S/O - Why are the vendors charging enormous amounts to MCPS?

[Anonymous]

Please read below. MCPS is being bilked of millions of dollars from its vendors. Someone needs to follow the money here and expose these people.

I do not understand why the smallest thing costs so much in MCPS. I am a PTSA mom and very often we are directly funding stuff at the school and it only costs couple of hundred dollars. If the same item is ordered via the MCPS vendors it costs 10 times more. Why? We need a table that will cost MCPS around $800 but PTSA can buy it for them for $200, Do people realize that there are entrenched vendors in MCPS that cost thousands of dollars for very basic services?

I'm a teacher in MCPS and the bolded is maddening to me. We get around $200/year for supplies individually and have to order through the MCPS warehouse. The items are marked up in a ridiculous way. A 3 hole puncher costs around $40 when I can get a similar one from Amazon for $12. Everything from pens to binders costs an arm and a leg through the warehouse. We don't get money from PTA for supplies (high FARMS school), so the $200 doesn't stretch very far. I hit up the back to school sales every summer and stock up on crayons, markers, scissors, glue etc. I've asked if I can provide receipts for those items and be reimbursed from the $200 supply budget and I'm always told "no", that it all has to be ordered directly from the warehouse. There's something definitely very fishy going on.

[Anonymous]

They have already been exposed. Many, many times. People keep voting to keep them into office. People attack the group who exposed them. People are getting exactly what they want.

[Anonymous]

We buy supplies and give them directly to the teacher/classroom. FWIW

[Anonymous]

Sounds like Janis with an axe to grind.

This is not unique to MCPS. All large governmental organizations have centralized purchasing. The reason you cant' buy from Amazon is that you could be buying from your friend's online amazon store at inflated prices.

I do agree it's wasteful. I think what they should do is partner with Amazon and have a special portal with approved supplies through approved vendors (the vendor could be Amazon), espeically for smaller stuff.

[Anonymous]

Same issue in most offices. I'm a fed and am shocked at the prices we have to pay for off brand post it notes and off brand tape that doesn't stick.

[Anonymous]

Nothing to see here....... just make sure you don't question the next MCPS budget request or we'll have to fire teachers and put 40 kids in each classroom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like Janis with an axe to grind.

This is not unique to MCPS. All large governmental organizations have centralized purchasing. The reason you cant' buy from Amazon is that you could be buying from your friend's online amazon store at inflated prices.

I do agree it's wasteful. I think what they should do is partner with Amazon and have a special portal with approved supplies through approved vendors (the vendor could be Amazon), especially for smaller stuff.

Why not do this then? Let others also see what the pricing is for MCPS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We buy supplies and give them directly to the teacher/classroom. FWIW

Who is "We"? Are you a parent using your own funds? Are you school administrators who buy in bulk and distribute to teachers? Are you Russian Bots? Are you PTA? Are you a room parent?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like Janis with an axe to grind.

This is not unique to MCPS. All large governmental organizations have centralized purchasing. The reason you cant' buy from Amazon is that you could be buying from your friend's online amazon store at inflated prices.

I do agree it's wasteful. I think what they should do is partner with Amazon and have a special portal with approved supplies through approved vendors (the vendor could be Amazon), espeically for smaller stuff.

I understand the concerns about decentralized purchasing, but the waste is absurd. I work for the Feds and we have a supply store in the basement where we buy all our supplies. The markups are crazy. It is really frustrating as a taxpayer, but no one care enough to try to change the entrenched system that no doubt enriches the vendor.

[Anonymous]

Welcome to Maryland. There's a reason why Spiro Agnew was our Governor.

[Anonymous]

Does anyone have a link to an article that already exposes this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They have already been exposed. Many, many times. People keep voting to keep them into office. People attack the group who exposed them. People are getting exactly what they want.

Who has been exposed? Where? Evidence please? Elections are coming up and we can vote them out of office. I’m new to McPS but was disgusted by my experience with the Kindergarten Jumpstart experience. It didn’t work on two different computers, the IT specialist didn’t respond on how to fix and then offered to lend me a Chrome Book to use. What a waste. Instead of designing their own customized stuff that doesn’t work, they could just use stuff that already exists in the market.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We buy supplies and give them directly to the teacher/classroom. FWIW

Who is "We"? Are you a parent using your own funds? Are you school administrators who buy in bulk and distribute to teachers? Are you Russian Bots? Are you PTA? Are you a room parent?

I’m the PP

I’m a parent at a FOCUS school. We (meaning DH and I) have donated tons of supplies to the classrooms over the years.

Our Media Specialist set up a Wish Lost on Amazon so parents could buy books to stock the library.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They have already been exposed. Many, many times. People keep voting to keep them into office. People attack the group who exposed them. People are getting exactly what they want.

Who has been exposed? Where? Evidence please? Elections are coming up and we can vote them out of office. I’m new to McPS but was disgusted by my experience with the Kindergarten Jumpstart experience. It didn’t work on two different computers, the IT specialist didn’t respond on how to fix and then offered to lend me a Chrome Book to use. What a waste. Instead of designing their own customized stuff that doesn’t work, they could just use stuff that already exists in the market.

Ugh! The Kindergarten Jumpstart was an EMORMOUS waste of resources.

We tried it also because DS started K this year. They should have purchased some K workbooks and given them out to kids at orientation. Instead of wasting money on tech initiatives that didn’t even work.

[Anonymous]

I know there are education reporters on here posting occasionally. If you’re one, could you let us MCPS parents and teachers know whether this is a story you’d cover, or if it’s been done to death? I don’t recall reading anything on this.