Carderock ES jumps to top of addition list!

Portable classrooms clash with Terrazzo tile.


MCPS has a Division of Long Term Planning. But here is this week's planning surprise!


Three new classrooms will be added to the brand new Carderock Springs Elementary School currently under construction. See the picture at left. The roof is already on the new structure!


The MCPS Board of Education will vote to add 3 more classrooms to this almost complete new school on April 15, 2010. 


MCPS announced on November 3, 2009, via the Carderock Principal that an Autism program would be added to Carderock Springs Elementary School.  But it took 5 more months for MCPS administrators to figure out that the program would need space? 


Did the Carderock Springs ES community reject the installation of classroom trailers? Because that is how this situation would have been handled at other schools. 


How many MCPS elementary schools have classroom trailers in place and desperately need an addition? (Answer: 82) 


Sorry 82 MCPS elementary schools with classroom trailers, Carderock ES just cut in front of you...


From Superintendent Jerry Weast's memorandum to the Board of Education:

Initially, the modernization of Carderock Springs Elementary School did not include planning for classroom space for the Autism Program. However, after discussions with staff in the Department of Special Education Services, it became apparent that including these classes at Carderock Springs Elementary School was essential.

The modernization of Carderock Springs Elementary School includes a third floor that has been master-planned for future classrooms. Division of Construction staff has determined that three of the ten master-planned classrooms can be built now to accommodate capacity in the school to house the Autism Program. The modifications to include the three classrooms on the third floor and modifications to ground floor classrooms for the Autism Program can be done during the current construction process and will be completed on schedule by August 2010.

and don't miss this "Whereas" in Superintendent Weast's memo:

...WHEREAS, There are enough funds available in the modernization budget...

$2.1 million in Capital construction overruns = no discussion by Board

On August 27, 2009, the MCPS Board of Education had before it two items related to significant cost overruns in MCPS Capital construction projects. You can see the Board discussion of these two overruns here. But don't bother watching the video. Board members didn't say a word about these overruns. These items were neatly tucked into the Consent Agenda under the title "Transfer of Funds" and passed unanimously without discussion.

If Board members had read the memorandum from Superintendent Jerry Weast they would have discovered that one of the overruns related to a construction bill that was presented to MCPS approximately four years late. Superintendent Weast appears not to have obtained any legal advice on this matter and simply recommends to the Board that they pay the just produced $430,785 bill for work done 4 to 7 years ago.

The second item in the memorandum deals with the $2.2 million in construction errors that were made during the construction of the Roscoe R. Nix Elementary School. In the memo, Superintendent Weast informs the Board that a settlement of $525,000 was received from the architect in May of 2008 but that a $1,681,282 deficit remains on the Nix ES project.

One wonders why it has taken so long for Superintendent Weast to bring this matter to the attention of the Board. The Nix ES opened in August of 2006, and the settlement from the architect was received in May of 2008. How is a $1.6 million deficit from 2006 just being brought to the attention of the Board in September of 2009?

Next time you lobby the Board of Education for a Capital project for your local school, remember the $2.1 million that the Board spent on an old bill and construction errors, without discussion, on August 27th.

Where are the funds coming from to make up these overruns? The $2.1 million is being transferred from Capital projects at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School, Poolesville High School, and other unknown projects in the construction queue.

County Executive Ike Leggett has already approved the transfer of funds to these two overrun items, and on September 22, 2009 the Montgomery County Council will undoubtedly also approve these expenditures without discussion.

There is no public comment time scheduled at the County Council on this issue. Apparently a $2.1 million overrun in MCPS construction projects is of no great importance to the County budget.

$21,684,092.59

Montgomery County Council
Capital Budget Testimony
February 10, 2009

Good evening. Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the Capital Budget. This evening I would like to speak to a source of revenue for the County Capital Budget. The source of revenue is the rebates that Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) receives through the E-Rate rebate program. MCPS has been participating in the E-Rate rebate program since 1998 and in that time has received $21,684,092.59 according to the Universal Service website. The E-Rate money is not required to be used for Capital Budget expenditures, but as that is the focus of this hearing I will point out the benefit that those funds could have on this budget.

$21,684,092.59 is the equivalent of modernizing an elementary school, or 2 or 3 school additions or, an unknown number of bathroom renovations, window repairs or HVAC repairs. At present Appendix G of the MCPS Capital Budget lists 47 schools that needed bathroom renovations. That list represented only HALF of the schools in need of renovations. Any school that was anywhere on the modernization list was deleted from the list of bathrooms in need of renovation. No doubt, $21 million could have completed the listed renovations and those of the schools deleted from the list, giving all students access to workable bathrooms today.

The rebates that MCPS has received over the last 11 years are available to the public on the UniversalService.org website. A search of that site shows that MCPS received the following amounts in each of the following years:

1998 $1,500,617.92
1999 $2,425,319.57
2000 $1,535,174.02
2001 $1,434,388.33
2002 $1,756,316.93
2003 $1,902,003.78
2004 $1,731,744.92
2005 $1,497,545.12
2006 $1,760,241.90
2007 $3,459,021.34
2008 $2,681,718.76

http://www.universalservice.org/sl/
Attached is a Universal Service report for 2008 payments to MCPS.

Superintendent Weast maintains that he is not required to bring these funds before the Council for appropriation but can spend these funds without Board of Education or Council action. See the November 26, 2008 Memo from Superintendent Weast to the MCPS Board of Education. Available at the following link: http://www.parentscoalitionmc.com/MCPSExpenseReports.html

Council staff, however, in a January 29th memorandum, recommends that E-Rate Rebates “come to the Council for appropriation when they are received.”

http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/content/council/pdf/agenda/cm/2009/090202/20090202_ED01.pdf (See Page 4)

I urge you to support the recommendation of Council staff. Bring these funds to the Council table so that the use of these funds can be discussed and appropriated in public. The Capital needs of our public schools are great, and every dollar is needed. If for nothing more than to make sure that every child has access to a usable bathroom.

Thank you.
~~~~~~~~

UPDATE 4/8/09: $21,684,092.59 represents the total amount of rebates that MCPS could have received under the e-Rate Rebate program. The Universal Services website also shows how much has been disbursed to MCPS under this program. An updated disbursement number will be posted soon.

What's "Surplus" and "Cutting in Line"

Testimony to Montgomery County Council February 12, 2008

1. How can Superintendent Weast and the Board of Education declare MCPS CIP funds surplus before a project is completed?

Let's take the Wayside Elementary School project as an example. How can there be surplus funds from a project that is only 55% complete? (Attachment A) How can any rational manager possible assume that no additional funds will be needed and that $600,000 of money planned for this project can be diverted? We know that MCPS does not make good decisions in this regard. Here are three quick examples: First, Richard Montgomery High School recently opened the doors on its new modernized facility. The science labs in that new building are equipped with elementary sized lab tables and chairs. There are no plans to remedy this situation and no surplus funds to draw from. Meanwhile, at Churchill High School the ELEVEN science labs that were rendered unusable during that school's modernization in 2000 have still NEVER been fixed. (Attachment B) Superintendent Weast claims to have put funds in the CIP to fix ONE of those science labs. Parents have been solicited multiple times for funds to resolve the problems created in the science lab construction. And when Rockville High School was modernized one of the many deficiencies was the undersized tennis courts that rendered them unusable for competition. These are just a few examples of MCPS CIP projects that still have outstanding CIP fund needs.

2. IF there is a surplus, what project is next in the queue?

Let us assume that surplus CIP money does exist. How could ANY surplus funds go to a new project that has never been vetted through the MCPS CIP process when the MCPS CIP book clearly lists hundreds of pre-existing projects in the CIP pipeline. As just an example, let's take a look at the Bathroom Renovation list. (Attachment C) Do you realize that this list ONLY shows those schools that are not in line for a modernization? IF a school is getting a modernization in the next 20 years they were not included on this list. How does that work when your toilet won't flush, the stall door doesn't close and the sink doesn't have running water? Is that how people maintain their homes? Gee, we might move in 20 years so let's not fix the toilet? IF there is surplus CIP money it needs to go right to this list TODAY. Our children need to flush.

After all bathrooms are made usable in Montgomery County Public Schools take a look at the playgrounds. Do you realize that the MCPS plan is to replace one per year? The backlog of playgrounds that need repair/replacement is about 50 years? Great plan. The result is that taxpayers must raise the funds to pay for playground repairs because the Superintendent does not see playgrounds as a priority.

Yet, a plan to give one of our county football fields away to a private organization jumps to the top of the Capital Budget list without any feasibility study, without any notice to the public prior to the BoE vote, without any community input at the BoE level, without any bids from potential contractors, without any discussion of the benefits, concerns or issues surrounding such a decision. (Attachment D) Any why does the Northwood principal also think his school is in line for artificial turf? (See attachment E) Are there more of these "deals" in the wings? Why aren't they part of the MCPS CIP submission?

We are here today witnessing the Board of Education asking for a pot of money that doesn't have any parameters on it. There is no contract, no idea what the project might actually cost, no contingency for where the money goes if the project does not proceed on schedule.

3. What guarantees any funds allotted to an artificial turf project will actually be spent on that project?

Case in point: Last year the County Council funded the MCPS Operating Budget request to include funding for the largest county high schools to use the Comcast Center for graduations. (Attachment F) What happened to that money? Good question. Only 3 of the 6 high schools that qualify to use the larger graduation venue are going to be allowed to use it. What happened to the money that was appropriated for the other 3 schools?

I can tell you that no one in Montgomery County government cares where the graduation venue money went: not the Community Superintendents, not the Superintendent, not the Board of Education, and not the Inspector General. So once you give money to MCPS, taxpayers have no guarantee that the money will be used for its designated purpose. And make no mistake, our kids are watching. They are real clear on the fact that there are no consequences for ignoring laws, policies or procedures. Is this the kind of citizen that Montgomery County wants to be raising through its public schools? (Attachment G)

Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today.

Janis Sartucci