the findings of an investigation into the former Montgomery County Public Schools Principal Joel Beidleman, according to a recently released report.
In September, the Office of the Montgomery County Inspector General (OIG) announced that it would open two investigations related to allegations against Farquhar Middle School Principal Dr. Joel Beidleman and Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) handling of misconduct complaints. Officials claimed he was unanimously promoted during a June meeting to become the principal at an area high school – all while being under investigation for sexual harassment.
During the investigation, the OIG said it evaluated each complaint, attempted to corroborate the information and in instances where there were no witnesses to the complaint, evaluated the allegation with the information available.
According to the report, the investigation substantiated allegations that Beidleman made repeated comments about the appearance of women who worked under him, directed offensive comments and jokes of a sexual nature at employees, bullied subordinates and had a sexual relationship with an employee he was actively supervising.
"Beidleman's behavior created an environment where some staff members reported being afraid to disagree with him on professional matters, worried about their job security, and felt intimidated and disrespected," the report reads.
The investigation began shortly after a Washington Post article in August reported that MCPS promoted Beidleman to principal of Paint Branch High School despite complaints against him.
The OIG analyzed data from several complaints against Beidleman and found 17 of them were submitted prior to the Washington Post article. Six more complaints were filed subsequent to the article, but prior to the OIG investigation.
"Those complaints alleged, among other things, acts of bullying, retaliation, sexual harassment and unfair hiring practices," the investigation reads.
Bullying Accusations
In an effort to identify all the potential victims and those willing to talk with officials, the OIG sent an email to all 83 Farquhar Middle School teachers and staff and had a forensic examination of Beidleman's MCPS-issued computers done as well. The agency says they received 54 MCPS-related complaints since starting its investigation, 10 of which were related to Beidleman's misconduct.
"Many of the complaints alleged general incompetence by MCPS leadership or expressed concern about what was reported in the Washington Post article," the report says.
The OIG then interviewed 31 people in connection to the Beidleman misconduct complaints. Fifteen of those claimed to be victims of sexual harassment, bullying, retaliation, or other violations of the MCPS Code of Conduct, as well as potential violations of federal or local laws.
Through those interviews the OIG found Beidleman to be a "divisive figure" whom some staff described as abusive, while others referred to him as a mentor.
"Many of those that cooperated with the investigation provided examples of instances where Beidleman yelled, screamed and berated them, or otherwise behaved in an unprofessional manner, to include retaliating against them," the report reads. "Current and former staff members also provided examples of occasions where Beidlemen commented on female staff members' appearances, made remarks of a sexual nature to female subordinates, and pursued MCPS employees for sex."
The OIG investigation found as many as 11 separate employees reported being bullied by Beidleman, some as far back as 2018.
The complaints claim Beidleman yelled and screamed at staff, while creating a culture where staff were afraid to disagree with him and felt they could lose their jobs. One employee said Biedleman publicly shamed and embarrassed them in front of other employees. Another employee claimed Biedleman yelled at them to "get your s*** together or you are not going to be here."
The OIG said one employee succinctly captured the persistent fear or bullying expressed by many complainants when she stated that she "learned real quick to lay low or risk public shaming."
One Farquhar teacher told the OIG that she was notified that she was being involuntarily transferred the same day Beidleman disagreed with her on a curriculum issue. While Beidleman claimed the transfer was due to reduced staffing and changes in student enrollment, programs and budget, the transfer was dropped after the employee challenged what they considered the punitive nature of it.
"The fact that Beidleman rescinded the transfer days after notifying the employee of her transfer is indicative of his intent to transfer the employee as retaliation for disagreeing with him and not because of a change in enrollment, program, or budget," the OIG report reads.
Additionally, eight other employees expressed feeling intimidated when disagreeing with Beidleman. Two of the employees told the OIG that Beidleman repeatedly called them while they were on approved leave if he deemed their absence unnecessary or excessive. Those staff members said the experiences left them feeling anxious, stressed, intimidated, disrespected, and worried about their job security.
Sexual Harassment
On top of the complaints of bullying, the OIG also investigated several allegations of sexual harassment and offensive conduct by Beidleman.
One complainant who worked within MCPS, but not under Beidleman, told the OIG that he sent her numerous text messages containing sexually offensive comments while trying to pursue a sexual relationship with her after she expressed interest in applying to an assistant principal position at Farquhar Middle School.
"The complainant was applying for selection into the assistant principal pool during the text exchanges with Beidleman and explicitly told him early in their text exchange that she wanted to work as an assistant principal for him at Farquhar," the report reads.
While Beidleman was not directly involved in the interview or selection process, the OIG report says Beidleman made comments to the hopeful employee that led her to believe he could "exert influence" in the process.
The OIG obtained three months of text messages where the agency says Beidleman used the "illusion" of favorably influencing the employee's chances of being selected for the assistant principal position in exchange for "tolerating" his repeated unwanted sexual advances.
"In one exchange, Beidleman told her the position was hers if she wanted it," the report reads. "In a later exchange, Beidleman complained about MCPS assigning someone else to the vacant assistant principal position at Farquhar, but said, 'fingers crossed she applies for a virtual position and gets it. Then boom bam boom I have my crush at work.'"
The employee repeatedly told Beidleman she was not interested in him but he reportedly persisted by sending sexually explicit texts, the OIG said. While Beidleman described his texts with the employee as "sexting," the complainant told the OIG she believes she was not selected for the assistant principal pool because she refused to get involved with Biedleman.
An additional complainant told the OIG of times Beidleman made comments on female employees' looks, recalling one instance she said made her feel "so gross and so disgusted, and I felt so powerless." She added that Biedleman always "talked to our breasts," and that the staff went as far as adopting behaviors in order to avoid Beidleman's unwanted attention.
"Believing Beidleman preferred women with blond hair, she 'went brunette,'" the report reads.
Another employee said she changed her appearance to avoid sexual comments from Beidleman. She reported that after Beidleman told her "I didn't know I hired a Brazilian woman with long legs," she was embarrassed and never wore skirts to school again.
"She also ceased wearing makeup and began dressing in a way to avoid being noticed by [Beidleman]," the report reads. "He nonetheless continued to comment on her appearance."
The comments did not stop upon leaving school bounds either, with some employees reporting to the OIG that Beidlamn made more sexually offensive comments at events outside of school.
In one instance, Beidleman reportedly made comments to a female employee while attending a 2021 end-of-school-year party hosted by another employee. During the party, Beidleman asked the woman about her sexual relationship with her husband and commented on the size of her butt. He then asked whether the woman's husband was in the "back door" and whether or not she thought it was uncomfortable, the report says. Another employee who overheard the comments described the incident to the OIG as gross and uncomfortable.
Administrative Leave
The OIG submitted the investigation's findings to MCPS Superintendent Dr. Monifa McKnight on Wednesday. Officials have confirmed to WUSA9 that Beidleman is currently on administrative leave.
In a statement from McKnight, she said the report clearly and professionally documents years of disturbing and egregious behavior that indisputably violated both MCPS policies and the Employee Code of Conduct.
"As I’ve said since this issue came to our attention this summer, I will take swift, decisive action based on investigative findings," McKnight's statement reads. "Now that the OIG has referred this matter to me, I am moving forward without delay to ensure that wrongdoing is held to full account. It is crucial that every MCPS employee, student, and parent know that any type of abusive behavior will not be tolerated. It’s why I’ve been working diligently with my team — joined by a diverse group of local and national experts, staff, and other critical stakeholders from across the MCPS community — in developing and implementing our aggressive and comprehensive action plan: To rebuild trust, ensure no one is failed by our system, and to make clear that harassment, bullying, intimidation, and retaliation have absolutely no place in the MCPS community. Ensuring a safe and positive work environment for our staff means a safe and positive environment for our students to learn, and that is our main focus and commitment."
Additionally, the Board of Education for Montgomery County released a statement Friday following the report's release:
"The investigation by the Montgomery County Maryland Office of the Inspector General regarding allegations of misconduct by Dr. Joel Beidleman confirms some of the most troubling aspects of this matter. The Board of Education is committed to using the work of the Inspector General, both this investigation and the second pending report reviewing the processes and procedures for handling complaints of misconduct, as a catalyst for thorough systemic reform and enhanced accountability. The Board of Education will put policies and systems in place that nurture and support a culture of respect where employees feel safe and confident that complaints or concerns will be addressed. The Board thanks the Inspector General for the work of her and her team."
"We need to know who knew what when," said Montgomery County Council President Evan Glass in an interview with WUSA9 Friday evening. "We need to know who knew, who was receiving these allegations and concerns, and why nothing was done".
Glass told WUSA9 he's hoping those details come out in the second report from the OIG.
In September the OIG wrote in a letter that were opening two engagements related to the allegations against Dr. Beidleman and the way MCPS handled misconduct complaints.
In the letter, they wrote that the first would be a review of MCPS's process for receiving and responding to allegations of misconduct against school system employees. The second engagement is an investigation into all allegations of misconduct by Dr. Beidleman that have been received since July 2023, as well as any previous allegations that have not yet been investigated.
"We're gonna have hearings to make sure they are holding people accountable and making sure that this doesn't happen again," said Montgomery County Councilmember Will Jawando.
RELATED: