No Mention of Early Termination Fee in $5 Million + Solar Panel Deal

On November 17, 2015, MCPS held the third and last meeting on their plan to turn 3 future middle school sites into solar power plants.  
During the first meeting, the public learned that the lease for these properties will include an early termination clause.  That means that if after say 6 years, the Board of Education wants to use one of these properties for the education of public children, the Board of Education will have to pay a fee to end the lease early.  To date, the early termination clause fee has not been announced by MCPS or the solar panel companies. 

Potomac Residents Decry School System Plan to Install Solar Panels at Former Organic Farm

...Sean Gallagher, assistant director of the school system’s Department of Facilities Management, told a crowd of about 70 people Tuesday night at Seven Locks Elementary School that together with proposed solar panel fields on future school sites in Gaithersburg and Rockville, MCPS could save about $2.5 million in electricity costs over the next 10 years...
...The solar panels at Brickyard would cover 12 acres of the site, cost about $5 million to build...

BOE Solar Panel Plan - 1st Meeting - Laytonsville Middle School Site

First meeting on the Board of Education and Interim Superintendent Larry Bowers' plan to turn 3 future school sites in to solar power plants.

Video Part 1:


Video Part 2:

BOE Shuts Down Driving Range to Make Way for Solar Panels #laytonsvillegolfcourse

Bad news this evening for the Laytonsville Golf Course.  The Montgomery County Board of Education is putting solar panels on the golf course's driving range.  That's the end of practice swings for golfers, and lessons for thousands of county public school children. 

The Board of Education only sent two MCPS administrators to this evening's meeting to discuss the plan to put solar panels on the Laytonsville Middle School site in Gaithersburg.

Neither of those administrators had any clue that half of the Laytsonville Middle School site is leased to the Laytonsville Golf Course.

Take a look at the Google Earth image of the middle school site.  See all that really green land? That's the driving range.

Now take a look at the plans for the solar panels.  This is a copy of the plans that MCPS sent out to neighbors of this site.  See how the solar panels on the right are on the really green part of the land?
No one in MCPS noticed that?  

Now, if the lease of half of this property was a secret, well then, we could understand how no one in MCPS knew that half of this property was the driving range for the Laytonsville Golf Course.  But, the lease of this land was not a secret.  In fact, MCPS mentions this lease in their very own site selection report that they put out in 2011.

The MCPS administrators at this evening's solar panel meeting wanted the public to trust and believe that everything about the 60 acre solar panels on future school sites plan had been thoroughly vetted and reviewed by MCPS staff.

It's a little hard to believe that this plan has been thoroughly reviewed when MCPS staff didn't even notice an entire driving range on one of the properties!

FORE!! 

   Upcounty Holding Facility Recommendation by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland

Exclusive Video: Board of Ed and Annapolis Delegation Discuss Construction, Solar Panels, Interrupted Education, Equity and More

Today, the Montgomery County Board of Education met with some members of the Annapolis Delegation. The Agenda for this meeting is at this link.

The Board of Education does not video tape this meeting and does not record minutes for this meeting.  These meetings are open meetings under the Maryland Open Meetings Act and the public is welcome to attend and record these meetings.  

This video tape represents the last 40 minutes of today's meeting.  The video includes the end of the formal presentation, and the question and answer session.  

These are very interesting discussions.  Unfortunately, the Board of Education does not make these discussions available to the public.  In fact, as you will see in this video, the Student Member of the Board went so far as to stand in front of the camera as some sort of juvenile attempt to disrupt the recording of this meeting. The Montgomery County Board of Education is still hostile to the concept of Open Meetings.

Exclusive Memo: Bowers Giving Away School Land Without BOE Approval of Sites, BOE Withholds Bower's Plans From Public

Get ready to take notes.  Here's how a superintendent tricks a Board of Education member into thinking that somehow they "already" approved turning 60 acres of public school land over to a commercial vendor.  

Superintendent Larry Bowers is a pro at doing this, having signed for the Board of Education in 2008 on a major purchase of Promethean Boards when he was only the Chief Operating Officer.  

The Parents' Coalition has obtained a copy of an October 7, 2015, internal memo [shown below] from Superintendent Bowers to the Board of Education.  This memo shows the sleight of hand that Mr. Bowers is using to hand over 60 acres of public school land to a private company without having the Board of Education vote on this major loss of future school sites.

• On April 27, 2015, the Board of Education approved a contract that would put solar panels on the roofs of 8 existing schools and at a remote site that was not owned by MCPS.  But, slipped into this memo was a sentence that MCPS staff could also hand over as many additional schools and as much Board of Education land as they so desired!

April 27, 2015 BOE Memorandum

• And, just like that, Superintendent Larry Bowers tricked the Board of Education members into approving a contract that robs MCPS students of 60 acres of future school sites.  There was no public discussion of overcrowding.  There was no public discussion of the hundreds of classroom trailers in use.  There was no public discussion of current or future school land needs.  60 acres is gone without any public notice or discussion. 

• On October 7, 2015, Superintendent Larry Bowers handed Board of Education members a memo (shown below) that presents them with the surprise announcement that he is turning over 60 acres of future school sites to a commercial vendor based on their April 27th vote.  What about the public process?  Oh, it's all been taken care of by MCPS staff.  They have looked at everything, in secret, of course, but it's all done.  All the analysis, the site review, the long range planning, it was all handled behind closed doors.

• It's now November.  We now see that Board of Education members sat on this information for a month.  They didn't discuss the October 7th memo at the recent Board meeting, and did not inform their constituents of this surprise plan. 

If you have ever wondered why have MCPS students been in classroom trailers for 30 years, you have got your answer now!  The Board of Education does no long term planning.  Dedicated, public school land is up for grabs by commercial vendors, and the Board of Education has no interest in preserving public school land for public school students. 

   2015 October 7 Bowers Turning over 60 Acres to Commercial Vendor by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland