Legislator Targets Tech Perks in Baltimore County District

Legislator Targets Tech Perks in Baltimore County District
“Evidence offered in the recent articles indicates digital education companies having unrestricted access to key decision makers in Baltimore County Public Schools
and, in turn, the awarding of contracts to those companies,” Senator Brochin, a Baltimore County Democrat, said in a letter sent to state officials.
“This has created the illusion of impropriety, thereby eroding public trust.”
In response to questions about the audit request and potential conflict-of-interest issues regarding tech vendors, Mychael Dickerson,
a school district spokesman, said the district had “answered all the questions we intend to answer on this matter.”
This past spring, the district’s superintendent resigned without citing a reason.
A Maryland legislator has called for a state audit of Baltimore County Public Schools, the 25th-largest
public school system in the United States, in connection with the district’s technology initiative.
Last week, an article in examined Baltimore County, the nation’s 25th-largest public school
district, as a case study in how tech companies court and cultivate school leaders.
The Times found that tech vendors or industry-funded groups paid for meals
and rooms at fancy hotels for school leaders, as well as travel to conferences to promote the district’s tech initiative.
And in February, the district’s former superintendent participated in confidential meetings
with school tech vendors — companies whose contracts were later increased.