[“SD of L Board awards $1.25M contract without members’ review“] is not entirely accurate.
First, the contract is not for design, it’s for construction management.
Second, the review process started 6 months ago, and the previous board intended to approve it but decided it was big enough to defer to the new board. To get up to speed I’ve attended 4 public board and committee meetings where this contract was explained and discussed, but other board members (and you) chose not to attend these meetings, which is their right (and yours).
The contract was in some board packets, but not others–an oversight. Given 1) the ability of the board to cancel the contract within 30 days notice, and 2) that no project named by the contract is more than $177k, and 3) the contract does not start for 5 months, the liability to SDL is very low. Your headline suggests that the money has already been committed and spent, which is absolutely not the case.
Sometimes the communication within the Board, between the Board and the administration, and from SDL to the public could be improved. But to suggest that there was some dereliction of duty is far from the reality in this case.
Charlie Crystle, Jr.
Mr. Crystle, As a tax payer the School District of Lancaster has in the past been very secretive of what they do and how they do it. It is time to change and be open and listen to taxpayers that are tired of the tax and spend policies of this district. Hopefully you and the other board members will start to live within a budget of what money you have and not think that all you need to do is raise taxes every year. My money tree in the back yard is running out of blooms.