Just kidding! What MCPS said in March 2007

This is what MCPS said about volunteering for the Accelerated and Enriched Instruction Advisory Committee in 2007. Tonight they said something very different...more on that tomorrow.

March 13, 2007
MCPS needs broader representation of bilingual and bicultural
communities

Volunteers from the county's multicultural communities are invited to
serve on the Montgomery County Public School Accelerated and Enriched
Instruction Advisory Committee (AEIC).

* The AEIC Advisory Committee is an opportunity to discuss school
programs and provide feedback and guidance on MCPS programs and the
implementation of MCPS Policy and the Gifted and Talented Education
program.

Parents of MCPS students are especially welcomed to serve on the AEIC.

* The Committee meets on the fourth Tuesday of each month from
7:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. at Carver Educational Services Center (CESC),
located at 850 Hungerford Dr. Rockville, MD. Members are invited to
serve for a one year term.

For details on how to volunteer for the Accelerated and Enriched
Instruction Advisory Committee, please contact one of the individuals
listed below:

Martin Creel, Director

Accelerated and Enriched Instruction

Montgomery County Public Schools

301-279-3163

Elizabeth C. Alcoba

Instructional Specialist, Outreach and Training

Division of Consortia Choice and Application Programs Montgomery County
Public Schools

Spring Mill Field Office

301-649-8558 or 8081

$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.

Tuesday Feb 10th 88.5 Kojo Nnamdi Show

The Kojo Nnamdi program on WAMU, 88.5 FM, will focus on Montgomery
County Schools tomorrow at 1:06 pm, following the news. Jerry Weast is the guest.

Contact the Show: kojo@wamu.org
Telephone Numbers Call-in Line: 1-800-433-8850 Comment Line: 202-885-1226

13:06 Montgomery County Schools
Montgomery County has long prided itself on having some of the most successful public schools in Maryland -- and the nation. But the tough economic climate is hitting the schools hard, and administrators are bracing for further cuts to an already lean budget. Join Kojo as we talk with Montgomery Schools Superintendent Jerry Weast about the challenges of maintaining academic excellence during an economic downturn.
Guests
Jerry Weast, Superintendent, Montgomery County Public Schools
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Is this why the Board of Education meeting was rescheduled from Tuesday to Monday?
Good opportunity to call in questions for the Superintendent.

With Initiative you get Promethean Boards!

Thanks to the January 8, 2008 Tilden Middle School PTSA minutes we have information about how MCPS initiatives go forward. 9 more schools were added to the MCPS Middle School Initiative this school year, but the schools had to apply! And if your school was selected, your school won 18 Promethean Boards!

I thought the Board of Education decided how programs were introduced in schools? But according to this information, your local school actually had to apply! These minutes also show that even before the FY09 budget was approved, plans were in the works to put the Middle School Initiative in to 9 more schools and to add 162 more Promethean Boards.

PRINCIPAL'S REPORT:... Mrs. Baker provided an update on Tilden’s application to be an MCPS Middle School Reform school. 55% of Tilden’s staff would like to apply as a Middle School Reform school. One reason to apply now is that the county will run out of money to support this initiative, which provides 18 Promethean boards for the school, and a couple elective classes that will be new to students. We have a declining enrollment at Tilden with the phasing out of the learning center. We’re projected to have 650 students for the next school year. Being a Middle School Reform school, we would get a math content coach and a literacy content coach. So we will not lose staff because we would be gaining the 2 coaches. There will be 9 more Middle School Reform schools for next year. There are 5 middle schools in right now, and 5 who are not eligible. There are 28 middle schools who will be vying for the 9 spots. We have a good case. There would be a lot of professional development for the staff, which they’ll be paid for attending. 2700 hours of staff development that Tilden would receive. The leadership would expand. Resource teachers will no longer have to be team leaders so more teachers can be team leaders. There’s a great chance for professional growth, interactive Promethean boards, which make the classroom, come alive. A Promethean board is like a giant computer screen. Teachers would receive training in it also. Since 55% said they would like to apply, the school will apply. We will know February 29 whether or not we’ve been accepted. If accepted we’ll make it look and work the way Tilden wants it to work, but can also go to other schools to see what they’ve done.
Why would the staff be against it? One teacher thought it would be a lot more work in the beginning.

If you have a Promethean board you’re creating lesson plans that use the board. It’s a learning curve at the beginning.

Would some teachers have to reapply for their leadership positions? Possibly. Team leaders will not be able to be department chairs as well.

No, teachers you still can't have your COLAs. We bought Promethean Boards.

In last week's edition of the MCPS publication The Bulletin, teachers ask the following question:

Q: Since we are entitled to be repaid $24 million by the state, will we be able to get our cost of living adjustments on July 1? How will the money be used?
A: The additional state revenue due to Montgomery County that may become available next fiscal year will not permit funding for a general wage adjustment because of the continuing dire economic situation....

Good question. But the answer fails to tell teachers that last summer MCPS' COO Larry Bowers entered into a 4 year lease for 2,600 Promethean Boards using, in part, unappropriated funds. Another 700 Promethean Boards haven't been accounted for in Board of Education minutes or procurement documents. In total the 3,300 Promethean Boards now in MCPS classrooms cost MCPS around $20 million.

That's just about the amount of the COLA's.

What Really Motivates Parent Activists

Today's Washington Post include Letters to the Editor on "What Really Motivates Parent Activists".

Five Candidates Run for Student Member of Board

The nominating convention, which narrows the field to two candidates, will be held March 5, and the new student Board member will be elected on April 29.
Meet the Candidates

Has MCPS dropped American History from its Curriculum?

In the context of recent activity by the BOE and MCPS, I've begun to have serious concerns about whether our children will believe that American History and US Government are more than concepts in heavy high school textbooks. Despite repeated notices and parent activity, the Board and MCPS seem to disregard prior legal opinion and past challenges to its practices, without seeming to acknowledge that its operations are subject to state and local laws.

The BOE/MCPS decision to discuss the issued opinion of the state's Open Meetings Compliance Board in Closed session seems to directly challenge the recently issued opinion, given the presumption that meetings of public bodies are to be open in the public. While the new leadership in the White House embraces transparency and open government, MCPS appears to be digging in, and not admitting it could possibly be wrong.

Its also not the first time MCPS has been chastised by the Open Meetings Compliance Board for similar transgressions. Ever hear of Bradley MS? No, you wouldn't because that prime piece of real estate on Newbridge Road in Potomac was surplused by the BOE without public comment in 1994. Ever hear of River Falls ES? Glen Hills ES? Laytonia HS? Olney HS? No you wouldn't because those schools were given away in emergency closed meetings by the Board of Education in April, 1996. Remember the controversy in 2004-2005 over MCPS and the county council's efforts to "surplus" Kendale ES and Brickyard MS school sites? A call to the open meetings compliance board brought that decision into the sunlight, and saved 30 acres of school land from exiting the school systems inventory of future school sites.

And MCPS got in trouble with the open meetings compliance board again over its decision to close meetings in connection with the Sex Education curriculum.

From the article:

Rosanne Hurwitz, who heads one of the county's six PTA areas, asked the Attorney General's Office to investigate whether such a discussion would violate open-meeting laws.
Assistant Attorney General William R. Varga yesterday spoke with George Margolies, the board's staff director. Mr. Margolies told Mr. Varga that the board would discuss "the status of the litigation" with Mr. Weast and "the impact of the superintendent's decision in connection with the litigation," according to a letter from Mr. Varga to the open-meetings compliance board.
"However, Mr. Margolies assured me that discussion will be limited to issues in the context of the litigation," Mr. Varga wrote. "The board is aware that policy decisions in connection with the curriculum must be handled in an open session."

And lets not forget, that MCPS doesn't think "old laws" apply. Up until this year, MCPS was charging curricular fees for class related material. More specific materials may be found in the Parents Coalition Guide to Fees.

Even when MCPS acknowledges that it has made a mistake and indicated it will change the policy - implementation of the policy is delayed until the start of next school year .
I thought illegal was illegal - does something happen between now and next September that impacts whether the school system can flout the law and still charge illegal fees?
Don't we expect our children to obey the law? What type of example is set by MCPS and our esteemed Board of Education by constantly flouting the legal system?

Maybe Montgomery County is like Lake Wobegon - where all children are above average and the rules don't apply.

Maryland Politics Watch: Al Carr wants you to know how your schools are spending your money

Over at Maryland Politics Watch, Adam Pagnucco writes about the MCPS Funding Transparency bill.

Navarro Board of Ed. Breaks Open Meetings Law

On January 30, 2009, the State of Maryland Open Meetings Compliance Board issued an opinion that the Montgomery "County Board did violate the Act in its failure to properly complete a written statement of the reason for the closing of the meeting on September 9."

The Open Meetings Compliance Board also found that the Montgomery County Board of Education was "not correct" in their assertion that the complainant bears the burden of proof and that there is a presumption that no violation has occurred.


In response to the filing of this complaint the Montgomery County Board of Education voluntarily changed its procedure for going into a closed session. Since the filing of this complaint, members of the public can now observe the Board voting to go into closed session prior to the Board room doors being closed. The sign stating "Board members and staff only" that is at the entrance to the conference room used for closed sessions is now to be taken down to permit the public to freely enter and observe the vote of the Board to go into closed session.

The Open Meetings Compliance Board cited the MCPS Board of Education for a violation of $10-508(d)(2)(ii) of the Open Meetings Act. The Open Meetings Board opinion states that in order to close a meeting of the MCPS Board of Education, the Board must,

"not simply cite the statutory authority, but must disclose the topic of discussion in order to allow the public to access compliance by comparing the cited authority and report topic."..."Here the written statement provided the public no information except that the meeting was closed, among other reasons, for the County Board to receive legal advice. Thus, in closing the meeting of September 9, the County Board violated $10-508(d)(2)(ii)."

What did the Board of Education fail to disclose on September 9? They failed to disclose that they were going in to a Closed Session to discuss illegal Curricular Fees that are being charged to MCPS families.

Only time will tell if the MCPS Board of Education will comply with this decision. At the time of this violation the Board of Education President was Nancy Navarro. Will the current board, led by President Shirley Brandman comply with the closed meeting disclosure requirements of Maryland law?

Frieda Lacey to give Accountability talk

The Parents Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland, encourages anyone interested in the topic of Accountability in Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) to attend an upcoming speech on the topic. This announcement is reproduced from another listserv, so please contact MCPS directly if there are questions. Dr. Frieda Lacey will be speaking as follows:

SUNDAY SCHOLARS PRESENT:
HOLDING THOSE RESPONSIBLE ACCOUNTABLE
ACCOUNTABILITY AND EDUCATION
SPEAKER: Dr. Frieda K. Lacey Deputy Superintendent of Schools For the Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS)

HERE IS YOUR CHANCE TO HAVE YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED

BRING A FRIEND!
February 8, 2009
Ross, Boddy Community Center (2:30pm to 4:15pm)
18529 Brooke Road
Sandy Spring, Maryland 20860

Cost of new MSDE system could be a good proxy for the cost of implementing a searchable database of MCPS purchases

The main objection by the MCPS BOE to the MCPS spending transparency bill has been that the web-accessible database would reportedly cost at least $50,000 to implement.

In previous postings here, I've suggested that the application could be implemented for about $5,000 using existing MCPS information systems infrastructure.

Coincidentally, the Maryland State Department of Education recently put the child care provider records online in a searchable database. The new searchable child care provider database is technically very similar to the system that the MCPS spending transparency bill requires. It's a search - select - display type of application, with no complex business logic and a simple, read-only interface.

An anticipated benefit of the online child care system is that the quality of child care provider assessments will improve, just as one of the anticipated benefits of the funding transparency system is to improve the accountability of MCPS.

According to an article in the Washington Post about the new child care provider information system:

Smith, the national child-care advocate, argues that more information is better for parents. "You have to trust parents to understand a minor from a major violation," she said, noting that many states have worried about liability and whether parents will misinterpret inspection reports. "Parents understand this more than people give them credit for," she said.

Research shows that inspectors become more precise and careful in their assessments when they are posted online, Smith said. This, she said, is good for parents and providers. "Inspectors got better with their jobs," she said. "It was not that parents all of the sudden got inundated with information they didn't understand."

So how much did it cost for the MSDE to implement the new system? Was it $200,000, as some have speculated that the MCPS spending transparency system would cost? Was it $50,000, as the MCPS BOE has forecast for the spending transparency system? Or was it $5,000, the estimate that I gave for the MCPS system in my testimony to the Montgomery County delegation?

The answer is found in the last paragraph of the Washington Post article:

The state's new system was developed at virtually no cost, Grafwallner said, because it was built with software the state already uses to help parents locate child care.

In looking around the MCPS web site, it is evident that MCPS, too, has the database and web-interface structure already in place to support an application that meets the requirements of the MCPS Spending Transparency bill.

March 3rd County Council lunch with Board of Education

The Montgomery County Council's agenda shows a lunch meeting with the MCPS Board of Education on March 3rd. The Board of Education agenda has no such listing.
At a lunch between the Council and Board last year, sandwiches and sodas were provided by a caterer. As the Council looks for ways to economize, a suggestion would be that the March 3rd joint lunch be "brown bag".
In furtherance of open government it would be hoped that the Board of Education would begin to announce these meetings on their agenda.

Feb 23rd Council Ed Committee: Promethean Boards in MCPS classrooms - new date

This meeting of the County Council's Education Committee was originally scheduled for February 2nd. The meeting was canceled and has been rescheduled for February 23rd. Council staff has already released their analysis of this multi-million dollar MCPS purchase in the meeting packet.

ED 9:30 AM - 7CHR
Feb 23 • CIP Amendments: Montgomery College (Sherer)
• CIP Amendments: Montgomery County Public Schools (Levchenko)
• Promethean boards in MCPS classrooms (McGuire)
T&

February 17th Math Forum

Parents’ Coalition invites you to a discussion of…
The TOP TEN Math Reforms For a New MCPS Superintendent
In two years Superintendent Jerry Weast will be replaced. It’s never too early to start writing a “wish list for better math instruction.” Long-time math activists Jerry Dancis ( retired University of Maryland math professor), Julie Greenberg (former MCPS math teacher, now at the National Council on Teacher Quality), and John Hoven (former co-president of the Gifted and Talented Association) will lead a discussion. Bring your questions and concerns.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
7:30 – 9:00 pm
Town of Somerset Town Hall
4510 Cumberland Avenue, Chevy Chase, MD

Three options for parking: In the lot behind the tennis courts that are just west of the Town Hall
On Cumberland Ave (Please don’t block driveways!)
At Somerset Elementary School (Turn onto Dorset Ave. off Wisconsin, turn right on Deal Place, and left into school parking lot. The Town Hall is one block east of the school.)

Gazette: House delegation offers mixed views of transparency bill

In an article appearing in the online Gazette, reporter Marcus Moore writes:

Members of the county's House delegation have mixed feelings about a proposed bill to make more of the Montgomery County school system's business transactions open to the public.
If passed by the General Assembly, Del. Alfred C. Carr's bill would require the system to publish on a database details on spending of $10,000 and up.
School system leaders would have to build the database, which they estimate could cost as much as $50,000.

First of all, I'm trying to figure out exactly what MCPS has in mind for $50,000. We're talking about a static database (refreshed perhaps monthly), where people will do a search and then display a record of interest. Like this:

Search records - Display possible matches - Select Record of interest - Display record.

This not a system where the complexities of real-time updating need to be considered. There are no complex business processes in this application. This is about as simple as a computer application gets. Computer Science 101 - homework assignment 3.

I'd sure like to know how MCPS came up with the $50,000 cost estimate for this simple application.

But cost objections aside, Del. Ana Sol Gutierrez (a former MCPS BOE president) doesn't support the transparency law.

"The information is already there. It is transparent," Gutierrez (D-Dist. 18) of Chevy Chase said during the delegation meeting.

I respectfully disagree.

Four words not heard at Board table

The following is testimony delivered in Annapolis on proposed legislation MC 930-09. What documents do exist on these procurements seem to indicate that all four of these contracts were entered into by MCPS during the last two years, during the time that the MCPS Board of Education President was Nancy Navarro.

Montgomery County Delegation

January 30, 2009

Re: MD 930-09 Montgomery County Public Schools - Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2009

Good morning Chairs Madaleno and Feldman and the members of the Montgomery Delegation.

I am Janis Zink Sartucci. I grew up in Montgomery County and I am raising my children in Montgomery County. I attended Montgomery Knolls Elementary School, Eastern Junior High and graduated from Montgomery Blair High School. I am here as a member of Parents Coalition to support Louis Wilen and the Parents Coalition's request that you pass MD 930-09.

In my time before you today, I have four words for you. The four words are:

IQinVision

Promethean

EasyLobby

SmartBoard

These are four words that you will not find in Board of Education minutes approving procurements of the products from these companies. In total, I would estimate that these four words represent contracts of over $30 million in procurements. That’s over $30 million in procurements that are not reflected in MCPS Board of Education minutes. Each of these procurements represents a commitment of taxpayer dollars of well beyond $10,000.

Briefly, let me start with IQinVision. How did Montgomery County citizens discover that MCPS has contracted with this company? In a press release from IQinVision. The contract with this company is not mentioned in Board of Education minutes. Neither is their product IQEye or the consultant that obtained this contract. Rumor has this procurement cost at $9 million. Attachment A

Promethean: How did citizens discover this contract? A press release from MCPS announcing the placement of these products in classrooms. Repeated Maryland Public Information Act requests disclosed that 3,300 Promethean Boards had been purchased for MCPS classrooms, in total a commitment of over $20 million in taxpayer funds without Board of Education review. In support of this purchase, the Superintendent has produced two different versions of a June 9, 2008 memorandum to the Board of Education, purportedly to justify this purchase. Both versions of the June 9, 2008 memorandum are attached. Attachment B

EasyLobby: Citizens discovered this procurement through an article in the Gazette newspaper. This procurement is also not mentioned in Board of Education minutes. Unknown contract cost. Attachment C

SmartBoard: SmartBoards are present in schools and in MCPS headquarters. We simply see them in use but again, can not find any mention of a contract to purchase these items in Board of Education minutes. Unknown contract cost. Attachment D

Does Montgomery County need the Montgomery County Public Schools - Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2009?

Absolutely.

We don’t know what we don’t know.

With regard to funding of this Act, I will reference the recently released State Legislative Audit of Montgomery County Public Schools. In order to fund a searchable website of MCPS procurements, MCPS can cut up the 1,400 credit cards whose use is not being monitored.

From the State Audit:

"Our tests of 32 calendar year 2007 travel expenditures
charged to credit cards totaling $19,028 disclosed 30 expenditures
totaling $17,930 that were not recorded on monthly activity logs and,
therefore, were never approved."

Thank you for this opportunity to speak.

(Attachments available upon request. For each word I searched in the Board of Education minutes on their website and copied the results page. For all of the words except "Promethean" the search yielded "no results". For the Promethean search the only results were references to demonstrations, updates or curriculum but no reference to purchasing 3,300 units.)

UPDATE: EasyLobby procurement was made without a contract and without Board of Education approval.

UPDATE: IQinVision procurement was made without a contract and without Board of Education approval.


UPDATE December 2010: The legislation to create a MCPS database of vendors receiving payments over a specific amount was enacted and the database has now been posted on the MCPS website.

Education's $140 million loss

From the Baltimore Sun: Inside Ed - Education's $140 million loss Presentation to the Maryland Association of Boards of Education.

The mystery of the two Promethean Board memos

Can anyone explain why there are two different but mostly similar June 9, 2008 memos from Superintendent Jerry Weast to the Board of Education about expanding implementation of the Promethean Boards?

The first memo credits MCPS Chief Operating Officer Mr. Larry Bowers and MCPS Chief Technology Officer Mr. Sherwin Collette for their work in the implementation. Among other differences, the second memo credits BOE members Mr. Steve Abrams (now retired) and Mr. Chris Barclay for their support while also recognizing Mr. Collette's contributions to the project.

Here are the two memos:

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Education Presentations & Slid weast mcps

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Education Presentations & Slid weast mcps

Promethean - Promises or Myth

With the emphasis for sunshine in the federal government, I was sorry to hear that Monday's Montgomery County Council Education Committee cancelled its meeting. I was interested in learning how how those lovely but expensive ($19 million) whiteboards with fancy egg clickers and a limited life span wound up in classrooms across Montgomery county.

While you are waiting for the County Council to weigh in, here is my analysis.

Who authorized the payments? Look at the lease dated June 16, 2008 (http://www.parentscoalitionmc.com/uploads/MPIAProm2600.pdf) - its MCPS Chief Operating Officer, Larry Bowers.

Can a Chief Operating Officer do that? Not according to the the MCPS procurement manual.

Procurement Authority

The superintendent of schools delegates' authority to the director of the Division of Procurement to enter into contracts for the procurement of goods and services as the centralized purchasing agency for MCPS. The Board shall award all contracts that exceed delegated dollar thresholds. The director of the Division of Procurement is authorized to delegate purchasing authority to procurement buyers for the purchase of specified goods and/or services.

The director of the Division of Procurement has the responsibility and authority to negotiate, place, and (when necessary) modify invitations to bids, purchase orders, or other awards granted or issued by the Board. Assigned buyers may assist the director of the Division of Procurement in discharging these responsibilities. Excepting the superintendent, no other county public school official or employee is authorized to order supplies, materials, or services; enter into purchase negotiations or contracts; or in any way obligate MCPS for any indebtedness. Any purchases ordered or contracts made that are contrary to these provisions and authorities shall be of no effect and void, and MCPS shall not be bound thereby. (Review MCPS Regulation DJA-RA, Procurement of Equipment, Supplies and Contractual Services).

Also from the Procurement manual:
20.0 Unauthorized Purchases
Whenever any officer or employee of MCPS purchases or contracts for any supplies or contractual services contrary to the provision of the MCPS Procurement Manual, such purchases or contracts shall be void and shall not be considered to be an obligation of the Montgomery County Board of Education (Review, MCPS Policy DJA, MCPS Procurement Practices).
**************
Did MCPS pull off one of the biggest freebies in educational procurement?

Here is the link to the County Council Packet: http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/content/council/pdf/agenda/cm/2009/090202/20090202_ED01.pdf

I hope that doesn't disappear too.