Board hears concerns over WazEd STEM kits, inventory and a $300,000 budget gap
Get AI-powered insights, summaries, and transcripts
Subscribe
Summary
Board members questioned a board recommendation to increase the WazEd STEM purchase request after an invoice showed a higher amount than the figure used in the spring budget; staff said the excess relates to vendor configuration and that a district inventory is underway.
Board members on Sept. 17 pressed district staff for detail after a board recommendation for WazEd STEM instructional kits showed a roughly $300,000 increase from the figure included in the spring budget. The purchase recommendation and an invoice dated March 2025 appearing in the packet prompted questions about timing and inventory.
Chief Barnes (district procurement) said the $300,000 amount reflected higher costs for material configurations and that the request in the board packet is a board recommendation rather than a final purchase order. She said the district is conducting a district‑wide inventory of WazEd materials at every school and three central locations, with results expected in about three weeks; that inventory could reduce the final purchase order but was not guaranteed.
Board members pressed why the inventory had not been completed earlier and whether schools currently have unused kits from prior rollouts. Several board members said they wanted clearer reporting by school on usage and outcomes. “I think the inventory is long overdue,” one board member said; another emphasized that literacy and numeracy goals require careful implementation so interventions aren’t delivered during RTI time in ways that displace students who need targeted help.
Supporters of WazEd said schools using the kits report strong engagement and integration with curriculum. The district said the roll‑out occurred in phases and that timing pressure to have materials available for January sessions required bringing the recommendation forward while inventory work continued.
District staff promised to return to the board with inventory findings and a reconciled purchase order, and to provide school‑level usage data as part of follow‑up reporting.