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Cartwright board approves after-the-fact vendor payments, administration vows procedural fixes
Summary
The board approved increases to 'not to exceed' amounts for several vendors to pay invoices the district said exceeded previously authorized limits; administration described after-the-fact purchases and promised new controls.
The Cartwright Governing Board on June 25 approved increases to previously authorized "not to exceed" amounts for multiple vendors to allow payment of invoices that exceeded prior approvals.
Business staff told the board eight vendors required additional authorization because invoices exceeded earlier not-to-exceed amounts. Dr. Ethridge and business staff said the overruns resulted in part from "after-the-fact" purchases (purchases made without a purchase order), miscommunication between schools and special services, and a lack of purchase-order controls. Dr. Ethridge said the district is implementing system alerts and tighter purchasing oversight to reduce future occurrences.
Administration listed the vendors and approximate additional amounts: Accel (about $10,000), ACES (about $6,000), CCS (about $420,000 for additional projection screens), FuseBox (combined tracking and preventative maintenance ~ $200,000), Meteor Education (remodel/furniture), Navigate360 (about $6,400), RKS Plumbing (emergency water repairs), and Verigy (about $5,300 in repair overrun). The presentation made clear these overages were not the district's preferred practice and were described as the result of process breakdowns.
Board members pressed for more transparency and process changes. Vice President Rosa Cantu and others said they expect procurement and purchasing controls to be strengthened and asked that any contract or single purchase over $100,000 come to the board before execution. The board approved the requested increases on a roll-call vote; all present voted "aye."
