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The most controversial of those trips was one to the parent headquarters in Germany of V/S, a company which has its American headquarters in Charlotte, N. C.
As the Joplin Globe related in its Oct. 27, 2012, edition, the German manufacturer, VS Verenigt Spezialmobelfabriken, paid for Assistant Superintendent Angie Besendorfer and Director of Instruction Jason Cravens to come to Germany for two days at the beginning of October. The two took their spouses, according to the Globe article (the spouses paid their own way) and took a couple of vacation days sightseeing in Germany.
Plus, as Besendorfer noted, they had a chance to play with the furniture and jump on it, like schoolchildren might.
All of the school officials interviewed by the Globe said there was nothing wrong with allowing the company to pay for the administrators' trip and for whatever else was paid for while they were in Germany.
And after all, as Besendorfer said, they had a bigger showroom in Germany than they did in Charlotte.
Board member Randy Steele, who was board president at the time, said the trips made no difference because "the bid comes to us, so we, as the board, make that decision, not the person who went on the trip."
Superintendent C. J. Huff told the Globe, "The district is obligated to accept the lowest qualified bid."
And tonight, in just a few minutes, the board will be asked to accept that lowest bid- the only bid that was solicited- from the company that paid for the Germany vacation.
A document signed by Huff and the two administrators who went on the trip to Germany is included in the Board of Education documentation for this evening and accompanies this post.
The board is asked to give V/S a contract for $59,107.07 to provide the furniture for East Middle School and Soaring Heights and Irving elementary schools.
The reason V/S is the only bidder- "V/S is a single source provider of furniture for some products that meet the needs of our learning spaces."
As Besendorfer told the Globe, "I'm confident we have done nothing inappropriate."
(Click on the screenshot to make it bigger.)
5 comments:
Well, I called that one right when they went on their little trip. I told you all when they went on that little vacation while the rest of R8 was working their tails off that she would write the bid so that only her favorite, anti-American company could get the bid.
They're so obvious, and yet, always supported. They take bids like they do job interviews--rigged.
"Fiscal note: The furniture purchase will be funded through the 2013/2014 capitol funds account for building projects."
This document is embarrassing. It speaks volumes. Prepared by Cravens, reviewed by the Drs. Besendorfer and Huff. It is properly called a capital fund. A capitol is a building in which a legislature meets ( wiki); a capital fund account is used to pay for building projects and German furniture.
The terms "single source" (provider) and "sole source"(provider) are not interchangeable. Maybe the Turner Report can obtain and post the appropriate Joplin R-8 purchasing policies. This might be addressed in detail in the purchasing policies.
The applicable purchasing policies of the Springfield MO R-12 School District for comparison:
PROCUREMENT METHODS:
Small Purchases - Request for Quotation (RFQ): Where the total cost of goods or services is $24,999.99 or less, the Purchasing Department is authorized by the Board of Education to issue a purchase order based on verbal or written quotations obtained through an informal process.
Sealed Competitive Bidding - Invitation for Bid (IFB): Where the estimated total cost of goods or services is $25,000.00 or more, sealed competitive bids will be solicited from vendors who have requested in writing that their names be placed on the Purchasing Departments vendor bid lists. The Purchasing Department may add names of prospective vendors who are known to the Purchasing Department. In addition, the Purchasing Department may advertise for bids in newspapers. Generally, bid notices will be posted on the Purchasing Department bulletin board at least 10 days prior to the date set for receipt of the bids. All purchases in excess of $50,000 must be approved by the Districts Board of Education before a purchase order will be issued. Bids which do not conform to the bid terms will not be considered.
Competitive Negotiation - Request for Proposal (RFP): If it is determined that the competitive sealed bidding is either not practicable or fiscally advantageous, the Purchasing Department will use a formal competitive negotiation process.
Emergency Purchases: An emergency situation may arise involving a threat to personal safety, life or property; i.e. a sudden and unexpected occurrence of a serious, urgent and threatening nature that demands immediate action to avoid termination of essential services or dangerous conditions. In such cases, the Purchasing Department may issue a purchase order without formal competitive bidding or competitive negotiation.
Sole Source Procurement: The requisitioner must.
1. Define the purchase (item, service, description, brand, model or part number)
2. Obtain approval from expert/departments on requisition (Information Services, Engineering, Curriculum, etc.)
3. Research and obtain signed justification from a competent expert in the field in which the product will be used. The statement from the USER expert must indicate that in the professional opinion of the certifying individual:
*This is the only product that can be used to accomplish the task necessary in an appropriate manner and must list the specific reasons why this is the case
*This product is available only from the source indicated – there are no distributors who sell the products
*A written quotation from vendor is recommended verifying the actual list price and appropriately allocated discount.
(*)Upon determination in writing that only one (1) source exists for a specific good or service, a purchase order may be negotiated and awarded to that source without competitive sealed bidding, subject to prior approval by the Board of Education if the cost exceeds $50,000.
http://www.springfieldpublicschoolsmo.org/pages/SPSMO/About/Departments/Purchasing/Vendor_Links/How_To_Do_Business_With_SPS
It is all a set-up. The district prepares a bid package that exactly matches the specs of the furniture they want to purchase. Then when the bids come in they reject all the bids that do not match the one they wanted in the first place, thus you get your single source provider for the bid.
It would never occur to R8 officials that the law applies to them--they break laws with impunity constantly. And it would certainly never occur to them to support the local businesses that are paying the taxes for those schools. This is shameful. There is nothing positive about Joplin these days.
Cravens is as good at this job as he was at teaching. All I remember from that class is him dueling with the boys and playing King Arthur for forever. Giant waste of time.
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