The "Close the Gap" grants promised a small percentage of public school students up to $1,500 each from $24 million in federal COVID relief for Missouri. The funds were assigned to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education in last year's budget to distribute to lower-income families for tutoring, computers, summer camps or other academic resources.
Last month, about 21,000 students gained access to the grants through an online marketplace with hundreds of vendors from contractor Primary Class Inc. of New York. Only $1 million in purchases went through in the first month, as parents complained of delays and technical glitches on the company's platform, called Odyssey.
"Why didn't you work these bugs out before you started telling people about the program?" said Rosalind Bland, whose daughter is a student at Gateway STEM High School in St. Louis. "Nobody is getting anything, and they keep giving everybody the runaround."
Bland said she has been trying for weeks to buy a computer for her daughter through the marketplace, where she was awarded an account of $1,100. The only vendor she recognized out of nearly 200 companies, Amazon, has canceled several orders and told Bland it no longer participates in the grant program. Other vendors she's tried through Odyssey are sold out of computers.
The education department is aware of the problems, according to spokeswoman Mallory McGowin, who said Amazon's absence is temporary.
"Some orders were canceled due to vendor inventory challenges; those issues are being rectified and DESE is monitoring the situation," McGowin said.
The CEO of Odyssey, which billed the state $450,000 for its services, did not respond to questions about the complaints.
In a statement, Joe Connor said, "We continue to work in lockstep with the State, local vendors, and engaged parents to ensure that the program enables all eligible students to access the resources that will best enable them to succeed."
The top 10 payouts have all gone to out-of-state companies, according to public records obtained by the Post-Dispatch, including:
- Top-seller O'Rourke Sales Co., an appliance and electronics distributor in Iowa, has received $355,978 through the Missouri grants. Bland, the St. Louis parent, said the company has sold out of computers.
- SuperHiTech of Iowa specializes in used computers and has received more than $174,000.
- Sprattronics, a science playroom and day camp in South Carolina, sells toys through the Odyssey platform for a total of about $73,000 in Missouri. The company sells a Mars Rover Lego set for $155 that retails for $99.99 on the Lego site. Another set that sells for $319.95 through Lego is $489 from Sprattronics.
- The RexTech computer company in Idaho has tallied more than $30,000 in grant sales. All items in the company's Odyssey marketplace are now sold out.
- Impact Learners, which has received more than $19,000 in grant funds, was set up to sell school supplies for similar state-sponsored grants in Arizona and Idaho.
Other approved vendors that have yet to receive any grant funds include Beast Mode Divaz, a dance company in Florissant that was registered with the Missouri Secretary of State on Jan. 11.
Adam Bloch of Rolla said his three kids qualified for grants of $1,030 each but he was "underwhelmed" with the choices in the marketplace, where he hoped to buy computers. Some laptops selling for $500 from mainstream retailers were priced at $800 on the Odyssey platform, Bloch said.
"I don't feel comfortable buying from a company that's not reputable," he said. "Most of the companies that are selling electronics don't really have an internet presence at all."
Bloch ordered three computers from Amazon through Odyssey, but the transactions were all canceled. He bought one computer directly from Dell and has been waiting nearly a month to get reimbursed by Odyssey.
The "Close the Gap" funds are scheduled to expire in June. McGowin, the state education spokeswoman, said the program will continue if unused funds are included in the department's fiscal 2025 budget.
Missouri is the third state to use the Odyssey platform to distribute micro-grants. Complaints about the company were first reported in Iowa and Idaho, where Odyssey paid back $180,000 to the state for ineligible purchases like TVs and sporting goods.
Bloch said he's not optimistic about ever getting computers through the grant program.
"I'm not going to complain about free money, but I am going to complain about getting my kids' hopes up," he said.
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