From the classroom to your child’s backpack, Chromebooks have become a ubiquitous instructional tool in Montgomery County Public Schools.
But, according to the Montgomery County Office of the Inspector General, the school system’s method of keeping tabs on the 200,000 Chromebooks needs improvement.
The 18-page report from the OIG found that “inventory records related to Chromebooks were often not accurate and numerous devices could not be located.” The report also said the school system only requires inventory of Chromebooks once per year, at the end of the school year — and schools are not required to count Chromebooks that are actively assigned to students.
The lack of timely and accurate inventory controls, the report said, means that the school system is “missing opportunities to timely identify vulnerabilities in the process that may lead to fraud, waste and abuse.”
The Montgomery County school system has an enrollment of 161,580 students and introduced Chromebooks into schools in 2014. In fiscal year 2024, the school system spent over $19.5 million on new Chromebooks.
According to the report, each Chromebook arrives from the vendor to MCPS with a barcode or “asset tag” attached. Once they arrive at schools, information technology support specialists or other school staff members are responsible for “safeguarding, assigning, and maintaining the devices.”
In the checks performed at nine schools — three elementary schools, three middle schools and three high schools — the OIG report found some devices without any tag or serial number, “making them difficult to identify and track.”
In examining and verifying random samples of Chromebooks in school stockrooms, the OIG report stated, “We were hamstrung by the differing school-level inventory practices which varied by location.”
Superintendent Thomas Taylor’s response, included in the OIG report, concurred with the findings, and noted that “the reconciliation of our Chromebook inventory has been an ongoing task for our staff in the Division of Technology Services since students and their Chromebooks returned to our schools for in-person instruction in September 2021.”
According to Taylor, the school system will develop a comprehensive inventory for record keeping and review by October 2025. A plan to “develop and distribute clear guidance” on the care and use of Chromebooks by students and staff will be in place by September 2025, and updated regulations on staff accountability for inventory inconsistencies are expected by June 2026.
The OIG’s review was carried out between October 2024 and February 2025.
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