School board approves multiple bid awards and authorizes re‑advertisements and contract actions

The St. John the Baptist Parish School Board took a series of procurement and contract actions during its Jan. 14 meeting.

The board accepted Bid 21.101 for air‑conditioning parts, awarding it to Air Nu Inc., and accepted Bid 21.20 for food‑service equipment maintenance, awarding it to LeBlanc Mechanical; both motions passed by roll call 10 Yeas, 1 Absent. The board authorized administration to re‑advertise for Excess Workers’ Compensation and to re‑advertise for bus parts, copy paper, office supplies, general hardware, awards/incentives, chiller/cooling tower maintenance, and grounds maintenance in separate motions; roll‑call results are recorded in the minutes for each item.

On a motion concerning NAPA Auto Parts, the board considered an extension to June 30, 2021 but a substitute motion to extend the bid month‑to‑month failed (1 Yea, 7 Nays, 3 Absent) and a subsequent substitute to authorize re‑advertisement for bus parts passed. A substitute motion to award Grounds Maintenance contracts at a 10% reduction failed; the original motion to re‑advertise grounds maintenance did not carry on final roll call. The board entered into a new agreement with L’Observateur as the official journal through Dec. 31, 2021. Attempts to extend the current vendor for fleet maintenance failed on roll call.

Several motions were procedural approvals to allow administration to re‑advertise or extend contracts temporarily; the minutes show outcomes and roll‑call tallies for each listed agenda item. Where motions failed, administration retains the option to re‑advertise or return items to a future agenda for further discussion.