Radical idea: MCPS should spend less money fighting parents in court

Two candidates for the Montgomery County Board of Education have come up with a radical idea: the school system can save money by stopping Superintendent Weast's policy of taking legal action against parents of handicapped children.

Eleven candidates are running. Two of them, Philip Kaufman and Susie Werner Scofield, tell the Gazette that they'd like to see the school system cut its litigation budget.

"'I think we could cut our litigation costs by somewhat of a culture change,' [Scofield] said, adding that giving parents of special education students more input on their child’s academic plan would avoid lawsuits."