Board approves 2-year contract with Primary Class (DBA Odyssey) after debate on past performance and reimbursements

The board voted 12-1 to approve a two-year contract with options to renew with Primary Class, doing business as Odyssey, to administer the state scholarship program, with Member Boggess the lone dissenting vote.

Board members spent more than an hour questioning staff and discussing Odyssey’s earlier work in Idaho, Iowa and Missouri, how interest on about $120,000,000 in transferred funds would be handled, and whether parents waiting on reimbursements from the previous vendor (ACE) would be paid. Scott Jones, deputy, told members the contract makes the vendor primarily responsible for administering the program and complying with state law.

Why it matters: The contract hands day-to-day program management and parent-facing responsibilities to a private vendor amid ongoing legal uncertainty about the program and pending reimbursements from the prior contractor. Board members said clear vendor communication and strict contractual enforcement will be central to whether parents receive timely service.

Deputy Scott Jones said staff had provided the…