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Board waives procurement rule to hire communications vendor for potential referendum
Summary
The board approved a waiver of procurement policy 3050 to contract with a K–12 communications vendor (Don Group) at an estimated cost of $20,000–$25,000 to support referendum outreach; one board member opposed and some abstentions were recorded, with exact vote counts not specified in the transcript.
The board voted to waive policy 3050 and proceed with contracting a communications firm to support a potential referendum campaign. Staff told the board that the vendor under consideration, identified in the discussion as Don Group, specializes in K–12 communications and that obtaining three comparable bids was challenging given the vendor’s niche services.
Patrick explained the rationale and said the vendor’s proposed fee would likely fall in the $20,000–$25,000 range, with a $25,000 cap. He also said the firm has worked with statewide organizations and was the low bid on a prior strategic-plan contract.
A motion was made to waive the policy requirement for three quotes under policy 3050 in order to contract for referendum communications and was seconded. During the vote a member said they opposed and several abstentions were recorded; the motion carried in open session but the transcript does not provide a full member-by-member roll-call or numeric tally.
Board members requested that any contract include a clear scope of services, a timeline tied to a possible referendum window (September or November alternatives were discussed) and a monthly retainer structure broken out by task. Staff said they would include scope and deliverables in the contract language.
The transcript records the policy number under consideration and the described cost range; it does not include contract award details or vendor signature information.
