Board tables ESS substitute‑staffing contract pending procurement and legal review

The Central Consolidated School District board voted to table a proposed renewal of the district’s contract with ESS, a substitute‑staffing vendor, after members and staff raised procurement and document‑review questions. The vote followed a short presentation by ESS account managers and a district staff discussion about the RFP source and contract term changes. ESS account manager Joseph Fitzgerald told the board that since his team’s engagement the district’s substitute‑fill rates have improved and that the company has increased recruitment of bilingual and special‑education substitute teachers. Fitzgerald said, “Since I've gotten on, we've been fill rates have been at 97%,” describing higher local fill rates compared with the prior period. District staff told the board that the ESS engagement was originally established through a purchasing consortium (TIPS) RFP and that the most recent consortium RFP dated from 2019; board members asked the district attorney and procurement lead to confirm whether relying on the TIPS contract and the proposed multi‑year automatic renewal is procedurally appropriate. After debate the board voted to table the item and asked that the board attorney and procurement staff review the RFP/contract history before rescheduling the item for action.