7News urges MCPS to negotiate electric buses and $1.5 million owed to the system

WASHINGTON (7News) — More than a month ago, 7News told you that Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) announced that the contractor hired to provide electric buses for the school system owes MCPS more than $1 million in fees.

Now we’re asking the school district what the process is to recover the $1.5 million.

On September 30, the Montgomery County Council Audit Committee held a hearing with MCPS leaders and Montgomery County Inspector General Megan Limarzi.

Her office estimated that “MCPS should have assessed the contractor approximately $372,000 for failing to provide operational buses between fiscal year 2022 and 2024,” according to documents presented at the meeting.

ALSO READ | Montgomery County Public Schools wasted millions on electric buses, according to a new report

During the work session, MCPS Chief of District Operations Dana Edwards explained that bus supplier Highland Electric owes the school system $1.5 million in performance fees.

On November 19, the Montgomery County Taxpayers League hosted a Zoom meeting with Superintendent Dr. Thomas Taylor.

An attendee asked about the status of the school district’s negotiations with Highland Electric and an update on progress toward collecting the $1.5 million in fees.

“We are in negotiations with our current supplier. Completely severing the relationship with our supplier is not necessarily the best alternative as we lease a lot of equipment that is used to charge some buses ourselves. We’re trying to overcome our challenges,” Taylor told attendees.

On Nov. 25, 7News asked Esther Wells, president of the Montgomery County Taxpayers League, if she was satisfied with the superintendent’s response.

“I wasn’t happy. I was actually a little disappointed,” Wells told 7News.

She said the superintendent failed to provide a detailed answer to the question.

READ MORE | MCPS Board of Education approves multimillion-dollar purchase of 70 diesel buses

“The school system notified the district council that it issued the invoice. The school system must inform taxpayers and everyone involved about the payment terms of the bill,” Wells said.

“In addition, MCPS needs to address its internal controls internally. They need to work more closely with their general counsel, and that’s also an internal department, to put checks and balances in place so that at the end of the day they get remediation.” “This report, this investigation by the inspector general and they made sure that so something will not happen again,” Wells added.

7News calls on the school system to:

• How long do you think negotiations with Highland Electric will take?
• How long is the school system willing to wait to recoup the $1.5 million Highland Electric owes the school system?
• What additional steps does MCPS take to secure the money?
• Will the Highland school system set a deadline to pay the $1.5 million owed to the system?
• Does MCPS plan to meet with the OIG about the amounts owed before the end of the year?
• If yes, when?

In a statement, MCPS Director of Communications Chris Cram tells us:

Regarding the ongoing matter with Highland Electric. Because we are currently in active contract negotiations, it would be inappropriate for MCPS to comment on specific details of the contract process or timelines.

We want to emphasize that we expect all monies owed to the school system under our existing contract to be repaid in a timely manner. MCPS remains committed to protecting public resources and ensuring accountability in all of its partnerships. A key part of this transparency is open communication with the Office of the Inspector General, where (we) keep that office informed as the process progresses.