School board ‘kept in dark’ over costly deal

NEWLY released documents have shown the board of a Cork community college believed it was kept in the dark about a controversial contract which collapsed and exposed the school to a €162,000 debt.

The Board of Glanmire Community College said the computers deal with a software company, Mobile Voyager Solutions (MVS), was heavily stacked in favour of the private franchise.

As part of the arrangement a €215,985 lease was signed by Cork County VEC to secure laptops and IT equipment for Glanmire Community College.

Jonathan O’Shea, the chief of MVS, committed to developing the project in Glanmire and meeting the lease repayments.

It was envisaged that, despite the VEC securing the up-front loan, Mr O’Shea’s company would have the freedom to market and sell the products honed at the college. MVS later collapsed and the school and VEC were left to pick up the €162,000 debt.

Board minutes released by the Department of Education under the Freedom of Information Act show that members were “shocked” when told about the deal’s demise in October 2006.

“The board was shocked at the report [of the deal]... the board did not have details of the agreement and was not aware the agreement had collapsed and the school had been left in such a difficult financial position.

“The board found it extraordinary that it had not been fully briefed on the project prior to any agreement being signed. The structure of the deal was stacked in favour of MVS,” it said.

And the board said the fallout had made it very difficult for the new principal, Pat McKelvey, to run the school.

Separate records showed that one third of the final bill, €54,073, was shouldered by the school before Cork County VEC agreed to cover the debt.

This was the same amount contributed by MVS before it went out of business.

Other board minutes, from March 2007, said the members were initially told by Cork County VEC that it would not be bailed out.

And they expressed frustration because they had not been “sufficiently consulted” before the contract was signed.

The documents revealed that the contract, to provide computers and animated learning aids, was signed in January 2005 between the former principal of Glanmire Community College and the head of MVS.

Three months later the controversial lease agreement, with AIB and a Norweigian IT company, was signed by two officers of the Cork County VEC, because the Glanmire school did not have the legal authority to do so.

Other correspondence showed the chief executive of Cork County VEC Barra O Briain said he was not aware of the contract agreement when it was signed.

Details of the agreement with MVS was brought to the board in March 2005. The minutes simply said the company would be contributing €200,000 worth of equipment. It did not mention the lease arrangement which is now subject to inquires by the Dáil Public Accounts Committee and the Department of Education.

In May 2007, after MVS had gone bust, the VEC told the school it would pay off the debt on behalf of the school in installments.