CCSD Superintendent Nancy McGinley began her series of budget meetings lamenting the projected shortfall in funding the district's yearly operating budget, while Bill Lewis, the executive director of its building program, had to explain his rejection of the low bid for the new North Charleston middle school.Now, you and I know that the building fund and yearly budget for CCSD are separate from each other, but in the public mind it's all going down the same sinkhole. Lewis's action hardly was of assistance to McGinley's quest or fair to the taxpayers. According to the president of the Charleston Contractors' Association, "the way the system is set up . . . gives the appearance that something wrong is happening." Is it?
What did happen here? Well, according to the P & C's story of last Sunday, the low bid from Infinger Construction was never considered, since Lewis decided to "save time and enable the school to open in August 2009." Saving time, not dollars, was his highest priority. This arrogance led to a negotiated bid with the highest-rated company that will cost us $400,000 more.
"Highest-rated company" sounds good until you look into the details. According to the article, "The school board chose to spend the extra money so a company that it rated as higher quality would do the construction work." That WHO rated? Lewis stated that "contractors are evaluated on two criteria: the technical aspects of their plans — such as their approach, their team and prior performance — and their price." Notice the passive voice here--allowing Lewis to avoid saying who assigned the ratings.
One of two things happened here. Either Infinger was blackballed by Dorchester District 2 with no recourse, or a "few district-appointed people" made a subjective decision that the contractor's quality is not as it should be. The school board, in its usual fashion, followed Lewis's lead. Question: Can they show that Infinger's prior work for the district did not meet its standards? No mention of that.
Some of us might remember that the district no longer accepts kickbacks from contractors in the form of donations, parties, etc., such as last year's goodbye party to Goodloe-Johnson. Now I'm getting too cynical.
Speaking of which, what ever happened to the search for a qualified financial officer to replace Don Kennedy? Did I miss something here?
Posts
4 comments:
Michael Bobby from Richland I has been hired as CFO. He has not officially started yet, but has been approved by the Board.
I'm curious how Michael Bobby is going to address the mess that Don Kennedy left behind. It's painfully clear that Bill Lewis had a very long leash...if he had any restraint placed on him at all.
I'm for holding the new CFO directly responsible for the waste and excesses of the facilities department. After all, tax increases for the capital fund are NOT covered by the recent property tax breaks approved by the legislature. Bond taxes are passed on directly to every taxpayer, even to owner occupied homes.
How much more waste and graft in the facilities department for our schools can Charleston County taxpayers tolerate? Hundreds of millions aren't really "for the children". Instead it's become a public jackpot for fat bureaucrats and a few favored contractors who know how to scam the system.
Michael Bobby has his work cut out for him if he has any integrity at all. Now, unlike Don Kennedy, will he be able to answer public questions without looking at one of his subordinates (or to Bill Lewis) before he answers?
Babbie,
I don't think you can ever get too cynical when speaking of Mr. Lewis.
He's a scary man.
As for the new guy Mr. Bobby...I hope he takes a good look at Terri Shannon. How DO these people keep their jobs? Wasn't she the one who told Portia Stoney we have some $50,000 worth of interest that has been made on the $150,000 Lawrence Derthick Fund?
Times are tight and getting tighter. If Mr. Lewis thinks it's business as usual in Charleston, then maybe he needs to think again. He might watch what happens with the scheduled bond referendums in other nearby school districts this year before he starts his dog and pony show for new CCSD projects. I think the voters and taxpayers are not going to be so easily misled this time. BTW, whatever happened to the new schools scheduled for Mt. Pleasant? That's CCSD's voter base. Maybe they are just now discovering how it feels to have Mr. Lewis's high handed management style set back and derail their neighborhood schools. The rest of Charleston County is quite familiar with his false promises and scare tactics.
Post a Comment