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Committee backs moving bid-waiver for Natchaug boilers to full board
Summary
The School Planning & Design Committee agreed to forward a recommendation to the full Windham Board to approve a bid waiver for replacement boilers at Natchaug School and to piggy-back materials from a Connecticut state contract with School Specialty. Committee members questioned the urgency but consented to advance the request.
The Windham School Planning & Design Committee voted on July 1 to forward a recommendation to the full Board of Education asking members to approve a bid waiver that would allow the district to proceed with boiler replacement at Natchaug School without a full formal RFP.
Albie Harris, reporting for facilities staff, said multiple quotes were solicited for the Natchaug boilers and that Tucker Mechanical submitted the lowest bid. He also said the district plans to “piggy-back” material purchases from School Specialty, which the committee was told participates in a Connecticut state RFP and holds a state contract for the materials proposed. Catherine Aillón-Pomo asked whether School Specialty would perform flooring and painting work; Harris said flooring and painting would be done in-house by district facilities staff while School Specialty provides equipment and installation.
Committee member Mark Doyle said he did not understand why urgency was cited as the basis for a waiver given that the district has been aware of the boilers for over a year, though he said he would support moving the recommendation forward. The committee’s consent to advance the waiver is a referral to the full board for final approval; no final district-level authorization was completed at the committee meeting.
Next steps: the waiver recommendation will appear on the full Board of Education agenda for formal consideration and vote.
