Inspector General finds ‘wasteful spending’ tied to Montgomery County Public Schools electric bus contract

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. ( DC News Now ) – The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) scrutinized the contract between Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) and the company it uses for electric buses.

The contract is valued at more than $160 million and the terms of the agreement, according to the OIG, have not been upheld.

MCPS was supposed to receive 326 electric buses between fiscal years 2022 and 2025. The contract required the buses to be delivered by Aug. 1 each fiscal year, which breaks down to 25 buses in FY2022, 61 in FY2023, 120 in FY2024 and 120 this fiscal year.

The buses were not delivered on time during any of the fiscal years, according to the OIG’s findings. The company told MCPS it would not be able to deliver the full number of buses for the upcoming one either.

The agreement with the electric bus company does not include a provision that allows the school district to assess late delivery fees. If that provision were in place, MCPS could have asked for more than $1.8 million.

To make up for the lack of electric buses in its fleet, the school district is looking to extend the life of its diesel buses and add another 90 diesel buses. The cost for all of that is more than $14 million.

MCPS parent Dawn Iannaco-Hahn said she’s not surprised by this news.

“Electric school buses should have been the furthest down on the totem pole,” Iannaco-Hahn said. “People tried to say that. There were people who spoke out against it, and they don’t listen.”

MCPS put out a statement following the OIG’s investigation. The full statement can be found below:

“We value the Office of Inspector General (OIG) as an important partner and appreciate their ongoing work. In response to their investigative findings, we will take the necessary actions to address the identified issues. This includes implementing data tracking systems, enhancing management practices, and improving vendor communication and contracts. We will continue to collaborate closely with the OIG throughout this process.”

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