Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland: ‘Taxpayers deserve better’: Local taxpayers league wants more oversight of Montgomery Co. schools contracts

Thursday, October 17, 2024

‘Taxpayers deserve better’: Local taxpayers league wants more oversight of Montgomery Co. schools contracts

It’s time to hit the brakes on a $160 million contract that Montgomery County Public Schools has with an electric bus vendor. That’s the way Montgomery County Taxpayer’s League President Esther Wells sees it.

Wells was alarmed by information provided by MCPS officials on Monday where they revealed that they’re in the middle of negotiations with an electric school bus vendor whose failures to deliver buses on time led to added millions in expenditures by the school system.

Regarding the school system’s contract talks with Highland Electric Fleets, Wells said, “Why are we renegotiating with them? We should take a pause or we should stop negotiations until we’re able to resolve the current contract.”

Wells was referring to some of the statements that Chief of District Operations for MCPS Dana Edwards shared regarding how the school system had “invoiced” Highland Electric for $1.5 million over the delays in delivery of buses and operational issues...

‘Taxpayers deserve better’: Local taxpayers league wants more oversight of Montgomery Co. schools contracts - WTOP News

1 comment:

AnonymousOctober 18, 2024 at 6:23 AM
Does anybody really know how much they do spent
Does anybody have any oversight or care to find out
I can't imagine why since they will just tax and spend
And we have got time enough to oh no, to talk about.
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Principles

Formed in 2002, the Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland seeks to achieve the goals of coherent, content-rich curriculum standards; high expectations combined with timely remediation and acceleration; a wider range of educational options for parents and children; greater transparency and accountability; and meaningful community input.

E-mail: parentscoalitionmc AT outlook.com

What The Washington Post said about the Parents' Coalition

The coalition might be the best-known parent advocacy group in the region. Its members represent several constituencies, including parents of special education and gifted education students and fiscal watchdogs. The group's defining victory came this school year when the school system scaled back the fees charged to families for course materials.

Coalition leaders have drawn attention to the misuse of funds collected from students for activities, the broadcast of a commercial radio service on school buses and, with their "Weast Watch" blog, the travel habits of Weast and his lieutenants.

The Washington Post, June 4, 2009

Jerry Weast on the Parents' Coalition

"Along the way, you’ve had a challenging relationship with the Parents’ Coalition, the network of citizen activists who use the political process and other means to hold MCPS accountable.

The thing people accuse me of is listening, but not hearing. I hear, but I do not always agree. I am sorry that the world is faster than it was 10 years ago. I did not do that. [But] if we do not keep up, then our kids will be behind. We have to stop whining and get real."

Bethesda Magazine, March-April 2011