Oh hey, @mcps @mocoboe have you watched this news report? It's about how your Transportation Department got into trouble.

Remember that former MCPS Director of Transportation Todd Watkins flew to Dallas, Texas in 2015, and met with RICK SORRELLS to sign up for the school bus stop arm camera scheme. 

Now read what Mr. Sorrells was up to in Dallas.

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In July, Dallas County Schools will be shut down forever. In November 2017 voters acted swiftly to close the 172-year-old agency after more than 100 reports from NBC 5 Investigates revealed corruption and staggering financial mismanagement that cost taxpayers millions of dollars.

DCS officials signed risky contracts to outfit school buses in 12 local school districts with exterior cameras that would record drivers ignoring the bus's safety "Stop" arm. The offenders would then be ticketed and the agency would profit. The plan, however, didn't work.

The stories highlighted below reveal how money that was supposed to keep children safe wound up in the pockets of a public official and cost hundreds of people their jobs.

The Characters

Rick Sorrells, former DCS superintendent forced to retire in 2017 amidst questions about the finances at DCS. In April 2018, Sorrells pleaded guilty to federal wire fraud and admitted to receiving more than $3 million in bribes and kickbacks in exchange for entering into contracts for $70 million in school bus camera equipment. He's expected to be sentenced in August.

 Behind the Cameras: The Fall of Dallas County Schools – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth (nbcdfw.com)