Calls for audit and legal review after undisclosed contract expansion surfaces

Public commenters and several school committee members pressed the district to investigate how an equity-search contract grew after initial award, and called for greater transparency and an independent review.

During public comment, Lily Hovstad said the process raised both legal and ethical questions: "These facts raise the possibility of improper circumvention of competitive bidding," she said, adding that the $40,000 sole-source expansion and an apparent personal connection to Vice Chair Hunter "trigger obligations under conflict of interest law." Jan Dardenville said committee members were not made aware of the excess funding until after a public-records request.

Committee discussion focused on process and remedies. Mayor Simmons and other members said the 4th phase of the vendor's scope — onboarding and coaching for a newly hired superintendent — will not be executed by that vendor because the superintendent is an internal hire and has alternate coaching arrangements. The committee voted to lay the contract item (25-282) on the table pending a written legal opinion from the city solicitor and production of the "school committee order" referenced on the contract signature page.

The chair said she had asked the city solicitor for a written opinion and that the item could be refiled with corrected amounts at the December meeting. Members also signaled they would consider a late order asking the district to instruct the vendor to "immediately stop all work" not yet requested and to clarify which services the committee will pay for.