A new report from the Maryland State Board of Education has declared Montgomery County Public Schools’ $168 million electric school bus contract “illegal,” saying the district violated its own procurement rules when awarding the deal.

The report found that the contract between MCPS and Highland Electric Fleets was “arbitrary, unreasonable, and in violation” of the district’s own bidding procedures. The district terminated the agreement over the summer, even though Highland had delivered just 285 of the 326 electric buses it was contracted to provide.

Additional questions about the deal surfaced last year, when a public report cast doubt on the district’s claim that transitioning from diesel to electric buses would result in “zero net change” in transportation costs. Soon after, the Montg

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