BoE members start 'whispering campaign' against dissenters

Montgomery County Board of Education (BoE) members have started a "whispering campaign" against their two colleagues who said the Inspector General had the right to investigate school system wrongdoing.

The targets: Nancy Navarro and Valerie Ervin (pictured), both newcomers elected in 2004.

"Navarro is very new to the board, and I think she is subject to political pressures," board Vice President Sharon Cox says in the Washington Post.

According to the Post, "Other board members have taken aim at Ervin's dissent by restarting an old whispering campaign. They contend she has a conflict of interest because she also works for Council President George L. Leventhal (D-At Large).

"In 2004, the Montgomery County Ethics Commission ruled Ervin's dual jobs do not create a conflict so long as she doesn't advise Leventhal on school issues."