The details
Board managers retroactively approved more than 130 purchasing agreements during their Jan. 16 meeting.
During a Jan. 13 news conference, Miles said a group of unnamed employees violated district policy after failing to submit projects secured through purchasing cooperatives to the board for approval over the course of 16 months. Miles noted the employees erroneously believed the agreements did not require board approval.
"This was a good-faith error," Miles said during the news conference. "There was no mal intent."
Miles maintained no laws were broken and that corrective actions would be taken.
A closer look
During the Jan. 13 news conference, Miles said the agreements in question had been secured through purchasing cooperatives, which allow government entities to approve purchases of goods or services from a list of preapproved vendors as opposed to securing contracts through a competitive bidding process.
Among the agreements, which vary widely in scope and cost, include:
- A contract with Netsync Network Solutions for up to $100 million in technology purchases
- A contract with four HVAC service providers for up to $50 million for various heating- and cooling-system repairs
- A contract with multiple food vendors for up to $45 million in food purchases
- A contract with Aries Building Systems for up to $20 million for temporary buildings
“They were completed correctly except for the fact that they did not receive board approval of that step,” Miles said.
Janette Garza Lindner, the board's audit committee chair, said the board planned to publish an audit of the purchases publicly on the audit committee's website.
What’s next
Miles said the district is making several procedural changes to address the error, including the hiring of an additional attorney to supervise future contract approvals and the implementation of quarterly audits.
