Blair HS Silver Chips: Another Scandal Plagues Electric Buses - Maryland State Board of Education Rules Contract [Illegal]

https://issuu.com/silverchipsonline/docs/october_2025_-_silver_chips_print

 

Silver Chips: Another scandal plagues electric school buses in Montgomery County by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland

Board of Education Held Closed Meeting on Monday, November 17, 2025, to discuss "State Agency Matter."

Would this have been a discussion of the recent Maryland State Board of Education declaring the MCPS bid award on the electric school bus scheme illegal? 

...Resolved, That the Board of Education of Montgomery County conduct a special closed session on November 17, 2025, in Room 120 at 15 West Gude Drive, Rockville, Maryland, beginning immediately following the vote to go into closed session until approximately 6:00 p.m., in order to receive legal advice regarding a state agency matter, which advice must be shared in closed session to prevent disclosures that may negatively impact the Board’s position with regard to the resolution of the matter; to maintain confidentiality of legal advice with regard to the current status of the matter; and to preserve attorney-client privilege, and is permissible pursuant to General Provisions Article, Section 3-305(b)(7); and be it further..

https://www.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Board.nsf/files/DNFTU378FFA0/$file/251117%20Resolution%20for%20Todays%20Closed%20Session.pdf

The Maryland State Board of Education said Montgomery County Public Schools’ electric bus contract was “tainted” by an employee later convicted of fraud.

A school district’s deal to shift to electric buses hits another bump

...The state board said it reviewed the external report conducted on behalf of the Montgomery school district that detailed how the electric-bus contract was awarded. The four-person committee was tasked with scoring the potential vendors.

The state board said that if the scores of Ewald and Watkins were excluded, Highland Electric Fleets would not have won the Montgomery contract. It alleges their involvement “at a minimum … created an appearance of impropriety.”

Ewald’s scores were not included in the report, and López referred questions about the omission to the investigator. Andrew Nussbaum, a Howard County-based attorney, did not immediately answer questions about his report...

 https://wapo.st/3JJn7yR

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

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

Thomas Taylor's $13.9 Million Dollar Mistake

On October 10th the Montgomery County Board of Education agreed to purchase $13.9 million in diesel school buses after discussing the acquisition in a closed session.  

We know that the Board of Education had come to a closed session agreement because the final purchase of the diesel buses was put on the October 10th CONSENT AGENDA.  Consent Agendas are for items that are believed to be unanimous ahead of time.

We also saw the September 26, 2024, Board of Education Closed Session minutes where the ACQUISITION of diesel school buses was recorded.  That would probably be when Superintendent Taylor was able to determine that the Board of Education would unanimously vote for his $13.9 million purchase if he put it on the October 10th Consent Agenda.  

The Parents' Coalition pointed out that this major purchase was being conducted behind closed doors without any transparency or public discussion.  We said that was a problem.

We were correct. 

When the October 10, 2024, Agenda Item for the purchase of $13.9 million in diesel school buses was posted, the Parents' Coalition researched the Resolution.  We called Sourcewell the organization referenced in the Superintendent's Resolution, and we researched the contract that was supposedly being used.  

Superintendent Taylor's Resolution did not add up.  The cited contract did not include the vendor in the BOE Resolution.  

ABC7 reported on the Board of Education's vote to spend $13.9 million on diesel school buses.  In response to that report the Board of Education put out a statement confirming that the acquisition of diesel buses was "covered" in a Closed Session. The Board attempted to claim that was a permitted Closed Session matter.  We will see what the Open Meetings Act Compliance Board has to say about that.   

Not only was the purchase of diesel school buses a change from the Board of Education's stated goal of becoming a 100% electric school bus district, but the Resolution itself did not use a contract that was going to provide for the purchase of diesel school buses from a company in Virginia.  

Superintendent Taylor's Resolution did not make any sense, was not transparent, and did not provide any opportunity for the public to comment on this major change from the Board of Education's stated goal of a 100% electric school bus fleet. 

On October 10, 2024, the Montgomery County Board of Education sat in silence and passed Superintendent Taylor's Resolution without discussion.  Why did they do that?  Because they had already discussed the acquisition of diesel school buses in a Closed Session on September 26th.  On October 10th they sat with their mouths closed and rubber stamped a Resolution to spend $13.9 million without ever seeing the contract or confirming the details.  

And now today, Superintendent Taylor has put forth another Resolution to correct the major mistake in his October 10th Resolution. 

Just as the Parents' Coalition had discovered, his October 10th Resolution was not correct. 

The Montgomery County Inspector General has previously cited the Board of Education for approving Resolutions that claim to be "bridge contracts" but, in fact, are not really using the contracts they claim to be "bridging".  

It is easy for MCPS to fake a Resolution for a procurement when the actual contract is never made public, and the contract is never even seen by the Board of Education members.  

In this case, the Superintendent was able to put forth an inaccurate Resolution on October 10th to spend $13.9 million and the Board of Education happily voted unanimously to approve that expenditure without exerting any oversight.  

Today they will attempt to fix that $13.9 million mistake. 

Again, the Resolution will be on the Consent Agenda.

Electric bus manufacturer Lion Electric suspends operations at Channahon plant

 https://abc7chicago.com/post/lion-electric-suspends-operations-channahon-plant-joliet-bus-maker-announces-hundred-layoffs/15619343/

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

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...

‘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)

Read the Report MCPS Does Not Want You to See: CESO Assessment of MCPS Department of Transportation

@mocoboe Paid $168,380 for Comprehensive Analysis of @mcps Transportation, Then Shelved the Report.

Here is the 5 Part CESO report the Montgomery County

Board of Education doesn't want the public to read. 

 

1  

Montgomery County Public Sc... by Parents' Coalition of Montg...

2

Montgomery County Public Sc... by Parents' Coalition of Montg...

3

Montgomery County Public Sc... by Parents' Coalition of Montg...

4

Montgomery County Public Schools, MD: 4 CESO Deliverable 01.31.2024 by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland on Scribd

5      

Montgomery County Public Sc... by Parents' Coalition of Montg...

BOE Member Shebra Evans Should Recuse Herself from Discussions of "In the Matter of AUTOFLEX FLEET, INC" After Endorsement from Plaintiff's Attorney

Litigation involving the MCPS electric school bus procurement is currently before the Montgomery County Board of Education. The Parents' Coalition made the Appellate Court Order of March 5, 2024, public.  

AutoFlex Fleet, Inc. has been represented by Ryan Spiegel in this litigation.  

Attorney Ryan Spiegel is also Delegate Ryan Spiegel and he recently endorsed Board of Education member Shebra Evans for re-election in November.  

Shebra Evans should now recuse herself of any further discussions of the AutoFlex Fleet litigation as it now appears that she has a personal connection with the plaintiff's attorney.