Why is Round Rock ISD refusing to turnover information regarding the procurement process for a lucrative multi-million dollar contract? That’s a question the school district doesn’t want to answer.
The district recently approved a job order contract worth at least $5 million. A job order contract is a method of procurement for work that is of a recurring nature, but delivery times, types, and quantities of required work are indefinite. So over time they can be very lucrative for the vendors or vendor involved.
Through a public information request, the Texas Public Policy Foundation acquired the evaluation summary, an internal document prepared for the board of trustees that awards points to vendors offering bids based on price and technical expertise.
The evaluation summary showed that while many of the vendors recommended for the contract award had similar technical expertise, others had significant differences in their pricing.
The monetary size of the JOC cannot be understated, as it represents a sizable portion of the district’s budget. What is further perplexing is that this contract comes at a time when Round Rock ISD is experiencing financial troubles – the district recently approved a budget with a $30 million deficit.
To shed some light on the procurement process, TPPF made a second request for the documentation used to evaluate the price and technical expertise and any communication between the presidents of the company with any employees of Round Rock ISD or members of the Board of Trustees.
To date, the district still has not turned over the documents.
Transparency into how our tax dollars are spent is a crucial component of holding public elected officials accountable. Too often, profiteers use their connections and slick marketing to convince taxpayers to fund the education system, while intentionally steering money away from the classroom to make profiteers rich.
It’s time for Round Rock ISD to turn over the taxpayer owned contracts and procurement process. It’s time to empower parents and taxpayers with transparency into how our money is being spent and why it’s being spent in that way.