Vassalboro News: School board reaffirms existing policies

by Mary Grow

Vassalboro School Board members reaffirmed a list of existing policies at their Dec. 20 meeting, unanimously and without discussion.

Perhaps of most interest to town taxpayers is the policy entitled “Bidding/Purchasing Requirements,” which specifies when school officials must seek bids to buy things or have work done.

According to the policy, the school board expects all purchases to be “consistent with applicable laws and sound business practices.” The Superintendent of AOS (Alternative Organizational Structure) #92 is responsible for developing appropriate bidding and purchasing procedures.

The policy’s main provisions say that:

• Under state law, the school board must seek bids for “property and casualty insurance; school bus and transportation contracts in excess of $4,000; school building construction, alterations and repairs over $100,000; and bond anticipation notes for state-subsidized school construction projects.”
• In areas not required by law, the policy is “to competitively bid purchases of equipment, supplies, materials or services over $20,000 provided that it is practical and cost-effective to specify the materials or services with sufficient particularity to allow meaningful comparison of bids.”
• Otherwise, the superintendent is authorized to seek RFPs (requests for proposals) for purchases over $20,000, letting prospective vendors define how they will meet the school’s need.
• The superintendent may omit both competitive bidding and an RFP only with school board approval.
• Bids, but not RFPs, must be opened in public. Generally, the school board is to award contracts to “the lowest bidder which the superintendent and school board deem can satisfactorily fulfill the contract.” RFPs “are to be evaluated based on criteria appropriate for the project,” and the contract is to go to “the vendor whom the superintendent and school board deem best able to meet the requirements of the school unit.”

Other policies cover animals in classrooms, service animals in school and services for home-schooled students, among other topics. Policies, and a great deal of other information, are available on the AOS 92 web site under the heading “Our District.”

In other business Dec. 20, school board members accepted Libby Mitchell’s resignation from the board, with regret and appreciation for her services, because her Nov. 8 election as Kennebec County Probate Judge creates the potential for conflict of interest. Former school board member and state Representative Lori Fowle was appointed to take Mitchell’s place until June elections.

Board members approved two new staff members at Vassalboro Community School, Educational Technician I Kyle Irvine and secretary Alison Lessard.

The next Vassalboro School Board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday evening, Jan. 17.