Why Didn’t LAUSD Perform A Tech Review Before iPad/MiSiS Purchase?
Bad ed tech deals continue to plague LAUSD — currently starting its second month of meltdown, the MiSiS student tracking and class scheduling software mandated by a court-ordered consent decree is a ticking time bomb for high school seniors who need transcripts in order to apply to college and finish classes in order to graduate in June. Special education students, for whom the tracking software was originally developed, are no better served than before the launch of the latest version of the software.
So it’s worth looking to see what kind of due diligence LAUSD did before embarking on its ill-advised iPad purchase under Superintendent Deasy. The Superintendent recently suddenly canceled the iPad contract with Apple and Pearson upon exposure of his chummy emails in 2011 and 2012 with the vendors who ultimately won the lucrative contract in July 2013.
The FCMAT, or Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team, is a quasi-governmental agency created by the California legislature to act as an independent, external source of reliable fiscal and other information as school districts seek information to keep them well-managed and in good fiscal health. FCMAT helps districts with budget issues and performs audits and technology reviews upon request.According to the information on the FCMAT website,
The mission of the Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team is to help California’s local educational agencies fulfill their financial and management responsibilities by providing fiscal advice, management assistance, training and other related school business services. The Kern County Superintendent of Schools office exists as the administrative and fiscal agent for FCMAT which currently operates within the context of several areas of the California Education Code, primarily those sections having to do with AB 1200 and AB 2756 oversight (EC 42127.1-.8, EC 41326, EC 41327). FCMAT reports to a board of directors comprised of one county superintendent and one district superintendent from each of the state’s 11 service regions. A representative of the California Department of Education also is on the board. Assembly Bill 1200 (AB1200) created FCMAT in 1991. The team can assist county offices of education in understanding their fiscal monitoring duties as required by AB1200, sometimes suggesting specific methods ofWhy Didn’t LAUSD Perform A Tech Review Before iPad/MiSiS Purchase?: