Aloha School Board, why are you sending tax dollars out of Vicksburg and Warren County?

VICKSBURG, Miss. (VDN) — Earlier today, I posted a question to the community asking how locals feel about the school board awarding contracts to out-of-town companies over local businesses.

There was overwhelming support for the board to keep our tax dollars in our community. Some local businesses that currently do work for the district and former businesses commented on the post. One said they had cared for the district for years and lost their contract to an out-of-town business under the new board and superintendent. According to their post, changes to their payment method made it impossible for them to continue. They also claim the new out-of-town company is more expensive and question the effectiveness of the newly installed equipment.

Another local business has served the district for 25 years and has had $100,000+ owed to them for over a year, according to their statement. They still take care of the district despite being owed a substantial amount. “We live here, we work here, our children and grandchildren attend these schools—and we pay taxes in this community. Our commitment has always gone beyond business—it has been about serving and investing in the place we call home. We have remained responsive, reliable, and competitively priced for the benefit of our students, schools, and district.”

This company learned just today that the district is seeking services from a company outside of Vicksburg.

As if that is not concerning enough, they then stated, “We would also like to note that this is the second time this bid has been issued for this school year. During the initial bid process, no other companies submitted proposals. Given that, we respectfully question whether additional companies were directly solicited during this second round and whether our pricing or proposal details may have been shared.”

It’s a fair question. Why rebid the contract after a fair bidding process? Once the original bid was submitted, isn’t it possible that the original bid amount was known to other bidders? If so, that creates an unfair advantage in the new bidding process. Therefore, one should question whether the rebid is fair or appropriate.

At tonight’s school board meeting, based on a recommendation from Dr. Holloway, a question is on the agenda for the board to award that contract to an out-of-town company, TempStaff, Inc., registered with the state on Lakeland Drive in Jackson.

School board, why rebid? Why are you a year behind on a six-figure payment? Why are we sending money to a Jackson-based company? Please address the questions at tonight’s meeting before making your vote.