For the first time in 3 years, the public can read the contract that was entered into by Larry Bowers, MCPS Interim Superintendent on June 30, 2016, his last day as Interim Superintendent. The contract was never presented to the Board of Education and was never included in the Board of Education minutes.
The contract was discussed in the Montgomery County Inspector General's July 23, 2019, Report on the MCPS bus camera deal. However, the Inspector General did not make the contract public as part of his Report.
In the contract, we learn that the "deal" required that after 18 months the parties would enter into a "revenue sharing plan." That, as we know from the Inspector General's Report did not happen. The contract is now 3 years old and still no revenue sharing plan has been established.
MCPS has redacted the numbers in the contract that show the cost of these cameras, as if that is some sort of a secret. Those numbers have been discussed and were also part of the Inspector General's Report.
Why did the Board of Education enter into this deal without any public process? Why no Request for Proposals? Why no bids from competitors? Why was this one company selected without public discussion.
As we know, in June of 2017, the FBI stepped in and began arresting individuals conntected to Force Multiplier Solutions, Inc, including the man that met with MCPS and police staff to "sell" them on the program. 5 people are now in federal prison connected to the bribes, kickback, wire fraud, and tax evasion scheme associated with this company. Yet as of today, the Board of Education has still not addressed the dissolution of this company.
The exterior bus cameras remain on MCPS school buses and 100% of the fines being paid by car owners go to a house in Louisiana.
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