Board motion asks for technical, financial and operational audit of Chipmunk contract; internal audit flags timing limits

The board’s adopted motion instructs the superintendent and the Department of Internal Audit to perform a comprehensive contract review of the Chipmunk mobile application and associated routing/tracking systems. The motion, introduced and read by Dr. Felton Moss, enumerated required deliverables: technical compliance checks, evaluation of uptime logs, GPS accuracy, functional performance against scope of work, a financial accounting of funds dispersed, and operational impact assessments.

Dr. Moss framed the motion as a fiduciary and oversight action: "the Board of Education of Prince George's County hereby directs the superintendent alongside the Department of Internal Audit to immediately initiate a comprehensive contract review and operational audit of the $3,200,000 Chipmunk app and contract." The resolution asks that the district withhold any nonessential supplemental payments or optional contract extensions while the review is under way and requests a formal report to the board within 30 calendar days of adoption.

Internal Audit director Dina Thorpe addressed the board during the meeting and said the department is currently completing a Maryland State Department of Education-required audit that is due Oct. 1. "30 days is not feasible," Thorpe said, and asked to work with the board on an achievable timeline and scope. The board accepted a friendly amendment to solicit stakeholder feedback as part of the audit if Internal Audit can accommodate that engagement within a workable timetable.

The motion’s administrative consequences include daily reporting to the superintendent from transportation leadership while the district works the routing backlog, a public accounting of vendor deliverables and the possibility of contract remedies, including cure notices, modifications or termination depending on findings.