Official who ignored corruption issues to be on Seven Locks task force

A Montgomery County Public Schools official who ridiculed PTA members' concerns about waste, fraud and corruption, and who ignored repeated written requests for information on the subject, will be on the county task force to decide the fate of Seven Locks Elementary School.

Richard G. Hawes, MCPS facilities director, ridiculed parents at a Seven Locks PTA meeting and blocked the e-mail address of at least one member who asked about corruption in public works construction.

He failed to respond to repeated written requests for answers to the question.

Hawes is to join MCPS Chief Operating Officer Larry Bowers and former planning director Joseph J. Lavorgna on the task force to represent the school system, according to the Gazette.