Requested Information
This is a request (the "Public Information Act Request") under the Maryland Public Information Act, Title 4 of the General Provisions of the Maryland Code (the "Act"). We are writing to you in your capacity as custodian of public records of the Howard County Board of Education ("BOE"). We wish to inspect all public records in the custody and control of the BOE and the BOE Members as individuals and/or of BOE staff in any professional capacity, pertaining to the following:
(A) Any and all public records and/or written or electronic communications, including electronic mail, written correspondence, text messages, presentation documents, meeting agendas, and notes of and from meetings between and among the BOE, individual BOE members and/or BOE staff and the consultant company, Cooperative Strategies, hired by the Howard County Public School System ("HCPSS") to assist with the redistricting process, dated between December 1, 2018 and the date of this Public Information Act Request;
(B) Any and all public records and/or written or electronic communications, including electronic mail, written correspondence, text messages, presentation documents, meeting agendas, and notes of or from meetings between and among the BOE, individual BOE members, and/or the Superintendent of HCPSS Schools and/or his staff, the 2019 Attendance Area Committee ("AAC") selected by the Superintendent of the HCPSS and/or individual AAC members, the Howard County Executive and/or his staff, and/or the Howard County Council -as a body and as individual Howard County Council members --and/or Howard County Council staff members, pertaining to redistricting,
equity in education, the racial composition of students within the HCPSS schools, the socio-economic composition of students within the HCPSS schools, and/or the
composition of students within the HCPSS schools receiving Free and Reduced Meals ("FARM"), dated and/or compiled between December 1, 2018 and the date of this Public Information Act Request;
(C) Any and all statistics and/or information related to FARM participation in the HCPSS used or accessed by the BOE, individual BOE members, and/or BOE staff (or any
researchers on behalf of any of the foregoing), including the sources of the statistics and/or information, between December 1, 2018 and the date of this Public Information Act Request;
(D) Any and all transportation studies and/or information used or accessed by the BOE, individual BOE members, and/or BOE staff (or any researchers on behalf of any of the
foregoing), including the sources of the statistics and/or information, between December 1, 2018 and the date of this Public Information Act Request;
(E) Any and all public records and/or communications pertaining to amounts paid by the BOE and/or HCPSS to the consultant firm, Cooperative Strategies, hired to assist HCPSS with the 2019 redistricting process.
(A) Any and all public records and/or written or electronic communications, including electronic mail, written correspondence, text messages, presentation documents, meeting agendas, and notes of and from meetings between and among the BOE, individual BOE members and/or BOE staff and the consultant company, Cooperative Strategies, hired by the Howard County Public School System ("HCPSS") to assist with the redistricting process, dated between December 1, 2018 and the date of this Public Information Act Request;
(B) Any and all public records and/or written or electronic communications, including electronic mail, written correspondence, text messages, presentation documents, meeting agendas, and notes of or from meetings between and among the BOE, individual BOE members, and/or the Superintendent of HCPSS Schools and/or his staff, the 2019 Attendance Area Committee ("AAC") selected by the Superintendent of the HCPSS and/or individual AAC members, the Howard County Executive and/or his staff, and/or the Howard County Council -as a body and as individual Howard County Council members --and/or Howard County Council staff members, pertaining to redistricting,
equity in education, the racial composition of students within the HCPSS schools, the socio-economic composition of students within the HCPSS schools, and/or the
composition of students within the HCPSS schools receiving Free and Reduced Meals ("FARM"), dated and/or compiled between December 1, 2018 and the date of this Public Information Act Request;
(C) Any and all statistics and/or information related to FARM participation in the HCPSS used or accessed by the BOE, individual BOE members, and/or BOE staff (or any
researchers on behalf of any of the foregoing), including the sources of the statistics and/or information, between December 1, 2018 and the date of this Public Information Act Request;
(D) Any and all transportation studies and/or information used or accessed by the BOE, individual BOE members, and/or BOE staff (or any researchers on behalf of any of the
foregoing), including the sources of the statistics and/or information, between December 1, 2018 and the date of this Public Information Act Request;
(E) Any and all public records and/or communications pertaining to amounts paid by the BOE and/or HCPSS to the consultant firm, Cooperative Strategies, hired to assist HCPSS with the 2019 redistricting process.
Date Received
Status
Complete
Response Notes
Responsive to request E, the following records can be found under previous MPIA responses:
- April 2019 Boundary Review Consultant RFP: https://mpia.hcpss.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/060.19.B1School.Boundary-RFP.pdf
- Boundary Review Consultant RFP – Addendum: https://mpia.hcpss.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/060.19.B1-BoundaryLineConsultant-AddendumNo.1.pdf
- Cooperative Strategies Proposal: https://mpia.hcpss.org/sites/default/files/2019-06/Cooperative Strategies Response REDACTED.pdf
- Cooperative Strategies Signed Agreement: https://mpia.hcpss.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/Coop.%20Strategies%20Signed%20Agreement.pdf
- MPIA 2020-127 indicated no payments had been processed under the current contract for the Boundary Review Consultant to date.
No clarification received within 30 days to narrow/continue response.
Responsive Documents
Responsive to request A, we have conducted a search of HCPSS mailboxes for Board of Education members and immediate staff within that office for the date range of December 1, 2018, through the date of your request where any participant had an @coopstrategies.com extension, which returned the attached results. Please note, our School Planning staff indicates outside presentations and discussions at public Board of Education meetings, no meetings were conducted between the Consultant and Board of Education members during the timeframe requested.