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Trustee presses for transparency after district discloses ~$622,000 HCDE contract for specialized services
Summary
Trustee Dungan asked for more public discussion after reviewing interlocal agreements with the Harris County Department of Education that would pay HCDE an estimated $622,000 for specialized services serving about 20 students (~$33,000 per pupil); trustees tabled the agreements for additional review.
Trustee Dungan asked the board to remove two interlocal agreements with the Harris County Department of Education from the consent agenda for further review after seeing cost breakdowns she said were new to the board. "For 20 students to receive services through these 2 agreements, we'll be paying a price tag of $622,000," she said, citing district documents and raising transparency concerns about the procurement and whether comparable services existed in Montgomery County.
District staff acknowledged specialized therapeutic services are federally mandated under students' IEPs and explained the services are specialized and sometimes provided regionally because staffing and program capacity vary. Staff noted contract language that HCDE could terminate for convenience without refunding prepaid fees in some circumstances and that unused service units may be sold to another ISD only with HCDE consent. Given trustee concerns about timing and the number and cost per student, a motion was made to table items g and h until the August 4 special meeting to allow staff to provide more information; the motion was seconded and carried.
