Breaking: MD State Board of Education Smacks MCPS Once Again. Electric Bus Contract Award Still Illegal. #LegalFees

At today's Maryland State Board of Education meeting, the State Board considered a request by the Montgomery County Board of Education to reconsider the State Board's decision from November 2025, that declared the MCPS award of the electric school bus contract to have been arbitrary, unreasonable and illegal. 

From the November 2025, State Board of Education decision: 

ABC7 reported on the State Board's decision.

In that news report, MCPS gave their typical no comment response and then never spoke about the decision again.  

In a statement to the I-Team, MCPS said it is still reviewing the state’s decision and has not yet analyzed the full implications for the district.

What the public never knew is that MCPS did in fact respond to the State Board's decision.  MCPS and the Board of Education went right back to their outside legal counsel and directed legal counsel to dispute the State Board's decision by filing a request for reconsideration.  MCPS and the Board of Education decided to spend more education dollars on outside lawyers. 

Today, the State Board responded to MCPS' request for reconsideration.  

The State Board DENIED Montgomery County Board of Education's request to reconsider the State Board's November 2025 decision that declared the Montgomery County Board of Education's upholding of the award of the electric school bus contract to HET MCPS, LLC to have been arbitrary, unreasonable and illegal. 

The State Board of Education announced this decision at today's meeting that was broadcast on YouTube.  The video of the announcement of the decision is below.  

 

Maryland's State Board of Education report says MCPS electric bus deal is illegal

...Janis Zink Sartucci, with the Parents Coalition of Montgomery County — a watchdog group — said the state’s findings are unprecedented.

“I have certainly never seen a decision by the Montgomery County Board of Education declared illegal,” Sartucci said.

In a statement to the I-Team, MCPS said it is still reviewing the state’s decision and has not yet analyzed the full implications for the district.

“It is outrageous that our Board of Education and Superintendent have not addressed this issue that has been ongoing for years,” she said. “Instead, they’ve opted to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees on what the State Board of Education now calls a tainted bid award.”..

https://wjla.com/features/i-team/maryland-report-says-mcps-electric-bus-deal-is-illegal-montgomery-county-public-schools-parents-coalition-iteam

WAMU: Councilmember Jawando not opposed to having oversight hearings on "disaster" MCPS Electric School Bus Procurement

• 
  On Friday, April 25, 2025, Councilmember Will Jawando, Chair of the County Council's Education Committee, responded to a WAMU Politics Hour's caller question about the MCPS Electric School Bus Procurement and the failure of the Montgomery County Board of Education to comply with a Maryland Appellate Court ORDER to review that procurement award.

•   

• WAMU's transcript of the call and Councilmember Jawando's response is below.  The recording of the question and response can be heard at WAMU's link to the broadcast at minute 44:17.

• 
  

TRANSCRIPT: 

• 
  

• Janice, you're on the air. Go ahead, please.

• Speaker: 600:44:21

  Thank you for taking my call. As with the Trump administration, we're seeing that court orders are not respected by Montgomery County Public Schools. Montgomery County was public schools was ordered in March of [2024] by the Maryland appellate court to review the award of a contract for a $168,000,000 on the electric bus procurement. To date, they have refused. Will the education committee hold oversight hearings on this procurement since the Board of Education has, to date, refused to abide by the court order that is still standing? Thanks. 

• 
  

• Thank you

• Speaker: 400:44:56

  for the call and the question. Good news on the electric bus contract, which was a disaster. I agree with you on that. It, we did receive they did we're able to negotiate the superintendent to get money back for the contract that's not fulfilled. That will be coming back to the system. I agree with you that more needs to be done on the investigation side of, how we move forward and what happened. And I would not be opposed to having those hearings, in the education and culture committee. But the good news is is we're out of the bad contract. We're gonna get money back. And while it's a good goal to green our bus fleet,

• Speaker: 200:45:28

  we need to make sure we're doing it in a responsible way.

 https://wamu.org/story/25/04/25/the-politics-hour-d-c-councilmember-charles-allen-on-the-3-billion-deal-for-a-new-d-c-football-stadium/

Breaking: New Superintendent and Board of Education Usher in New Era of Transparency

 April Fools

~~~

Today, the Maryland Open Meetings Compliance Board issued an official opinion that found the Montgomery County Board of Education violated the Maryland Open Meetings Act during a Closed Session on September 26, 2024, when they discussed the acquisition of diesel school buses for $13.9 million dollars. 

This blog reported on this presumed violation on January 9, 2025, along with other irregularities in the procurement.   

Same old, same old at the Montgomery County Board of Education.  

We will have more on this, including how not only did the Board of Education violate the Open Meetings Act, but how they spent thousands of dollars in outside legal time to defend their violation in multiple responses to the original Complaint I filed on January 9, 2025.  

For now, here is today's Opinion: 

19 OMCB Opinions 070 Montgomery County Board of Education VIOLATED Open Meetings Act by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland on Scribd

Breaking: AGAIN! MD State Board of Education ORDERS MCPS Board of Ed. to Comply with Appellate Court of MD Order to Review $168M Elec. Bus Contract Award

The Montgomery County Board of Education has still not complied with the March 2024, Maryland Appellate Court Order that mandated the Board of Education review the award of the electric school bus contract to a vendor that had a subcontractor that was found to be involved in an embezzlement scheme with 2 of the 3 MCPS employees that ranked the bids.

On Tuesday, February 25th, the Maryland State Board of Education once again issued an Order to the Montgomery County Board of Education to comply with the Maryland Appellate Court Order. 

The BOE's electric school bus contract is an $168 million dollar award that commits the BOE to a leasing scheme for 16 years.  There is a lot of money involved in this scheme.  It should be important to get this right. 

And complying with a Court Order would be a good idea too. 

From this week's State Board of Education Order: 

Full text of Maryland State Board of Education Order:  

AutoFlexFleetInc.OR25-03 by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland on Scribd

Churchill Observer: "So far, MCPS has received 16 buses for the fiscal year 2025." (They should have received 120.)

On July 25, 2024, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) investigated MCPS’ management of a multi-million dollar contract to acquire and operate 326 electric school buses. The investigation concluded that MCPS failed to enforce the contract terms, and did not account for hundreds of dollars in fees outlined in the agreement, despite not receiving over half of the buses it ordered within the agreed-upon timeframe. To compensate for not receiving the electric buses they requested, MCPS is now spending over $14 million to acquire diesel buses and has received a failing grade from Montgomery County’s council audit committee for their implementation of electric buses...

MCPS slams the brakes on electric bus program - The Observer

Today: BOE & Superintendent Handing $4.7M to Electric Bus Vendor in addition to existing $140M+ EV Lease Payments

Updated at 3:15PM for clarification:

On today's Board of Education Agenda, we see that Superintendent Thomas W. Taylor has presented the Board of Education with a Resolution to hand $4.7M to a company that doesn't have a contract with MCPS. 

The $4.7M is grant funding from the EPA's Clean School Bus program and under Superintendent Taylor's Resolution, MCPS won't see a dime of that funding. This grant money will not offset any payments from MCPS for the electric bus leases. The Grant will be passed through from EPA to Highland Electric.  

MCPS is still on the hook for the full lease payments for this year without any credit for the EPA Grant.

Superintendent Taylor's Resolution states that the Grant funds will be used per the contract between MCPS and Highland Electric. 

MCPS doesn't have a contract with Highland Electric.  MCPS has a contract with a company called HET MCPS, LLC.  And the only contract with HET MCPS, LLC that has ever come before the Board of Education was signed in 2021 and expired in 2022.  

The 2021 MCPS contract with HET MCPS, LLC called for 326 electric school buses to be delivered by 2024.  

Today's Resolution from Superintendent Taylor seems to suggest that he has extended the contract multiple times or entered into a new contract with a different company without notification to the Board of Education or the public. 

The Resolution notes that the $4.7M will go to a vendor and not to MCPS.  MCPS will not be given a credit for this grant and their annual lease payments will still be due. 

Superintendent Taylor throws in a sentence about how this transfer is "presumed" to have been part of the contract.  

Is he referring to the contract signed in 2021 that expired a year later?  Or is he referring to a new contract that he has signed without Board of Education approval or public notice?  

The original 2021 contract that was supposed to be "budget neutral" has since been shown to require MCPS to spend 28% more for the acquisition of electric school buses.  

Who determined the electric school buses are 28% more expensive than diesel school buses?

CESO, the company that the Board of Education hired to thoroughly audit the MCPS Department of Transportation.  The CESO report was final in January of 2024, and immediately buried by MCPS, never to see the light of day. 

Part 4 of CESO Report, Page 6: 

As usual, the Superintendent has put this Resolution on the Consent Agenda indicating that he already knows the Board of Education will unanimously vote to hand $4.7M over to a company that they don't have a contract with for electric school buses that they are already paying a 28% premium to lease.

It's a good thing the Board of Education doesn't have any budget concerns this year.  Imagine what that $4.7M could do if it was given to MCPS to offset the cost of the $168M electric school bus contract. 

Chicago Tribune: "Highland agreed to all the concessions the district requested in the contract, Kerns said."

 

After months of analysis, the West Aurora School District 129 board has decided to add some electric school buses to the district’s fleet.

The plan to bring in 27 electric buses to replace some older diesel models is part of the district’s ongoing efforts to be environmentally-conscious, district officials said.

The move impacts more than one-third of the district’s bus fleet.

The district has a fleet of 73 buses powered by diesel engines, half of which are under two-year leases due to expire at the end of the school year...

...The decision was made Nov. 18. The board decided to partner with Highland due to several key factors as presented by the administration, including contract concessions, West Aurora School Board President Richard Kerns said.

Highland agreed to all the concessions the district requested in the contract, Kerns said...

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2024/11/25/west-aurora-school-district-charges-ahead-with-plan-to-add-electric-buses/?share=dtcotwsch5ierhebaeho

Montgomery Co. Public Schools electric school bus vendor files lawsuit against competitor

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. (7News) — 7News is learning more about a lawsuit filed on Nov. 21 by the electric school bus vendor hired by Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS).

HET MCPS. LLC along with HEF-P BALTIMORE CITY, LLC, and HEF-P MANASSAS. LLC filed the lawsuit against competitor AutoFlex Fleet and its owner Luis MacDonald.

The three plaintiffs are affiliated with Massachusetts-based Highland Electric Fleets...

...Janis Sartucci of the Parents’ Coalition of Montgomery County told 7News, “We have to respect the inspector general. We’ve got to have some oversight. We’ve got to have someone we trust to look at this contract and all the contracts the board of education enters into.”

Montgomery Co. Public Schools electric school bus vendor files lawsuit against competitor

In lawsuit, HET MCPS, LLC (electric school bus vendor) says Mont. Co. Inspector General "issued misleading and inaccurate findings."

The company that is leasing electric school buses to the Montgomery County Board of Education has filed a lawsuit against one of the other bidders on the MCPS electric school bus procurement.  

Contained in this new lawsuit is an extensive list of things the electric school bus vendor, HET MCPS, LLC, says were misleading and inaccurate in the Montgomery County Inspector General's July 25, 2024, Investigation of MCPS' Management of the Electric Bus Contract Memorandum of Investigation. (Pages 10 - 16)

The lawsuit also discusses the funds allegedly owed to the Board of Education from HET MCPS, LLC.  (Page 18)

The complaint filed in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland is below.

 

HET MCPS, LLC and HEF-P Bal... by Parents' Coalition of Montg...

7News presses MCPS about electric bus negotiations and $1.5 million owed to system

WASHINGTON (7News) — More than a month ago, 7News told you Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) revealed the contractor hired to supply electric buses to the school system owes MCPS more than a million dollars in fees.

Now, we're asking the school district how the process of recovering the $1.5 million is going...

7News presses MCPS about electric bus negotiations and $1.5 million owed to system

Natali Fani-González on WAMU: "We need more transparency from MCPS."

 WAMU link Go to minute 46 of the broadcast for Councilmember Natali Fani-Gonzalez's response

to a question about the announcement that MCPS was owed $1.5 million dollars from Highland Electric Fleets

and/or HET MCPS, LLC their electric school bus vendor.

Latest revelation over electric bus contract at Montgomery Co. schools provides a jolt at hearing

Montgomery County, Maryland, school officials were already in the hot seat over the school system’s management of a $160 million contract for a fleet of 326 electric school buses when they shocked members of a county audit committee at a hearing this week.

A July Montgomery County Inspector General’s report found that the school district failed to assess $372,000 in performance fees it could have assessed to its vendor, Highland Electric Fleets, for failures to live up to terms of its contract. Issues cited included the late delivery of buses and periods when buses were inoperable due to charging or other issues.

On Monday, Dana Edwards, chief of district operations for Montgomery County Public Schools, told the members of the county council audit committee that MCPS had “invoiced the contractor” to the tune of $1.5 million.

Montgomery County Inspector General Megan Limarzi didn’t hide her surprise: “I’m only hearing today that the number that has been invoiced is $1.5 million,” and she said an “enormous concern” for her office would be to learn more about the details of the terms. Making sure that the contract is enforced mattered, explained Limarzi, “because the vendor is supposed to make sure MCPS has the buses they need to get the children to school.”..

Latest revelation over electric bus contract at Montgomery Co. schools provides a jolt at hearing - WTOP News

Board of Education Ignores Transportation Audit Financial Warnings, instead sets up Committee and includes former BOE member who abused MCPS credit card.

The Parents' Coalition filed a Maryland Public Information Act request for the members of the new Board of Education committee on transportation.  

Below is the list of members of this new committee.  It is unclear what this committee is supposed to do as the CESO Audit was very clear on the immediate steps that the Board of Education should be taking with regard to the unsustainable financial issues in the MCPS Department of Transportation.  Setting up a random committee was not one of the steps recommended by the CESO Audit. 

~Included on the Committee is former Board of Education member Chris Barclay who was found to have used his Board of Education credit card for personal expenses.  

At this link is a list of the people Mr. Barclay took out to eat using his Board of Education credit card.

FYI:  The Board of Education members were forced to permanently cut up their credit cards after this scandal.  

~Also listed as being on the Committee is the name of a MCPS administrator referenced in the Beidleman scandal last year.  

Nothing about this committee is in compliance with the immediate recommendations of the CESO Audit.   

Board of Education Transpor... by Parents' Coalition of Montg...

7News hears from Md. company that objects MCPS' diesel, electric bus contracts

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. (7News) — 7News took a closer look at an Appellate Court of Maryland document that instructs the State Board of Education to remand to the Montgomery County Board of Education for an administrative review of the MCPS electric bus procurement contract.

“We challenged it with a protest and that has escalated to October 2024,” Luis MacDonald, President of Autoflex Fleet told us.

The action was in response to a complaint filed by his Baltimore-based company.

MacDonald explained he was denied the original Montgomery County Public Schools electric bus contract due to flaws in the vendor evaluation and scoring process.

He told 7News favoritism was given to the selected vendor Highland Electric Fleets...

7News hears from Md. company that objects MCPS' diesel, electric bus contracts

@mocoboe Board of Education Consent Agenda is for Unanimous Votes. Superintendent Taylor & BOE Silvestre put purchase of 70 Diesel School Buses on Consent Agenda.

The Montgomery County Board of Education has responded to the ABC7 news report on their purchase of 70 diesel school buses for MCPS by saying:

“Consent agenda items are routine business items that are grouped together to be approved with a single vote. The purpose of a consent agenda is to efficiently address standard administrative and operational responsibilities of the administration that require Board approval...."

But the Board of Education's HANDBOOK (shown below) explains that Consent Agenda items are for unanimous votes.  How did Superintendent Thomas Taylor and Board of Education President Karla Silvetre know in advance that the elected Board of Education members would unanimously vote in favor of this controversial purchase?  

 

 

2024 Board of Education Han... by Parents' Coalition of Montg...

Proterra Bus/Phoenix Motorcars Safety Recall [Risk of Fire] Does this include @mcps @mocoboe Electric School Buses?

MCPS electric school buses have a Proterra engine.  IF Montgomery County had a public school system with an open and transparent Board of Education and Superintendent, parents and school bus drivers would immediately know if any of the MCPS electric school buses are impacted by this safety recall. 

But this is Montgomery County, so don't hold your breath.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Background: On September 5, 2024, Phoenix informed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) of a safety defect affecting Proterra 800V Catalyst (Model Year 2019-2021) and Proterra ZX5 (Model Year 2020-2022) transit buses with a certain electrical and software architecture and of their intent to recall the affected vehicles (NHTSA Recall No.: 24V-655). These buses were produced between December 14, 2019 - November 8, 2021, and July 21, 2020 - January 31, 2023, respectively.

According to the information provided by Phoenix to NHTSA, the electrical connectors and terminals at one rooftop passthrough at issue in this recall are toward the maximum current limit that the terminals are rated for, with radiator fans running at 100 percent speed. Over time and with higher ambient temperatures, this circuit design can result in excessive heat at the terminals and, eventually, the melting of “wedge locks,” which could result in a thermal event, increasing the risk of a fire. Software updates were previously released as a technical service bulletin, and Phoenix will redeploy this bulletin as the recall remedy. Per Phoenix, the update will limit the radiator fan speed to 80 percent, which reduces the load of each fan by approximately 46 percent and reduces the temperature at each terminal by approximately 71 percent above ambient without degrading performance of the cooling system. Phoenix will provide this software remedy free of charge to owners of vehicles within the recall population. Version 4.10.2 or above contains the remedy, and this version can be referenced on the vehicle's dashboard...

FTA Safety Advisory 24-1 Proterra Bus Phoenix Motorcars Safety Recall (dot.gov)

Proterra Engines in use in MCPS Electric School Buses

The specifications for the first round of electric school buses in use in Montgomery County Public Schools shows that the buses were to have PROTERRA engines.  

‘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

Montgomery County school board approves $13.9M diesel bus purchase in closed session

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. (7News) — A representative from the Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) Board of Education confirmed the board approved a multi-million dollar contract for the purchase of 70 diesel buses on Oct. 10. But there’s concern about how the approval was handled.

“It’s absolutely horrifying that a purchase of the size was conducted in a closed session,” said Janis Sartucci of the Parents’ Coalition of Montgomery County.

7News obtained documents that show the acquisition of additional diesel buses was discussed at a Sept. 26 closed school board session...

Montgomery County school board approves $13.9M diesel bus purchase in closed session (wjla.com)