Inspector General: MCPS Chromebook inventory records incomplete; schools, IT to tighten controls

Montgomery County Public Schools needs stronger inventory controls and formal procedures to account for the district’s more than 200,000 Chromebooks, the county inspector general told the Audit Committee on Oct. 14.

The inspector general’s review of Chromebook inventory management found inaccurate records and unlocated devices during on-site spot checks. The office tested nine schools chosen at random; auditors were able to validate inventories at only two schools during the site visits, and follow-up work accounted for only about half of missing devices. The report produced two findings and five recommendations; MCPS accepted all recommendations and has closed one.

The OIG report said MCPS spent about $12.8 million on new Chromebooks in FY 2023 and budgeted about $9 million for FY 2024; the district has more than 200,000 devices in service across 211 schools. Inspector General Megan Lamarsy said ServiceNow – the district’s inventory and ticketing system – was not consistently up to date, staff roles were not uniformly assigned and fines for loss and damage were applied inconsistently. “Inventory controls is a very basic function,” Lamarsy said. “If there are discrepancies, there wasn't a set way to investigate those discrepancies or variances.”

MCPS officials described measures under way to tighten controls. Demonique (Nick) Lewis, director of cybersecurity and technology infrastructure at MCPS, said the district has improved ServiceNow implementation to upload devices at receipt, added forms to record school-level custody and has begun manual reconciliation between ServiceNow and Google sign-in data. Lewis said MCPS plans to automate that reconciliation and to generate dashboard reports so principals can see inventory and repair trends.

Brandon Farrow, an IT supervisor on the school-technology support team, said MCPS issued a Chromebook assignment and distribution memo to schools on Oct. 2 requiring each school to form a technology committee, designate staff responsibilities for Chromebook management and identify who will be targeted for training. Farrow also said MCPS updated guidance on fines for lost or damaged Chromebooks in August and views that recommendation as closed.

MCPS said it will compile the current guidance and best practices into a formal Chromebook regulation by June 2026 and is reviewing Regulation IGT-RA (user responsibility for MCPS computer systems). The district is developing an internal dashboard with school-specific insights, repair rates and fee collections and expects ongoing work this school year. MCPS reported an August 26 update to the OIG and has a further update due Nov. 24; the OIG will continue follow-up on open recommendations.

Council members welcomed steps to close gaps but stressed the need for quick progress because inventory gaps affect instructional readiness and spending. Council Vice President Jiwanda and Councilmember Friedson asked for timelines and more robust reconciliation. MCPS said recent procedural changes – for example adding a CART field in ServiceNow so devices stored on instructional carts can be tracked at the classroom level – improve immediate auditability, and officials said they expect to show continuing progress as automation and dashboard tools come online.

The committee did not take formal votes. OIG and MCPS will continue correspondence and provide scheduled updates to the inspector general.