Inspector General Flags Inconsistencies in MCPS Procurement Practices

...The OIG found there are no standard procedures on how MCPS staff should document purchases, and records are often incomplete or scattered across multiple systems. Staff often relies on personal judgment or unofficial processes, leading to inconsistent practices.  

Some of the key findings in the report state MCPS ignored Maryland law and its own regulations by making purchases over $25,000 without Board of Education approval. Additionally, seven vendors received payments above the threshold in FY23 and FY24 with no evidence of Board authorization...

https://www.mymcmedia.org/the-montgomery-county-office-of-the-inspector-general-found-inconsistencies-in-how-montgomery-county-public-schools-handled-its-procurement-process-during-fiscal-years-2023-and-2024/

[MCPS] ranking system is based on outdated information, marred by factual errors and favors total reconstruction over renovation, according to the July report by...County Council.

The Montgomery County school system plans to rethink its list of which schools are next in line for modernization, after a report that strongly criticized the way those decisions are made.

The ranking system is based on outdated information, marred by factual errors and favors total reconstruction over renovation, according to the July report by the county’s Office of Legislative Oversight, the research arm of the County Council.

Until the report’s release, the school system had intended to keep its list unchanged until at least 2031. But the oversight office found that other large school systems, including Baltimore County, Fairfax County and Dallas, regularly revisit and adjust their construction priorities.

“It’s definitely disturbing,” said council member Tom Hucker (D-Silver Spring). “This doesn’t inspire public confidence.”...

 http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/report-prompts-montgomery-to-rethink-its-school-modernization-list/2015/08/09/9af05240-3ac5-11e5-9c2d-ed991d848c48_story.html?hpid=z3

In 8 Days All Boards of Education will be in Ocean City with Milestone Communications

Prince George's BOE President and Superintendent
at 2013 MABE reception.

On October 1st through 3rd all Maryland Boards of Education will be in Ocean City, MD at the annual Maryland Association of Boards of Education (MABE) meeting. One of the sponsors of that meeting is Milestone Communications.  Yes, a vendor gets to spend time alone with all of the Board of Education members in the State of Maryland. No bids. No competition. No public.

Below is public comment that details what Prince George's County parents got from the MABE - Milestone partnership.

How many Montgomery County parents want 3 cell towers on every public school playground?  Get ready, our Board of Education could come back from their Ocean City vacation with the very same "deal."

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Prince George's County Public Schools - Board of Education Meeting - Public Comment

September 23, 2014

Good evening. My name is Janis Sartucci and I am a member of the Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland. I am here this evening because over the summer I began researching the deals that Maryland Boards of Education had made with a company called Milestone Communications Management III, Inc. to place cell towers on each and every public school property in the State of Maryland. As part of my research I did a Maryland Public Information Act request for the agreements between the Prince George's County Board of Education and Milestone Communications. Through that research I received and made public documents that were not available on the Board of Education website.

The documents revealed that the Board of Education approved a Master Lease with Milestone on

November 11, 2010, in an agenda item that took up just 40 seconds. While the BOE vote was in November, the actual document was not signed until February 7, 2011, and the signature is not that of the Board President, but of only the superintendent.

On page 11 of the Master Lease at Section 17.1 it calls for Milestone Communications Management III, Inc. to be qualified to do business in the State of Maryland. However, Maryland corporation records seem to show the date of registration for that company in Maryland to be April 5, 2011.

My research also revealed a lease for a cell tower at Flowers High School signed by Superintendent Kevin Maxwell on August 5, 2014. The lease had not been made public. The lease was approved by Monica E. Goldson and James E. Fisher, but the lease was with a different company. It was not with Milestone Communications Management III, Inc.

By making these documents public, parents now know that the Board of Education has approved a deal to built up to 3 cell towers on each of 73 public school sites in the county.

The County process to build a cell tower includes a review by the Tower Commission. The Tower Commission met in July without public notice.

Applications for building permits have now been filed for cell towers on some sites. These applications are not going through the Special Exception process. A building permit can be obtained without a Special Exception if the cell tower will have 4 or fewer site visits per year. However, we know that in Fairfax County, Milestone Communications cell towers on public school sites require one to two site visits per month. With 12 to 24 site visits per year, I believe that the cell tower proposals for Prince George's County Public Schools should be going through the Special Exception process.

I ask, how can parents track construction projects at their schools when companies are switched, documents are signed in secret, and building permits do not go through the Special Exception process?

How is the Board of Education serving school communities by placing these commercial structures on school playgrounds without public notice, without parent input, and without community input.

I know that in 8 days the Board of Education will be in Ocean City for the annual Maryland Association of Boards of Education (MABE) conference. I know that Milestone Communications will also be there as a sponsor of that conference. Milestone representatives will have more than 3 minutes to talk to each of you in Ocean City. They won't be on the clock.

MD School Bids for Interactive White Boards!

Here's what it looks like when a public school system in Maryland asks for bids on a purchase of Interactive White Boards.  

St. Mary's Public Schools asked for bids.  They received 3 proposals from distributors.  They picked the cheapest distributor.

This is what Montgomery County Public Schools and Superintendent Joshua Starr refuses to do when purchasing Interactive White Boards from Promethean.

St Marys County Ps Smart

Please for the sake of the education system, look elseware and bid it out!!!

The Parents' Coalition received the following comment.  Apparently, this person doesn't understand that we are MONTGOMERY COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS and money flows like water.  We don't need no competitive bidding!  We have tons of cash and spend as our hearts desire.  That's how we do things here! 

Am I reading this right, you are paying $8.9 million dollars for 2000 boards? That is insane! You can get the same amount of Polyvision boards for probably half that amount. I wish we had this type of money to just throw away.. This is the reason for bids, you will get other vendors to supply you with competative quotes and also compatable technology. Polyvision IWB's are made in USA, they have open architecture, there is a FOREVER surface warranty, and they are half the price! Please for the sake of the education system, look elseware and bid it out!!!