UPDATE: BCPS now says public comment will be allowed if the school board has unanimous consent to add it to the agenda.
Baltimore County Public Schools’ Board of Education is scheduled to vote Tuesday on a controversial $140 million contract extension that will give all K-12 students in the system their own computer. Generally BCPS allows members of the community to speak at the beginning of each meeting, but that has changed for this meeting.
The vote had been scheduled for March 20 but was delayed because of snow.
“In light of the truncated nature of the agenda, there will be no public comment at the April 3, 2018, meeting,” BCPS said in a statement on its website.
The vote was originally scheduled for March 6, but that was postponed after some members of the board asked for a delay. They said it didn’t make sense to commit to such a huge expenditure when there are so many questions about how BCPS awarded its contracts. The vote was to come during the same week former superintendent Dallas Dance appeared in court and pleaded guilty to charges he failed to disclose outside income that came from a firm that helps companies get contracts with school systems.
[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]It isn’t all or nothing. Technology can be made available for millions less than proposed. [/perfectpullquote]
Additionally, some education advocates have said that BCPS’s plan to provide every student with a laptop — known as the STAT program — will not yield benefits in line with the price tag.
“BCPS has provided no justification for its current or planned level of spending on devices. Other districts are implementing 1:1 devices for a fraction of the costs and with much success,” board member Julie Henn said on her Facebook page.
“I plan to vote against the $140 million device contract and to ask BCPS instead to bring the Board a contract for devices that meet both functional and cost requirements, that align with district standards,” said Henn, who is running this November to represent the Towson area on the board. “It isn’t all or nothing. Technology can be made available for millions less than proposed. The savings can be used for so many other pressing needs — school safety, staffing, special education, and services for students in need — to name a few.”
But BCPS officials have said personal devices are helping students.
“The gains in student achievement have been substantial. Before the STAT program, our students in the lighthouse elementary schools had, on average, lower achievement scores compared to their peers both across BCPS as a system and across the nation as measured by MAP. … But we see that by [the third year of STAT], achievement in [grades 1-3] has surpassed the national average. These gains [in math] are equivalent to hundreds of hours of additional instruction,” Chief Academic Officer Mary Boswell-McComas told the board in a presentation on March 6. (A video of the March 6 presentation is here; it starts at the 2:19:00 mark.)
Councilman David Marks, who represents the Towson area, said in a post on Facebook: “The Baltimore County Council gives the public the opportunity to testify at every meeting, whether it’s a work session or a legislative session. We do not limit the number of speakers. The Board of Education should allow for public comment on this and other issues.”
BCPS officials were not available to explain why public comment would not be allowed.
It turns out there was public comment, but, sadly, the school system knew the vote would go that way. STAT teachers showed up wearing matching t-shirts and filled the room. Of the 10 speakers chosen, only 1 was a parent. The rest were STAT teachers, a staff member from the central office which supports STAT teachers, and the child of a teacher who spoke.
What a subversion of the public comment process, the key word being public. People can see through this less-than-objective unbalanced process all around. Rigged might be a better word.
My question: Why does HP keep getting this deal? They are certainly not top players in the laptop/tablet field. Why such a complicated device, especially for elementary age students? Hundreds of millions of dollars are at stake, and affiliations between former superintendent Dance/digital director Ryan Imbriale with Intel (see below) and HP.
The last glitchy-but-pricey device, the HP Revolve, was discontinued after being used by tens of thousands of students here. The new laptop appears to be HP’s next answer in the student marketplace.
So are BCPS children being used as edtech product guinea pigs?
There is something deeply amiss here, and deeper digging is needed. Not so much corporate rah rah.
Here, see Imbrial tapped as a “visionary leader” by Intel.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-county/towson/ph-tt-ryan-imbriale-bcps-visionary-1111-20151109-story.html
And this industry-sponsored event, one of many attended by Imbriale, appropriately titled: “The Future of Edtech Starts Here.”
https://2017learningimpactleadershipinst.sched.com/speaker/rimbriale
When the School Board is considering making a momentous decision to spend $140 million, the idea that the public will not be permitted to comment is absurd on its face. In the 21st Century, we need to open the process up as much as possible. Many of the problems with BCPS that have come to light in the past several years are attributable to a system that is run by insiders with little visibility and very limited citizen involvement. This has to change.
Time for a COMPLETE change of the current
BCPS Board. These are our children and parents SHOULD have a say in what is presented for their use in school. Disgusting!
Unbelievable! Many have concerns related to agenda items for this meeting (including awarding the controversial multi-million dollar Hardware, Software, and Services contract). The Board has an obligation to afford County residents an opportunity to speak.
Great story! Here too is info on the $140 million contract to lease laptops, proposed at more than double an edtech industry standard and far higher than other school districts with well-regarded tech integrations. Links and resources within.
https://statusbcps.wordpress.com/2018/03/28/proposed-county-schools-laptop-contract-pricing-more-than-double-recommended-one-to-one-cost-report-shows/
Nothing to see here! And nothing will be seen now that Steve Lafferty killed the bill for an independent audit. Because transparency and accountability at BCPS threatens status-quo interests and calls into question the need for a large tax increase he will be pushing next year (Kirwan commission). I believe Towson’s representative should represent the interests of taxpayers and parents, not BCPS insiders.
Public comments allowed with UNANIMOUS vote!!! Who do these clowns think they are?? I don’t have kids in the schools system, BUT I do not like these idiots wasting my tax money and not be able to tell them so. Democrat’s taxation without Representation at it finest. Sounds like the corruption at the school board continues!
You nailed it Bob. Democrats are killing this state with their dictator like leadership. Only thing residents are good for are to PAY taxes for this exorbitant spending. The public SHOULD have a say in this very expensive contract.