Board of Education Funds Private School with Wing of MCPS School, Classrooms, Principal, School Buses and More [No Bid Funding]

Please note the report below is from a June 2018 document.  The funding for this no bid, private school is not disclosed in the Board of Education's annual public Operating Budget document. June of 2018 is the most recent information the public has for the Board of Education's funding of this private school.  

The image to the left shows a wing of Sligo Middle School in Silver Spring with the Saturday School awning permanently installed.  The private school uses the Sligo Middle School address as their business address.  

Source:  George B Thomas Learn Academy 190409.pdf (boarddocs.com)

MCPS and Montgomery County Funded Saturday School FINALLY Free for Students

MCPS pays for the principal of this private school out of MCPS Operating Budget funds, provides the program a wing of a public school for free and additional funding.  Montgomery County also provides additional funding to this private school.  But until now, students had to pay tuition to attend this MCPS and Montgomery County funded program.  Finally this County funded private school is opening up to provide a free public education for all. 

SUMMER SCHOOL BASICS

This online program offers core academic support – in Math, Reading, and Language Arts – from certified teachers.

The materials and tutoring are aligned with the curriculum of MCPS (Montgomery County Public Schools).

PROGRAM COST
FREE

GRADES
K-12

DATE
July 7 through August 18, 2020

TIMES
9:00 to 11:00 am
Tues., Wed., and Thursday

Closing Ceremonies August 19th

https://www.saturdayschool.org/2020/06/04/summer-programs-online-july-and-august-2020/

Board of Education Pays $153,379 Salary of Private School Director

Once again, the salary information released from Montgomery County Public Schools shows that the Board of Education continues to pay the salary of a private school director/principal.  The MCPS Operating Budget is apparently so flush with cash that there is money in the budget to fund the full time position of a private school director/principal.

The director/principal of the George B. Thomas Saturday School is paid out of the MCPS Operating Budget to run a private school that operates outside the oversight of the public school system.  No data, audits or accountability exists over this private school program, yet public school funding is being diverted to pay for the full time principal of this school.

How does funding the position of a private school director/principal align with the purpose of the Maryland Maintenance of Effort law that applies to the funding of public schools?

Maryland’s “maintenance of effort,” enacted by the General Assembly, requires that counties maintain the same amount of funding for education per pupil each year. The maintenance of effort name derives from the concept that a county is maintaining a level effort towards education funding from year-to-year. 

What other private schools have their staff funded out of the MCPS Operating Budget?   

https://www.saturdayschool.org/about-us/

Board of Ed Pays $147,515 Salary of Private School Principal #ethics #ConflictOfInterest #PublicSchool

The Montgomery County Board of Education pays the salary of a principal at a private school.

Why?

Can other private schools have the Board of Education fund their principals?  How does a private school apply for this perk? 

Apparently the MCPS Operating Budget is so flush with cash that public school education money can be used to fund positions in private schools.

The principal of the George B. Thomas Saturday School is Khadija Barkley. 
Ms. Barkley's annual salary of $147,515 is paid out of the MCPS Operating Budget as was the salary of the previous Saturday School principal. 

The Board of Education has been paying the salary for the principal of this private school for years.

This information is from the MCPS June 2017 salary database.

MCPS Salaries $142,197 - $149,807 Principals, Directors, Coordinators, Consulting Principal, Supervisors, Payroll, and Chief Investment Officer

These charts do not include benefits and perks.
First column shows salary for employees on spreadsheet. Example: $275,000 is base salary for Jack R. Smith.
Consultants are not included on these charts. 

Will Council Discuss Failure of this Publicly Funded Program to Serve Students with Learning Disabilities?

Montgomery County Council
Joint Health and Human Services and Education Committee meeting.
December 8, 2014
9:30 AM


HHS/ED 9:30 AM - 7CHR
Dec 8
• Discussion - Unaccompanied minors
(McMillan)
• Discussion - George B. Thomas Sr. Learning Academy services and policies 

*****
See
http://parentscoalitionmc.blogspot.com/2012/12/why-doesnt-george-b-thomas-tutor.html

Is it Legal to Exclude Students with Special Education Needs from County Tutoring Program? #georgebthomaslearningacademy #saturdayschool

It must be, because today a Montgomery County Council committee is discussing funding for a program that excludes students with special education needs.

We have heard from parents before that their children with special education needs were not permitted to enroll in the George B. Thomas Learning Academy Saturday School tutoring program.

Below is the report that the Councilmembers have received on this program. You will note that there is no mention of children with special education needs in the report.  Yet, public dollars heavily support this program.

No tutoring for you!

  2014 George b Thomas Report by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland

WPost Ignores Kids with Learning Disabilities, Writes about Private No Bid Tutoring Service

Remember the George B. Thomas Saturday School that refuses to tutor students with learning disabilities while receiving over $1 million in public tax dollars?

http://parentscoalitionmc.blogspot.com/2012/12/why-doesnt-george-b-thomas-tutor.html

http://parentscoalitionmc.blogspot.com/2013/11/capacity-crisis-then-why-give-away.html

Here's The Washington Post's story about the program today.  

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/for-almost-3000-montgomery-county-students-saturday-morning-means-school/2013/12/21/334a834e-69c1-11e3-8b5b-a77187b716a3_story.html

Capacity Crisis? Then why give away Classrooms?

The Superintendent and Board of Education are currently singing the "capacity crisis" song.
If the Superintendent and BOE actually believe there is a capacity crisis in MCPS, then why are they giving away MCPS classrooms to private businesses?

This picture shows a wing of Sligo Middle School in Silver Spring.

The awning imprinted with the name of a private business just went up on the outside of the school this year.

Why are those classrooms not being used for MCPS students? 

Where is the Public Statement from the George B. Thomas Learning Center?

Students with learning disabilities are not welcome to use the publicly funded George B. Thomas Learning Center (Saturday School). Here's one parent's public statement about attempts to enroll students with special education learning issues in the program.

Councilmember George Leventhal asked the GBTLC Executive Director about this issue (See Facebook message below).  The personal response he got was that the program is open to all students.  But, that response doesn't align with the reality that parents have faced when they tried to enroll their child in the program.

Thanks for asking Councilmember Leventhal, but we need a public statement from this publicly funded tutoring service.  We need to see the statement on the GBTLC website.  No side conversations, no private exchanges of information, we need a public announcement from this organization that they are going to comply with federal law and provide services to ALL MCPS students.

May 6, 2013 Facebook postings

$1,282,621 in County and Federal funds for program that refuses to serve students with learning disabilities

On April 24, 2013, the Montgomery County Council held a hearing to discuss various programs that serve County children.  One of the programs briefly discussed was the George B. Thomas Sr. Learning Academy, Inc.(GBTLA)   The hearing revealed that the GBTLA program will receive $1,096,621 in County funding between the County and MCPS in FY 2014.  

What the Council staff and MCPS did not disclose is that the FY 2014 budget also includes another $100,000 slipped in by Superintendent Joshua Starr from money taken from MCPS copier repairs and $86,000 funneled to the program from Americorps.

From the Council Packet (page 16-17)

The George B. Thomas, Sr. Learning Academy, Inc.
Provides Saturday school for mentoring and tutoring to a minimum of
3,200 Kids at 12 MCPS High Schools. $780,498
Council staff notes that the George B. Thomas Sr. Learning Academy has also been recommended for a community grant in the amount of $70,000 to support a development director. MCPS reports that it provides the following financial support for GBTLA:
16 • rental offacilities (12 sites) - $85,000;
• materials -$50,000;
• insurance - $20,000;
• transportation - $30,000;
• young scholars - $20,000; and
• 50 percent of the salary of the program coordinator.* 

*$42,529 is shown in the MCPS funding database for FY 2013.

Council packet also did not disclose the $86,000 in Americorps funds that are funneled to the GBTLA program.

Council's Staff packet did not reveal the $100,000 that will be handed over to the George B. Thomas Learning Academy in the MCPS FY 2014 budget as was revealed in our recent blog posting. 

Total County and Federal funding for this program that refuses to serve children with learning disabilities appears to be $1,282,621.

Starr Robbing High School Copiers to Send $$ to Private Company

Here's an interesting fact from Superintendent Joshua Starr's FY 2014 MCPS Operating Budget. 

Superintendent Starr is going to move $100,000 from MCPS to a private company without Board of Education discussion or vote! Obviously, that is not a legal budget item.  A Superintendent can't go around handing MCPS Operating Budget cash to private companies, right? 

The George B. Thomas Learning Academy is not a part of MCPS!  It is a private company.  In fact, as we have reported, the George B. Thomas Learning Academy even refuses to tutor students with special education needs.  But, no matter, Superintendent Starr is going to hand them $100,000! Starr is taking $100,000 from MCPS money used to lease and maintain copiers at MCPS high schools and hand it to this private company.

Tough luck for the high school teachers with copier needs, but a windfall for a private company!

Realignment  $100,000 from lease/maintenance duplicating to fund instructional materials for the George B. Thomas Learning Academy (Page 1-23)

-----------------------
April 26, 2013 Update on public funding for this private company.

99% Public Funding, But No Money for Special Education Students

Remember back to November 26, 2012, when a MCPS parent asked Superintendent Joshua Starr why the George B. Thomas Learning Academy aka Saturday School did not tutor children with special education needs.  Superintendent Starr blamed the George B. Thomas Academy for not asking for money for special education tutoring.  But, doesn't the funding that the George B. Thomas Academy already receives cover students with special education tutoring needs?  
We learn from the most recent 990 filed by the George B. Thomas Academy that the Academy is 99% publicly funded! Annual income for 2010 was $1,843,884. 
Yet, students with special education needs are excluded from receiving services at this 99% publicly funded program?  
Superintendent Starr, please explain how this publicly funded program can discriminate against students with special education needs.  You can Tweet your answer or hold a book club. Either way, you need to address the failure of this publicly funded program to serve students with special education needs.    

  George B. Thomas Learning Center - Saturday School - 990 by   Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland

Why doesn't George B. Thomas tutor students with Special Education Needs?

On Tuesday, December 11, 2012, the Board of Education will give some of $100,000 (sorry, the BOE doesn't say how much of this $100,000) to the George B. Thomas Learning Academy, Inc. aka Saturday School.  
The Board of Education just gave the George B. Thomas Learning Academy, Inc. $86,000 in June of this year.  
Yet, according to the parent that spoke at the recent meeting between Superintendent Joshua Starr and the Special Education Advisory Committee, the George B. Thomas Learning Academy, Inc. does not provide tutoring services to students with special education needs.  

Watch Video at this link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iM1F0BkDlgo&feature=share&list=UUe0tEnIynI_9Hv0yFAgEWvQ

The Board of Education is not the only County agency that is supplying this program with taxpayer funds.  How is it that our tax dollars are being diverted to a program that will not serve all public school students? 

Board of Education August 27, 2009 - sole source award                          $86,000
Board of Education July 8, 2010 - extension                                              $86,000
Board of Education June 16, 2011 - extension                                           $86,000
Board of Education FY 2012 Direct payment to George B. Thomas, Sr.   $41,123
Board of Education June 14, 2012  - extension                                          $86,000

FY 07 Award from Montgomery County Council:
George B. Thomas Learning Academy (GBTLA) Provides tutoring and mentoring to enhance the academic performance and achievement of children in grades 1 through 12 
$1,045,915

FY 12 Montgomery County Government:


Health and Human Services
THE GEORGE B THOMAS
1008668
FY12 Delivery Order for The George B. Thomas
$116,054.00
Health and Human Services
THE GEORGE B THOMAS
1008668
FY12 Delivery Order for The George B. Thomas
$649,140.00


------------------------------------

The George B. Thomas Saturday School partners include the following organizations:

• Montgomery County Public Schools
• Montgomery County Executive
• Montgomery County Council

Free = $50

Just so you know, when the MCPS website tells you something is "free" that really means it costs $50.

From MCPS website

The George B. Thomas Saturday School tutoring program is supported by state and local funds. That is, it does receive funding from your tax dollars.  It should be free as is stated on the MCPS website. See the image at the left.

From G.B.Thomas website

But, as you can see from the George B. Thomas Saturday School website, when students apply for this "free" tutoring program they are told to provide a check for $50 or $40.  


Maybe someone can ask the Math Dude to explain why "free" equals $50 in MCPS land. 

Help find the missing $86,000

On June 16, 2011, the Board of Education will approve a payment to a no-bid tutoring program. The Board action is called an "extension".  The contract is supposedly being "extended" from some prior Board vote. 


The Board of Education will approve a payment of $86,000.


The Board approved the same amount of money to the same no-bid tutoring program last year on July 8, 2010. That would put that payment in to FY 11. 


That means that the MCPS Funding and Accountability Database would reflect the July 2010 payment already under the FY 11 listings, right?  


But the database only shows a payment of $27,773 for FY11 to this outside organization. 


Explanations welcome.