Pursuant to the Maryland Public Information Act (Md. Code Ann., Gen. Prov. § 4-101–601), I am requesting access to and copies of the following public records possessed by Howard County Public School System:
All contracts (and/or Master Service Agreements with all associated purchase orders) that are in effect or have been in effect in the last 3 years with vendors providing services reasonably related to academic support, tutoring, educational intervention, or instructional assistance.
I am requesting existing, already maintained electronic records (without copying, scanning, or printing).
For reference, the following resources containing contract and purchasing information for the school system can be searched publicly:
• The Board of Education of Howard County awards contracts over $50,000 regularly through Bids and Contracts Reports: https://go.boarddocs.com/mabe/hcpssmd/Board.nsf/files/DD7K7H4E1CE4/$file/01%2030%2025%20Bids%20and%20Contracts%20BR.pdf - this is an example of the most recent one, and there is typically one per meeting of the Board found on Board Docs: https://go.boarddocs.com/mabe/hcpssmd/Board.nsf/Public.
• Contracts between $25,000 and $50,000 are reported quarterly: https://go.boarddocs.com/mabe/hcpssmd/Board.nsf/files/DD8KJ352088B/$file/01%2030%2025%20Procurement%20Report%20FY%2025%20Q2%20BR.pdf – this is an example of the most recent report.
• A public contracts database was also recently adopted by the school system: https://hcpss.bonfirehub.com/portal/?tab=openOpportunities.
• Outside of contracts, total yearly payments by vendor over a threshold of $25,000 are also reported on this website: https://www.hcpss.org/f/vendors/index.html
Additional time would be needed to determine the HCPSS divisions that might utilize services sought per your clarification that “services reasonably related to” includes:
• Intensive, high-impact, or high-dosage tutoring
• In-person and/or virtual/online tutoring
• Homework help, academic coaching, or instructional support
• Bilingual or multilingual academic intervention or support services
• Supplemental instructional materials, curricula, or education content
• Tutor or instructional-staff management, scheduling, assignment, or tracking systems
• Platforms or technology used to administer or manage tutoring or academic support programs