Promethean financial disaster widely reported in UK media

US media overlooks woes of major MCPS supplier

 

Promethean faces harsh lessons

Financial Times - ‎20 minutes ago‎

For a company that makes its money by selling educational devices for school classrooms, Promethean World has been on the receiving end of a few harsh lessons of late. Since joining the London Stock Exchange in 2010 with a market capitalisation of ...

Promethean World warns on results citing weak education market

Reuters - ‎12 hours ago‎

Oct 4 (Reuters) - Interactive whiteboard maker Promethean World Plc said it expects full-year results to be below market expectations after facing a slump in its key education markets. "In the short term, the key education markets are constrained by customer ...

Promethean suffers new shares woe

The Press Association - ‎4 hours ago‎

Another grim trading update left shares in struggling whiteboard maker Promethean World at less than a tenth of their flotation price. The Blackburn-based group, which claimed it would offer "superior value" to shareholders when it listed at 200p a share on ...

Fresh profit warning knocks Promethean

Financial Times - ‎2 hours ago‎

Shares in Promethean World lost almost one-third of their value on Thursday after the maker of interactive whiteboards and other classroom devices issued its second profit warning in three months. The lossmaking educational technology company cautioned ...

Promethean World plunges 28% as interactive whiteboard maker warns on ...

The Guardian (blog) - ‎7 hours ago‎

Promethean World has got the dunce's cap on again after the educations equipment supplier issued another profit warning. The company, which specialises in interactive whiteboards, said it was suffering from pressures on educational budgets in both ...

Promethean World of pain

ShareCast - ‎8 hours ago‎

LONDON (SHARECAST) - Promethean World, which has been an unmitigated disaster for investors who backed its 2010 flotation, sunk to a new low on Thursday after another profit warning. The supplier of education technology, which issued a profit warning ...

Promethean World shares plummet 25 per cent on profits warning

Manchester Evening News - ‎7 hours ago‎

Educational technology firm Promethean World today issued a fresh profits warning, which sent its shares tumbling by more than 25 per cent. The Blackburn group said revenues for the nine months to the end of September were 30 per cent lower than the ...

Promethean revenues down, again

EducationInvestor - ‎4 hours ago‎

In an interim management statement covering the nine months to 30 September 2012, the board said that trading in key markets during the third quarter "continued to be challenging. Consequently... revenues for both the North America and International sales ...

More sales woe for Promethean World

Proactive Investors UK - ‎9 hours ago‎

In the short term, Promethean said its key education markets are being constrained by customer funding issues, especially in the US and Europe with the group expecting markets in 2013 to remain tough. Current year results will also be below current market ...

Promethean burnt by US sales flop and problems with order

Evening Standard - ‎7 hours ago‎

Shares in beleaguered education technology firm Promethean World took another hammering today as it warned of collapsing sales in the US and delays to a big order. The latest kicking for Promethean puts the stock in the “90% club” after it was floated ...

Promethean warns of likely profit decline

CRN - UK - ‎8 hours ago‎

Interactive whiteboard manufacturer Promethean has posted a profit warning to the London Stock Exchange, saying that demand has remained lower than expected in a challenging market. In the interim management update for the nine months ending 30 ...

Group revenue slides at Promethean

Stock Market Wire - ‎11 hours ago‎

StockMarketWire.com - Promethean World reports that the trading environment in key markets during the third quarter has continued to be challenging. Consequently, the quarter and year-to-date revenues for both the North America and International sales ...

Promethean World worth tenth of IPO price

The Times (subscription) - ‎7 hours ago‎

Promethean World is the latest company to join the 90 per cent club after another slide in its shares left the company worth just £34 million. The interactive whiteboard maker floated in March 2010 at 200p, but slumped as low as 14p today after a slowdown in ...

Promethean World feels the pressure

Growthcompany.co.uk (subscription) - ‎8 hours ago‎

Promethean World has had to strongly evaluate its costs and is now targeting a level of cost reduction in 2013 that is 20 to 25 per cent higher than previously reported. Operating costs for 2012 are therefore expected to be lower and reaping benefits in the ...

Promethean World's fresh profit alert as sales fall

The Business Desk (registration) - ‎11 hours ago‎

INTERACTIVE education products group Promethean World has sounded a fresh profits warning and says its will cut costs deeper and harder than it first expected.Amid falling sales and in an environment which the Blackburn-based group said it cannot see ...

Poll: After School or Promethean Boards?

POLL: Click here to vote your preference for your tax dollars to go to afterschool activities for all middle school students, or to make the next lease payment on 125 Promethean Boards. Read more about this choice:

The Montgomery County Council has decided that they are happy to sit back and let the Montgomery County Public School system administrators spend tax dollars without following state law and without oversight. What does this mean to you the citizen? It means that cuts must be made in other services to support the spendthrift habits of MCPS.

What has MCPS been doing? The MCPS Board of Education has been allowing administrators like MCPS COO Larry Bowers to sign off on major multi-million dollar procurements without Board of Education approval and without obtaining competitive bids for the products as required by State law.

Here is one example in the news this week, about $156,000 is being cut from an afterschool program for middle school students called RecExtra. You can read about this cut in the Gazette. 13 middle schools have seen their RecExtra funding cut for the upcoming school year.

What is an example of a MCPS purchase that was made without competitive bids and that was signed for by MCPS COO Larry Bowers instead of the Board of Education President? Promethean Boards.

Last summer MCPS COO Larry Bowers signed a 4 year LEASE for 2,600 Promethean Boards (at approximately $5,000 per classroom). That's right, the Promethean Boards in your child's classroom aren't even paid for yet! They are on a 4 year lease with an annual payment of $3,355,400.

But that's OK because Promethean Boards are more important than after school activities for thousands of middle school students. Right? Well it's your choice. These are your elected County Councilmembers cutting after school activities in favor of leased Promethean Boards.

Do you want to participate in a poll on this issue?

Click here to vote your preference for your tax dollars to go to afterschool activities for all middle school students, or to make the next lease payment on 125 Promethean Boards.

The return of just 125 Promethean Boards to the supplier, out of a total of 3,300 currently in MCPS, would fund the RecExtra program for next year. The lease agreement allows for Boards to be returned.

Want more information on the Promethean Board purchases, including the Weast memo switch at the County Council? Keep reading...

3,300 Promethean Boards in Montgomery County Public School classrooms

6 Promethean Boards were ordered for MCPS administrators on September 26, 2007, at a cost of $11,256. Click here to view purchase orders. This purchase was not reviewed by the MCPS Board of Education. These boards are not used in classrooms and are for the sole use of MCPS administrators in the Carver administration offices.

2,600 Promethean Boards were ordered by MCPS on June 12, 2008, under a lease agreement with Dell Financial Services. The lease was signed by MCPS COO Larry Bowers and is a 4 year term with an option to buy at the end of the 4 year period. Included with the lease documents is a June 9, 2008 (FIRST VERSION) memo from the Superintendent to the MCPS Board of Education on the plans to expand implementation of Interactive Classrooms. Click here to view the lease, purchase order and first version of June 9th memo from Superintendent. The annual lease payment for these boards is $3,355,400 per year for a total 4 year payment of $13,421,600. There was no MCPS Board of Education approval of the terms of this lease or the purchase of Promethean Boards. Documents received via a Maryland Public Information Act request to MCPS.

On June 23, 2008, the MCPS Board of Education approved a one year lease payment to Dell Financial Services for the lease of computers, associated hardware and services from Dell Marketing, LP for $5,000,000 . There is no mention of the purchase of 6, 2,600 or 3,300 Promethean Boards in MCPS Board of Education minutes. The contract with Dell Marketing, LP has not been made public. It is not known what this $5,000,000 lease payment covered. What is known is that the Board of Education approval of the June 23rd lease payment to Dell Financial Services came after the June 12th execution of the lease and purchase order for 2,600 Promethean Boards.

700 Promethean Boards are not accounted for in the above purchase orders. There is no public information that details when or how these boards were purchased.

November 26, 2008 Letter to County Council Education Committee Chair Valerie Ervin from Superintendent Weast with attachments. The cover letter is stamped 039369 and stamped with an apparent receipt stamp of 2008 DEC 11 PM 2:09. The attachments include a November 26, 2008, memorandum from Superintendent Weast to the MCPS Board of Education on Promethean Board purchase, and a June 9, 2008 Memo from Superintendent Weast to MCPS Board of Education on Promethan Board Expansion. This is the SECOND VERSION of the June 9, 2008 memo. Document received via a request from a citizen to a Councilmember's office.

January 7, 2009 Memo from Superintendent Weast to MCPS Board of Education titled: Responses to Board Members' Follow-up Questions on Promethean Boards. This memo refers to a Maryland Education Enterprise Consortium (MEEC) agreement. The MEEC agreement was not included in the memo to the Board of Education. A request for the MEEC agreement was made via a Maryland Public Information Act Request, but the agreement was not produced by the MCPS Public Information Office. MCPS only produced the MEEC Request for Proposal (RFP) which makes no mention of Promethean Boards. For your information, the first page of the MEEC RFP is included in the link to the January 7, 2009 memo. Note that the MEEC RFP that was allegedly connected to the purchase of the MCPS Promethean Boards in June 2008 was issued September 22, 2006.

February 2, 2009 Memorandum from County Council Education Committee staff on Promethean Boards in Montgomery County Public Schools. This includes the November 26, 2008 Letter from Superintendent Weast to Councilmember Ervin (above) however, Attachment B of this letter is now the FIRST VERSION of the June 9, 2008 memorandum to the Board of Education. The Weast memo that was originally sent to Councilmember Ervin on November 26, 2008 has been switched to a different version!

February 23, 2009 WTOP's Kate Ryan reports on today's County Council Education Committee meeting to discuss the appearance of 3,300 Promethean Boards in MCPS classroom in August of 2008. Hear the reports: Superintendent Weast on "parsing words" and BoE President Brandman on Board's "intention".

Do you have concerns about MCPS procurement practices? Click here.

MCPS Public Information Director Responds to Parents' Coalition Investigation

Please scroll down for the November 16th e-mail sent to the members of the Montgomery County Delegation to the General Assembly and the Montgomery County Council from the MCPS Public Information Director Dana Tofig.

Here is the November 17th Press Release issued by the Parents' Coalition in response to Mr. Tofig's e-mail. 

-------------------------------------------------

Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County

Press Release:

November 17, 2012

The Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland has conducted an extensive investigation of Montgomery County Public Schools Superintendent Joshua Starr's proposal to purchase 2,000 Promethean brand Interactive White Boards for $8,949,719. 

• Our investigation has revealed that the Resolution that Superintendent  Joshua Starr brought to the Board of Education for approval on September 11, 2012, referenced a Maryland State Hardware Contract that had expired.  Here is the BOE approved Resolution: 

September 11, 2012:  Resolved, That the Board of Education approves the purchase of Promethean interactive classroom technology systems (pursuant to the state of Maryland contract 050B7800023) at a total cost of $8,949,719

• Our investigation has revealed that the type of Interactive White Board that Superintendent Starr has selected is from a company that has been written about extensively with regard to financial concerns.

• Our investigation has revealed that there was no competitive bidding process for this $8,949,719 purchase.

• Our investigation has also revealed a relationship between the MCPS Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and Promethean.

• Our investigation revealed documents relating to the MCPS CTO's trip to a London Convention where Promethean was a sponsor. 

• This week, our investigation revealed that the new Maryland State Master Hardware contract that Superintendent Starr is attempting to claim he will now use to purchase 2,000 Promethean Boards does not include any Promethean brand products.  (This is not the contract that was approved in the Board of Education Resolution and is irrelevant to the Board approved action.)  As our investigation showed, Promethean is not a listed vendor on this new (unapproved) contract.  Interestingly enough, SMART Technologies, a competitor of Promethean is shown on the new state contract. 

• We contacted the Contract Administrator for the Maryland State Master Hardware Contract and confirmed that Promethean products were not included in the new Master Contract.  They are a product that could be included at a future date, but are not part of the contract as it exists today.  In any event, the Montgomery County Board of Education has not approved the use of this new state contract.

• To date, Superintendent Joshua Starr has failed to produce any documents that support his request to the Board of Education on September 11, 2012 for an $8,949,719 purchase of 2,000 Promethean brand Interactive White Boards.  

The Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland believes that Montgomery County citizens, the taxpayers, are entitled to see the documents, contracts, and bids to support this expenditure.  

We believe citizens are entitled to all of these things so that it is possible to determine if OUR money is being spent wisely.

Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland

-----------------------------------------
From: Tofig, Dana <Dana_Tofig@mcpsmd.org>
Date: Fri, Nov 16, 2012 at 6:24 PM
Subject: Setting the Record Straight on Promethean Boards

To: "karen.montgomery@senate.state.md.us" , "anne.kaiser@house.state.md.us" , "eric.luedtke@house.state.md.us" , "craig.zucker@house.state.md.us" , "rob.garagiola@senate.state.md.us" , "kathleen.dumais@house.state.md.us" , "brian.feldman@house.state.md.us" , "arunamiller@gmail.com" , "brian.frosh@senate.state.md.us" , "bill.frick@house.state.md.usariana.kelly" , "susan.lee@house.state.md.us" , "jennie.forehand@senate.state.md.us" , "kumar.barve@house.state.md.us" , "jim.gilchrist@house.state.md.us" , "delegatesimmons@aol.com" , "richard.madaleno@senate.state.md.us" , "alfred.carr@house.state.md.us" , "ana.gutierrez@house.state.md.us" , "jeff.waldstreicher@house.state.md.us" , "roger.manno@senate.state.md.us" , "sam.arora@house.state.md.us" , "bonnie.cullison@house.state.md.us" , "benjamin.kramer@house.state.md.us" , "jamie.raskin@senate.state.md.us" , "sheila.hixson@house.state.md.us" , "councilmember.andrews@montgomerycountymd.gov" , "councilmember.berliner@montgomerycountymd.gov" , "councilmember.elrich@montgomerycountymd.gov" , "councilmember.ervin@montgomerycountymd.gov" , "councilmember.floreen@montgomerycountymd.gov" , "councilmember.rice@montgomerycountymd.gov" , "councilmember.riemer@montgomerycountymd.gov" , "councilmember.leventhal@montgomerycountymd.gov" , "councilmember.navarro@montgomerycountymd.gov" , "county.council@montgomerycountymd.gov" , "ocemail@montgomerycountymd.gov"
Cc: "Edwards, Brian" , "Bowers, Larry" , "Collette, Sherwin"

 

Good evening,

You recently received an email from the Parents’ Coalition of Montgomery County that contained misinformation and falsehoods about Montgomery County Public Schools’ technology initiative that will provide a Promethean interactive whiteboard for every elementary school classroom and install a secure wireless network in all schools. The Parents’ Coalition claims that Promethean is not a vendor on one of two state contracts that MCPS uses to purchase the whiteboards. Therefore, they conclude, the contract cannot be used to purchase the Promethean Boards.

 

This is false.

 

Promethean is not on the vendor list because the company doesn’t sell the boards directly. Instead, Promethean uses resellers to market and sell the Boards. MCPS has purchased all of its Promethean Boards from Dell. A search of the State Department of Information Technology (DoIT) 2012 Hardware Master Contract clearly shows that Dell is an approved vendor for “peripherals,” which is what items like Promethean Boards are considered under the state contract. MCPS also has the option to use a contract through the Maryland Education Enterprise Consortium (MEEC), which includes Dell as an approved vendor for “peripherals.” Both of these contracts were competitively bid.

 

School districts, colleges and universities routinely use this method of “piggybacking” on competitively bid statewide contracts for the purchase of technology, as it leads to more competitive pricing and access to a large number of vendors. In fact, in the 2009 Financial Management Practices Performance Audit Report on Montgomery County Public Schools by the Office of Legislative Audits/Department of Legislative Services, this practice was highlighted: 

 

“MCPS had instituted certain best practices that should enhance the cost effectiveness of its procurements. These include “piggybacking” onto contracts already procured by the State and other local governments, and participating in cooperative purchasing organizations. These practices save MCPS certain costs associated with the procurement of contracts and may provide larger discounts as a result of the combined purchasing power of multiple entities.” (Page 20)

 

The purchase of the Promethean Boards and the installation of the wireless networks will help create a strong, districtwide foundation for technology in all schools and allow MCPS to then consider other ways it can incorporate the use of technology into its instructional program. Many parents, teachers and school leaders have supported this initiative. Some members of the Parents’ Coalition have made it clear they do not support this initiative and they are entitled to their opinion. However, they are not entitled to their own facts.

 

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any further questions.

 

Sincerely,

 

Dana Tofig

Director, Public Information and Web Services

Montgomery County Public Schools

(301) 279-3853

www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org

Twitter: @MCPS

MCPS $1.4 million short for Year 4 Promethean lease payment

As readers may recall the thousands of Promethean Boards that landed in MCPS classrooms at the start of school in August 2008 weren't free or from a "grant". In fact, through a Maryland Public Information Act request the public learned that thousands of Promethean Boards had been purchased through a Four Year Lease plan. Not only weren't the Promethean Boards from a grant, they weren't paid for.

The press release put out by Superintendent Jerry Weast at the start of the 2008-09 school year only noted a "$3.3 million expansion" but neglected to state that $3.3 million was only the first year lease payment on 2,600 Promethean Boards, not the total cost for 2,600 boards.

Next, the public learned that MCPS had been holding on to federal rebates received for installing internet access to schools for the last 10 years. More on those funds here and here.  MCPS stated they would use those rebate funds to make the lease payments on the 2,600 Promethean Boards. (There is no connection between the rebates and the Promethean Board purchase. The rebates come back to the school system and into the general fund to be used by the governing authority as they desire. The rebates could have been used for school construction or teacher salaries, however, Superintendent Weast made the unilateral decision to use the rebates to purchase Promethean Boards.)

The final payment on 2,600 of the Promethean Boards in MCPS classrooms is due in 2011. (We don't know how the other thousand + Promethean Boards are being funded. That information remains out of the public view.)

There's just one problem. There isn't enough money in the rebate fund to make the full Year Four Lease payment on 2,600 Promethean boards in 2011.

On March 11, 2010, the Montgomery County Council's Education Committee (page 11 at link) discussed the $1.4 million dollar shortfall in funds needed to make the Year Four Lease payment on the 2,600 Promethean Boards.

They had a little chuckle about this. Here's the video:

Is MCPS saving Promethean World, LLC from collapse?

Promethean World, LLC, a British company, has had a huge presence in MCPS for several years. MCPS has spent millions of dollars purchasing their interactive whiteboard products, and MCPS administrators have even promoted Promethean World products at trade shows and conventions.

But who is Promethean World, LLC from a business perspective? Are they the Apple of the smartboard industry, or are they headed down the same path as Palm and Blockbuster?

A look at the Promethean World financial data (stock symbol PRW on the London Exchange) should give us some insight. It can be found at: http://www.bloomberg.com/quote/PRW:LN.

As an investment, PRW hasn’t been so hot. On the day of the initial public offering (IPO) 2½ years ago, the stock price declined from 2.00 GBP* to a market price of 1.96 GBP ($3.18 US).  Today's price of 0.23 GBP ($0.37 US) represents a market price decline of about 88%. In comparison, the S&P 500 index (an indicator of stock prices in general) has gone up about 22% since PRW went public.

PRW: Short sellers have done well with these shares

A dollar invested in PRW when the company went public 2½ years ago would be worth about $0.12 today. A dollar invested in an average US company over the same time period would be worth about $1.22 today.

In the first half of 2012, PRW earnings were -0.73 GBP per share, which is -$1.19 per share.  For a company the size of PRW, that's a huge loss. 

To conserve cash, PRW recently stopped paying a dividend.

PRW is a fairly small company. The total market capitalization is 46 M GBP, or about $75 million. To put values in perspective, MCPS could buy the entire PRW company for less than what it costs to build one high school in Montgomery County.

Total sales for PRW in FY 2011 (the most recent full year reporting period) were 223 M GBP. Based on sales reported for the first half of 2012, they’ll probably see about 180 M GBP in sales for FY 2012. From a sales viewpoint, the recent BOE purchase authorization for $14.5 million of products from PRW (about 9 M GBP) is roughly equal to 5% of PRW’s sales for the entire FY 2012. (We do note, however, that the $14.5 million of products are expected to be delivered over a period of several years.) This means that MCPS is a huge PRW customer, possibly their largest customer in the world.

Which brings us back to the original question: Is MCPS saving Promethean World, LLC from financial collapse? Based on their most recent sales figures, if MCPS stopped buying Promethean products, Promethean’s sales would likely decline enough to materially affect the company's bottom line. But perhaps even more importantly from an MCPS perspective -- and a taxpayer perspective -- Promethean products rely on highly proprietary technology. Hence, the collapse of Promethean could turn the Promethean products that MCPS is purchasing today into the Palm Pilots of tomorrow.

* GBP is Great Britain Pound Sterling, the official currency of the UK.

Breaking News: Promethean Not Included in State Master Contract! MCPS Fail!

Update November 30, 2012:  Someone at the State of Maryland has now added in the name "Promethean" on the drop down menu for the Master Hardware Contract.  Promethean didn't exist on the list as of the date of this posting, and the Master Contract didn't even exist as of the date of the Board of Education vote.  Is someone at the State of Maryland now attempting to cover up that the Board of Education voted on an expired contract? 
----------------------------------------

Yesterday, Councilmember Hans Riemer enthusiastically tweeted "End of story" to the purchase by MCPS of 2,000 Promethean Boards.  

Councilmember Riemer had hung his hat on the MCPS "story" that they were going to use a State of Maryland Contract (see minute 43 of video) to purchase 2,000 Promethean Boards.  But, the Maryland State contract wasn't signed until the day after the Montgomery County Council hearing and vote! 

And guess what?  When the Maryland Master Hardware Contract was approved by the Board of Public Works on November 14th, the approved Contract DID NOT INCLUDE PROMETHEAN as an approved contractor.  See for yourself.  Click here and click on the Select Manufacturer list.  Do you see Promethean listed? 

Yet, Promethean's competitor SMART Technologies is listed.

It is now clear that the Maryland State Master Hardware Contract that had been cited by Superintendent Joshua Starr in his resolution to the Board of Education on September 11th does not include Promethean as a contractor.  Does Superintendent Starr have an explanation for his use of a contract that was not only expired, but even the renewal doesn't cover the purchase cited in his Resolution to the Board of Education? 

We look forward to Councilmember Riemer's next Tweet of the next version of MCPS' cover up/story regarding the purchase of 2,000 Promethean brand Interactive White Boards with taxpayer dollars.  

MC ESOL Classes: DO NOT TOUCH Promethean Boards!

MCPS USE ONLY

At the April 26, 2010, Board of Education meeting students and a teacher from Montgomery College presented public comment to the Board to plead for access to the technology in their classrooms. The teacher and students were from English for Speakers of Other Languages classes. The students are taught in Montgomery County Public School classrooms with Promethean Boards glued to the middle of the blackboards.

But the Montgomery College teachers are forbidden from touching the Promethean Boards, and the Montgomery College teachers are prohibited from attending Promethean Board training classes. 

The Montgomery College students and teacher advocated that allowing them access to the technology that was already in the classrooms would increase the effectiveness of their program without spending additional tax dollars.

Imagine that. Using the existing technology and increasing learning. Well, that can't happen!

The students and teachers have been told that they can only use classroom technology if they pay a fee to the Interagency Coordinator Board (ICB is run by county officials, Superintendent Jerry Weast, Board President Pat O'Neill, MCPS principals, Montgomery College President and citizens) for a supervisor to watch over their use of classroom technology. Funding for Promethean Board babysitters does not exist in their ESOL classroom budgets.

If the Promethean Boards are so "delicate" that they cannot be used by classroom teachers from Montgomery College maybe the Board of Education should have taken this into consideration when this purchase was made for public school classrooms that are also used by the community. Maybe the Board of Education should have taken a look at a competitor's product that provided more durability.

Oh, sorry. Forgot. The Board of Education never discussed or voted on the purchase of 3,300+ Promethean Boards. That decision was made by MCPS Chief Operating Officer Larry Bowers when he signed the 4 year "rent to own" payment documents.

Here's the WARNING!!! flyer put out by ICB:
Promethean Board Warning!!! Please note that Promethean Boards are not "also called Smart Boards." SMART Boards are the
product of a competitor that was not considered in this major MCPS procurement.

MCPS was major "contract"

Interesting statement in Florida article about MCPS being one of the big Promethean "contracts". But here in Montgomery County we know that there was no contract. A public information request for the Promethean contract, Invitation for Bids (IFBs) or Request for Proposals (RFPs) yielded only separate purchase orders and 3rd party leases. The MCPS Board of Education never discussed or voted on a contract to purchase Promethean Boards. Promethean did not "win" a contract in MCPS. There was no competition. 

If Promethean has a contract with MCPS, let's see it. 

Herald Tribune: Sarasota County schools' supplier linked to Arizona scandal

By Anthony Cormier, Tiffany Lankes & Doug Sword Staff Writers
Before a British company became entangled in an FBI investigation over a $13 million contract to put electronic white boards in schools in Sarasota and Iowa, the firm was accused of giving gifts to Arizona school officials who also bought their products.

That same year the company sold $2.4 million worth of products to the Tucson (Ariz.) Unified School District -- and after the deal was secured, Promethean invited top officials to a lavish conference, giving them free hotel stays, gift cards and even an iPod... 

...The big push in the United States came after 2005 and the company specifically points to four major contracts it won in San Diego, Calif.; Fort Worth, Texas; Montgomery County, Md.; and Sarasota County.

*** 

-Public Information requests for documents pertaining to arrival of thousands of Promethean Boards in MCPS classrooms in August 2008.

-Parents' Coalition webpage on Promethean board purchases in Montgomery County Public Schools. 
-Parents' Coalition blog posts on MCPS' presentations on Promethean boards in London,  Sarasota, Florida,  San Antonio, Texas, and Washington, D.C.

County Executive concerned about financial condition of Promethean

Leggett recommends delaying additional purchases until concerns about vendor are addressed

A memo obtained by the Parents' Coalition reveals that County Executive Leggett is urging the County Council to consider the financial condition of Promethean World before funding additional purchases of their products. Promethean World is the predominate supplier of interactive whiteboards to MCPS.

Leggett wrote that he supports expanding technological resources to all MCPS classrooms, but questioned whether Promethean World can survive in light of their rapidly declining financial condition.

"While Promethean World reported adequate fund balances to cover their shorter term losses, they alerted their investors to the long-range nature of their financial problems," wrote Leggett.

Leggett also stated in the memo that he is concerned about the proprietary nature of Promethean products.

"The Promethean Board technology is proprietary and alternative means of providing the whiteboard service to classrooms if the company were to go out of business would require investment in alternative hardware and software," wrote Leggett. "I am concerned that MCPS' investment of taxpayer dollars into these whiteboards may not be viable or sustainable in the long term due to the company's significant and, by the company's own assessment, long-term, financial difficulties."

The memo gave no deadline for making the determination of whether or not to proceed with purchase of Promethean products or to switch to products from a more stable company.

 Memo from County Executive Leggett expressing concerns about Promethean's financial condition

National PTA picks Promethean!

Anyone ask the teachers if they want a "Promethean Board?" What about school districts that use a competitor's product? And let's not forget the maintenance and upkeep on these boards. The MCPS Board of Education just spent $202,300 on bulbs for the Promethean projectors and $253,606 on Promethean maintenance, data networks and upgrades.

What's in this "initiative" for National PTA?

PTA | For Immediate Release

National PTA and Promethean Announce
“Great School Fundraisers” Contest

Alexandria, VA (October 26, 2010) – National PTA and Promethean are launching a national initiative to help members “Fund their Dream ActivClassroom.”

As part of a new three-year sponsorship, Promethean, a global education company committed to supporting teaching and learning, will help local PTAs interested in adding interactive technologies into classrooms and investing in digital-age learning resources.

“Parents are important catalysts to change in thousands of schools around the country. We are delighted to be working hand-in-hand with them to strengthen and reinvest in schools. When we give our educators the tools and support they need to be successful, we build a stronger future for our children and our country,” says Mark Elliott, President, Promethean North America...

MCPS Staff at Promethean Conventions

Reposting from the Parents' Coalition blog of Monday, March 2, 2009

Enter ActivWorld! MCPS sells Promethean - Video

On February 12 - 14, 2008 Sarasota/St Petersburg, Florida at U.S. Education Research Summit 2008. Promethean two day users' conference including ActivBoards demonstration by Mr. Sherwin Collette, MCPS Chief Technology Officer in video of presentation showcasing examples of how Promethean Boards are used in Montgomery County classrooms.

Mr. Collette's presentation, as shown in the February 2008 Promethean conference video, appears to have been made 5 months after MCPS ordered 6 Promethean Boards on September 26, 2007, and 4 months before MCPS ordered 2,600 Promethean Boards on June 12, 2008.

And, Parents' Coalition blog posts on MCPS staff presentations on Promethean boards at conferences in

• London
• Sarasota, Florida
• San Antonio, Texas
• Washington, D.C.

Promethean partners with controversial Channel One News. Two out-of-date companies keep each other company.

Obligation, Inc.:  Why is this man smiling?

...So what does Promethean World do as their sales are rapidly heading South? Marshall chooses to partner with the controversial Channel One.  There couldn’t be a worse partner.  If time has possibly passed Promethean by, it is for certain that Channel One is a thing of the past. So Promethean, a company rushing for irrelevancy, teams up with Channel One’s dead brand of youth marketing. They deserve each other.
Promethean is trying its best to bring Channel One’s into elementary schools. There is nothing smart about that. When I go around the country talking about the Channel One controversy, I talk now of the Channel One/Promethean controversy. Promethean’s chances of thriving – or surviving – have not been enhanced by their partnership with Channel One....

Waterloo schools Promethean problems

A letter to Promethean Inc. from the Waterloo Community Schools Technology Coordinator includes information on the problems encountered with Promethean Boards and the additional comments shown below. The full text of the letter was obtained by the WCFCourier investigation of the Waterloo Community Schools purchase of hundreds of Promethean Boards.

...Additionally, we have not been pleased with the responsiveness Promethean technical support has provided. It is common for us to see substantial delays in receiving replacement parts. Obviously when a board is disabled awaiting a part, frustrations amongst our teachers and students ensue. Finally, we have been overwhelmed with issues related to Promethean softwareand firmware. It seems Promethean doesn’t have a robust testing process in place and simply continually releases critical bug-fix updates with no reliable release roadmap. We have wasted thousands of man hours updating software and device firmware to correct software bugs. Our efforts to leverage other technology to push updates to our computers have been thwarted by further bugs in not being able to install driver updates without first uninstalling the older driver. Obviously, the issues with activInspire, drivers, and firmware have further taxed our technology resources and caused additional frustrations amongst our users...

With Initiative you get Promethean Boards!

Thanks to the January 8, 2008 Tilden Middle School PTSA minutes we have information about how MCPS initiatives go forward. 9 more schools were added to the MCPS Middle School Initiative this school year, but the schools had to apply! And if your school was selected, your school won 18 Promethean Boards!

I thought the Board of Education decided how programs were introduced in schools? But according to this information, your local school actually had to apply! These minutes also show that even before the FY09 budget was approved, plans were in the works to put the Middle School Initiative in to 9 more schools and to add 162 more Promethean Boards.

PRINCIPAL'S REPORT:... Mrs. Baker provided an update on Tilden’s application to be an MCPS Middle School Reform school. 55% of Tilden’s staff would like to apply as a Middle School Reform school. One reason to apply now is that the county will run out of money to support this initiative, which provides 18 Promethean boards for the school, and a couple elective classes that will be new to students. We have a declining enrollment at Tilden with the phasing out of the learning center. We’re projected to have 650 students for the next school year. Being a Middle School Reform school, we would get a math content coach and a literacy content coach. So we will not lose staff because we would be gaining the 2 coaches. There will be 9 more Middle School Reform schools for next year. There are 5 middle schools in right now, and 5 who are not eligible. There are 28 middle schools who will be vying for the 9 spots. We have a good case. There would be a lot of professional development for the staff, which they’ll be paid for attending. 2700 hours of staff development that Tilden would receive. The leadership would expand. Resource teachers will no longer have to be team leaders so more teachers can be team leaders. There’s a great chance for professional growth, interactive Promethean boards, which make the classroom, come alive. A Promethean board is like a giant computer screen. Teachers would receive training in it also. Since 55% said they would like to apply, the school will apply. We will know February 29 whether or not we’ve been accepted. If accepted we’ll make it look and work the way Tilden wants it to work, but can also go to other schools to see what they’ve done.
Why would the staff be against it? One teacher thought it would be a lot more work in the beginning.

If you have a Promethean board you’re creating lesson plans that use the board. It’s a learning curve at the beginning.

Would some teachers have to reapply for their leadership positions? Possibly. Team leaders will not be able to be department chairs as well.

$202,300 for Promethean Bulbs

It's that time of year again! It's October and time to change the bulb in the Promethean Board projectors. 


But wasn't it just 6 months ago that MCPS got in an order of $36,000 worth of Promethean projector bulbs from Clinton Learning Solutions? 


Yes it was! And now 6 months later MCPS apparently needs another $202,300 worth of Promethean projector bulbs. 


This time MCPS claims to have received 12 bids on this contract. Clinton Learning Solutions got the contract again. We don't know what Clinton Learning Solutions charges MCPS per projector bulb.  


Replacement bulb prices range from $296 to $550. MCPS will need to replace all 3,300+ bulbs in the next year or two based on the average life of a projector bulb. That's over $1 million in bulb purchases that will need to be funded. 


It is unknown how many total Promethean Boards exist in MCPS today. Last the public knew there were over 3,300 Boards. Payment information only exists on the 2,600 Promethean Boards, the others arrived in MCPS without public disclosure.


How many Promethean projector bulbs will the Board of Education be buying for $202,300?


683? 367? Take your best guess. The Board of Education has this on their Consent Agenda for Tuesday, October 13, 2010 and won't be discussing the details.