Now we know why the EasyLobby procurement does not appear in MCPS Board of Education minutes. MCPS: "There is no contract".
Montgomery County Public Schools has a Procurement Manual which is based on Policy DJA, Procurement Practices and Regulation DJA-RA Procurement of Equipment, Supplies, and Contractual Services. The Procurement Manual details the procedure to be used in procuring items over $25,000 and details how those purchases require Board of Education approval. In short, the process has an RFP or IFB, followed by competitive bids, and then the selection of a bidder. The contract is then awarded by the Board of Education.
[UPDATE JULY 15, 2009: MCPS HAS REMOVED THE PROCUREMENT MANUAL FROM THEIR WEBSITE SO THAT IT IS NO LONGER ACCESSIBLE TO THE PUBLIC. THE LINK TO THE "PROCUREMENT MANUAL" ABOVE NO LONGER TAKES YOU TO THE MCPS PROCUREMENT MANUAL. HERE IS A NEW LINK PROVIDED BY THE PARENTS' COALITION.]
According to MCPS, there is no EasyLobby contract, and so apparently, there was no Board of Education approval of this August 18, 2008, $74,300 purchase. So who exactly authorized the spending of this money?
Please note that the letter from EasyLobby is dated August 12, 2008 and the Purchase Order is dated August 18, 2008. There was no Board of Education meeting between August 12th and August 18th of 2008, and so Board approval of this Purchase Order was impossible.
How often are purchases over $25,000 made without Board of Education approval? Annapolis, we can't wait for a searchable MCPS procurement database, we need it today!
UPDATE 3/10/09: MCPS COO Larry Bowers tells Board that MCPS will be putting out a RFP for a visitor management system soon due to questions from elementary principals.
Easy 1
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