DCPS scraps special-ed database after spending millions on system | Washington Examiner
According to the Washington Examiner, the District of Columbia Public Schools decided to abandon the ENCORE special education online IEP system two years ago this week.
Now, Montgomery County Public Schools has also decided to abandon the ENCORE system, after spending at least $1.4 million dollars on on the software and licensing renewals. And that doesn't even include the staff time spent on training!
Also missing from Jerry Weast's memo explaining the change to the Board of Education (well after staff had already decided to abandon ENCORE and started to develop a new product): how much MCPS is now spending to develop a new online IEP system on the fly, and how much the taxpayers are coughing up to RDA Corporation to assist MCPS in cleaning up this self-made mess.
Reviewing the available documentation, MCPS initially paid for Encore in July of 2005, yet it didn't come on line until January of 2008, and was offline by the end of December 2009. A pretty short run for over $1,380,000 spent! Original price $540,000, plus the $210K in 2006, 2007, 2008, & 2009.
And what about the "consultants?" In the Answers to Budget Questions, we see that the Office of the Chief Technology Officer proposes to spend $381,000 (an increase of $155,000) on consultants for: Software testing for Online Curriculum and IEP PROJECTS in FY 2011(see page 3). How much of that large dollar amount is in addition to the amount already flushed away by Encore?
Oh, and did we mention that the Maryland State Department of Education offered all the local education agencies IEP software for a very reasonable price: FREE!
$540,000 here, and another few hundred thousand there, and pretty soon you're talking about real money. Too bad no one seems to exercise one whit of oversight over MCPS's spending practices. Just say "Technology" and for some reason the current and past Boards of Education feel free to fleece our wallets for the latest high-tech, high-cost project. Here's one taxpayer that won't be riding the PTA/MCEA bus to the county council to beg for more money for Jerry Weast to flush away.
Where do we go to get the $1.4 million dollars back?
This and Artificial Turf.
ReplyDeleteHow do we find out where the kickbacks go?
This can't possibly be just a bunch of educational supplies salesmen hoodwinking fairly intelligent people.