“I think this is just a bunch of bull,” said board Vice President Brenda Wolff after presenting a resolution, which failed, that would have given the school until December to solve the issues.

 

...In a contentious Thursday evening decision, the Montgomery County school board voted to close the county’s only charter school, MECCA Business Learning Institute (MBLI), at the end of this academic year if it doesn’t resolve ongoing issues — a decision that comes just nearly seven months after the school opened.  

“I think this is just a bunch of bull,” said board Vice President Brenda Wolff after presenting a resolution, which failed, that would have given the school until December to solve the issues. “I’m very disappointed in some of this discussion because we don’t have all of our schools that are successful in our own system, and we don’t give them three months to improve.” 

The board voted 5-2 to approve a resolution based on Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) Superintendent Thomas Taylor’s December recommendation to begin formal proceedings for revoking MBLI’s charter. The recommendation to revoke the charter earned 5 votes from board members Rita Montoya, Laura Stewart, Julie Yang, Karla Silvestre and Student Member of the Boa/rd Anuva Maloo...

https://bethesdamagazine.com/2026/02/19/mcps-charter/

Montgomery County Public Schools uses AI-supported tool to improve safety [FYI: No Contract]

...A local parents' group wants to see the contract between the Bethesda-based company and MCPS.

"This has not been discussed at the Board of Education. This has not had any procurement process so once again, we see MCPS making a deal with a company behind closed doors," said Janis Sartucci of the Parents'Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland.

The Coalition filed a Maryland Public Information Act request to secure a copy of the contract between VOLT AI and MCPS.

"There's an agreement with a company that's going to effectively be able to watch students in hallways, and there's no documentation that's been made public," Sartucci said.

Sartucci showed 7News a letter she received from MCPS saying, "There are no contracts, invoices, receipts, or purchase orders from VOLT AI. The 30-day pilot program is a no-cost agreement."

She also told us at a meeting earlier this month, MCPS Chief Safety Officer Marcus Jones assured the school community that lawyers from both sides had thoroughly vetted the agreement between the school system and VOLT AI...

 https://wjla.com/news/local/montgomery-county-public-schools-volt-ai-supported-tool-improve-safety-maryland-student-staff-safety-technology-surveillance-medical-emergency-medical-weapons-flag-tech-community