Wichita school board chooses not to keep business local

Paul Driver of ATG Sports wonders why the board of USD 259, the Wichita public school district, is about to award a construction contract to an out-of-state company when a local, cheaper alternative is available.

The district’s clear message during the bond issue campaign last year was that the construction business would be good for local companies. In its first major contract award, however, the board chooses a Texas company over a local company. That’s even though the local company’s bid was less.

More new coverage of this topic is available in these stories:

Local firm disputes Wichita bond turf contract (Wichita Eagle)
Wichita school board disagrees over turf, but approves contract (Wichita Eagle)
Turf War Erupts During Wichita School Board Meeting (KAKE)
Wichita School Board Approves Out of State Turf Bid (KWCH)

Comments

3 responses to “Wichita school board chooses not to keep business local”

  1. Anonymous

    Quality of turf and installation is important. The board did their homework.

  2. Cybex

    The majority of the selection committee that made the selection was made up of athletic directors who from time to time receive “goodies” or “samples” of athletic equipment, etc.

  3. Carla

    One of USD 259’s arguments for bond passage was how it would boost the local economy. In fact I believe the Wichita Eagle editorialized on more than one occasion the importance of the economic stimulus bond passage would provide. Now that the all knowing school board has awarded its first contract to an out of state entity, campaign rhetoric is again exposed to be, in fact, just that……….empty rhetoric.
    I find it disappointing that the Eagle has done no follow up editorializing! They are as guilty in deceiving the public as the BOE!
    And we’ve only just begun……………..

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.