What a treat for 2nd grade! In-school field trip with @MadScienceGroup #sublimation #notmelting #dryice #smokeybubbles @MCPSCommunitySc @MCPS @MCPSEspanol

Surprise! KID Museum is not the only science program in Montgomery County.  Here's a company that actually takes the science directly to the classrooms, no field trip required. 

What a treat for 2nd grade! In-school field trip with @MadScienceGroup #sublimation #notmelting #dryice #smokeybubbles @MCPSCommunitySc @MCPS @MCPSEspanol pic.twitter.com/GeZV1Mu3U6

— Vicmarie Arocho (@HighlandES_CSL) February 16, 2023

One Incumbent Ousted as Vote Counts Continue for Board of Education

The Board of Education met Thursday as the Montgomery County Board of Elections continued counting mail-in ballots. It was member Scott Joftus’ last meeting following his apparent loss following Tuesday’s election.

As of 12:33 p.m, Joftus had 57,390 votes to Julie Yang’s 118,394 votes in District 3.

The new board will have seven female members. Arvin Kim, the student member, will be the lone male.

In unofficial results, Grace Rivera-Oven was chosen to represent District 1, following Judith Docca’s resignation at the end of her fourth term. Her last meeting also was Thursday. Rivera-Oven had 98,548 votes to Esther Wells’ 73,167...

One Incumbent Ousted as Vote Counts Continue for Board of Education - Montgomery Community Media (mymcmedia.org)

FACT CHECK: @mocoboe spouse says, KID Museum has "shown significant results year over year." But MCPS hasn't evaluated results, they've only counted number of students.

Board of Education member Scott Joftus' spouse KID Museum founder and executive director Cara Lesser says that KID Museum "partnership has been evaluated every year both by MCPS Office of Shared Accountability and by external evaluators and we've been showing significant results year over year." 

The Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, MD filed a Maryland Public Information Act request for: 

• MCPS Office of Shared Accountability evaluations of MOCO KIDSCO dba KID Museum since 2015

We received just two documents from MCPS in response to this request. Both documents are shown below. 

The documents from MCPS show only two years of data on the numbers of students that attended KID Museum.  The 2022 data brief was only tasked with reporting numbers of students, nothing else. There has been no actual verification of performance by MCPS. 

The 2021 data brief was tasked with reporting numbers of students and number of classrooms implementing the KID Museum curriculum and nothing else.  

For reference, MCPS has about 33,000 students in Grades 2, 3 and 4.  The 2022 data brief from MCPS shows that KID Museum served just 1,079 Grade 2-4 students in one of their programs, and 2,942 students in a summer program.

MCPS middle schools have an enrollment of about 36,000 students.  The 2022 data brief from MCPS shows that KID Museum served just 1,450 middle school students.  

In Fiscal Year 2022, the Board of Education paid KID Museum $1,707,632 and served just 5,471 students out of 69,000 students in the targeted grades.

Kid Museum Data Brief _21-2... by Parents' Coalition of Montg...

KID Museum Data Brief _v.15... by Parents' Coalition of Montg...

Look: Another Organization Brings Science to Local Schools!! There isn't just one organization that brings Science to Schools. #MAEFMobileLab

Contrary to what Superintendent Monifa McKnight and the Montgomery County Board of Education would have the public believe, there is actually more than one outside organization that brings science curriculum to local schools.  The Maryland Agricultural Education Foundation (MAEF) has a Mobile Lab that visits local schools, including schools in Montgomery County.  

The Maryland Agricultural Education Foundation wasn't permitted to bid on providing science education programs to MCPS schools so we will never know what they might have offered or the cost for their programs.  

An open, transparent procurement process puts all of the options on the table and enables the Board of Education to make the best use of finite education funding.  Will the Montgomery County Board of Education ever decide to put out all procurements for competitive bids?  

Thank you Mrs. Stoner of the Mobile Science Lab - Maryland Agricultural Education Foundation (MAEF)! 🐮 We learned which was stronger? Milk or Elmers glue?? Awesome time learning. 🎆📝 pic.twitter.com/lRJuY05rlE

— LPES (@lpes_smcps) May 13, 2022

Montgomery school leaders defend contract given to board member’s spouse

Montgomery County’s schools superintendent defended the system’s decision to award a STEM learning contract to a company owned by a school board member’s spouse and blamed concerns over the award process on an inaccurate document on the board’s website.

During a school system update to the county council Monday, Superintendent Monifa McKnight said the $2.37 million contract for KID Museum has worked for students and the school system wants to keep it.

“We’ve had so much disruption in so many different ways,” McKnight said. “We want to be able to continue services with our students that we found to be successful, and the KID Museum is one.”

The Parents’ Coalition of Montgomery County, an advocacy group, raised concerns before a school board vote last week that the contract for MoCo KidsCo Inc. — the corporation behind the KID Museum based in Bethesda, Md. — was being awarded as a no-bid contract, with no discussion by the school board, a lack of competition and a conflict of interest...

Montgomery parents group concerned about awarding of no-bid STEM contract - The Washington Post

Controversy surrounding Kid Museum’s contract with MCPS

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. (DC News Now) — MCPS recently awarded the KID Museum with a nearly $2.4 million contract to continue their partnership providing STEM-based learning activities for students.

The Parents’ Coalition of Montgomery County raised concerns about the extension of this agreement because the KID Museum’s founder is board member Dr. Scott Joftus’s wife. The advocacy group also says due to this conflict of interest no other companies were able to bid on this opportunity.

“It’s not a new issue that the board of education is not diligent in dealing with the public procurement, and following the public procurement laws,” said Janis Sartucci from the Parents’ Coalition of Montgomery County. “And really keeping everything aboveboard and as transparent as possible.”..

Controversy surrounding Kid Museum’s contract with MCPS | DC News Now

ABC7: Montgomery County BOE awards $2.4M to KID Museum without competition from other bidders

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. (7News) — Nearly five years ago, 7News was in Bethesda covering the KID Museum.

The non-profit offers programming in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) and is a partner with Montgomery County Public Schools.

The museum was awarded a nearly $2.4-million contract by the Montgomery County Board of Education.

"This is a large purchase to a private entity for education purposes for our students and that should be described [discussed] by the Board of Education at their table in public," said Janis Sartucci of the Parents Coalition of Montgomery County .

 Montgomery County BOE awards $2.4M to KID Museum without competition from other bidders | WJLA

Breaking: Another $2.37M to Company of Wife of BOE Member. No BOE Discussion. Not Duly Advertised. Not put out for Bids. @mocoboe @mcps

  

On September 8, 2022, the Montgomery County Board of Education will unanimously approve another payment to the company founded and run by the wife of Board of Education member Scott Joftus.

The payment will be made on the CONSENT AGENDA meaning the item will not have a discussion by the Board of Education.  The matter is considered to be trivial and not worthy of a presentation, justification or discussion.  

The memorandum from Superintendent Monifa McKnight does not disclose that this procurement involves a company founded by, and run by the wife of a sitting Board of Education member.  

The memorandum does not state the name used by the company, instead the memorandum uses the corporate name for the company.  The corporate name is not familiar to most County residents. 

The memorandum says the procurement has been duly advertised.  It has not been advertised.

The memorandum says the procurement was awarded to the low bidder.  It was not awarded to the low bidder because there weren't any other bidders.  

IF this procurement had been duly advertised the memorandum would cite the BID NUMBER as is seen for all other contracts. There is no bid number.  In the space for listing the number of bids received the notation is N/A for not applicable.   

With this payment to the KID Museum, the Board of Education will have diverted $5,675,962 dollars of Operating Budget funds to this private company since 2018.  That's money that could have been spent on public school teacher salaries, support staff, classrooms etc...  Instead, those public school funds have gone to a private company without oversight or accountability to the public. 

The company founded by and run by Board of Education Scott Joftus' wife is MOCO KIDSCO, Inc.  That company does business as Kid Museum in Bethesda. 

BOE Member's Wife's Company Gets $2.1M in COVID Relief $$$ from MCPS @mcps @mocoboe @ScottJoftus

Montgomery County Public Schools' Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund funding memo reveals that new Board of Education member Scott Joftus' wife's private company MoCo Kids Co, Inc., also known as KID Museum, was given $2.1 Million dollars in COVID-19 relief funding  that was directed to public schools through the ESSER funding. 

New Montgomery County Board of Education member Scott Joftus has yet to address this conflict of interest.

Scott Joftus' own company lists his wife's company, KID Museum, as a client.

KID Museum also shows former MCPS Superintendent Joshua Starr as a member of their Board of Directors and lists Scott Joftus and former Board of Education member Shirley Brandman under "advisors and corporate supporters."

Joftus Unanimously Chosen as new Board of Education Member - The Parents Coalition sent a message to MyMCM questioning “Will he be recusing himself from discussions and votes concerning this company, contracts and future payments?”

Scott Joftus was named the newest member of the Montgomery County Public Schools Board of Education Thursday. He will fill the District 3 seat left vacant when long-serving member Patricia O’Neill died in September...

https://www.mymcmedia.org/scott-joftus-unanimously-chosen-as-mcps-board-member/

Bethesda gets children's education center with Montgomery County and MCPS funding.

Why isn't science education being provided in Montgomery County Public Schools?  MCPS students will have to leave their schools, pay a fee, and travel across the county to receive an hour or two of science education? 

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

On Wednesday — after years of searching — Lesser and other community partners announced the acquisition of 28,000 square feet at 3 Bethesda Metro Center, in downtown Bethesda. The museum plans to move in and have a grand opening there next year. 

...Montgomery County provided $1.2 million in its recent budget to KID Museum, which Lesser called a “substantial” sum to help secure the space and increase programming countywide...

https://bethesdamagazine.com/bethesda-beat/schools/kid-museum-finds-permanent-home-in-downtown-bethesda/ 

Inside the Governor’s $438 Million ‘Go-Ahead’ for Schools

A look at the elements of the Governor’s fiscal 2020 capital budget proposal for public school construction.

The Governor’s 2020 capital budget includes a new program for school construction funding — the Building Opportunity Fund — and a pledge to provide $3.5 billion in five years to school construction.

School construction is a major element of county capital budgets, who partner with the state to provide Maryland’s students with superior learning environments.

The State provides capital funding for school construction through several grant programs. Most of these are grant programs established by legislation, however the Building Opportunity Fund represents a new initiative of this Administration.

Here is the breakdown of the $438 million total announced in the Governor’s budget propoal for FY 2020:..

https://conduitstreet.mdcounties.org/2019/01/22/inside-the-governors-438-million-go-ahead-for-schools/?fbclid=IwAR36x1z9QL58YfSXPcvHC6IGa8hAlsvw_kLBtwNPBuFaNRiRYJPyEaC9q34

Today: KID Museum spokesperson is Emma Starr, Museum wants $5.93 Million from County

Today at the Montgomery County Council the KID Museum in Bethesda will be asking for over $5 million from Montgomery County's budget.  The packet for today's meeting is shown below.  Former superintendent Joshua Starr's wife is the spokesperson for the museum.  Here is what she had to say about the request.    

...But the nonprofit has outgrown the space, KID Museum spokeswoman Emma Starr said. The museum is currently serving 55,000 people each year at the library, but would like to increase that total to 250,000, she said.
“Right now, we are excited about the proposed partnership,” Starr said, adding the county and Montgomery County Public Schools are supportive of the museum’s mission. “We like to say that we have a shared vision of what’s important in innovation, education and diversity. We share this vision of bringing impactful learning experiences to kids.”
http://www.bethesdamagazine.com/Bethesda-Beat/2018/County-City-of-Rockville-Mull-Plan-To-Buy-Office-Building-as-New-Home-for-KID-Museum/

Fortunately, Montgomery County is flush with cash and our public schools are not in need of any funding.  We can spend money on a museum (is it a museum?).  Too bad there aren't any free (actual) museums in D.C. for public school students to visit.  

2018 KidMuseum by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland on Scribd