Southtowns Record

Eden Central School District – Capital Project Management (2024M-83)

Government
Eden Central School District
Posted by publisher
Oct 4, 2024
Kind
State audit
Topics
Audits and oversight, Budget and taxes, Roads and traffic

Publisher's summary

Determine whether the Eden Central School District (District) Board of Education (Board) and District officials provided sufficient oversight of and managed the District’s 2022 capital project (project) in a transparent manner.

Original document

Text · page 8 of 17

orders each or in aggregate exceeded the competitive pricing thresholds. For example, 28 change
orders totaling $578,529 each exceeded the competitive pricing thresholds: 11 ranged from $5,010 to
$10,000 and should have been subject to competitive quotes, and 17 ranged from $10,480 to $34,978
and should have been competitively bid according to the District’s purchasing policy. The work related
to these change orders included renovations to the middle/high school library and elementary school
main office and carpet installation at the Grover L. Priess Primary School.

The Superintendent and the former Building Superintendent also did not consider the aggregate
cost of similar work or purchases to determine whether competitive bidding or written quotes were
required for 29 change orders totaling $589,456. Specifically, the Superintendent and former Building
Superintendent approved each of the following 23 change orders totaling $574,955 individually, even
though the change orders should have been aggregated and put out for bid in accordance with GML or
the District’s purchasing policy:
  l Three change orders totaling $151,165 related to sidewalk renovations at the elementary school,
  which were submitted by the same vendor within one month.
  l Three change orders totaling $144,450 related to building-mounted lighting, which were submitted
  by the same vendor on the same day.
  l Four change orders totaling $105,706 related to parking lot renovations at the elementary school,
  which were submitted by the same vendor within two weeks.
  l Two change orders totaling $54,338 related to generator rental and fuel for work at the middle/high
  school, which were submitted by the same vendor on the same day.
  l Two change orders totaling $40,130 related to graphics installations at the middle/high school,
  which were submitted by the same vendor on the same day.
  l Two change orders totaling $28,973 related to adding depth to walls at the elementary school,
  which were submitted by two different vendors within five months.
  l Two change orders totaling $22,974 related to reworking glycol lines at the middle/high school,
  which were submitted by the same vendor within 10 months.
  l Two change orders totaling $15,317 related to upgrading fencing to black vinyl at the middle/high
  school, which were submitted by the same vendor within three months.
  l Three change orders totaling $11,902 related to painting classrooms at the elementary school,
  which were submitted by the same vendor within 10 months.

When aggregated, the remaining six change orders required written quotes: two totaling $7,416 for
ceiling work and four totaling $7,085 for installing interior lights. The Superintendent and former Building
Superintendent approved each of these 29 change orders individually and circumvented statutory
competitive bidding in some instances, and written quote requirements of the District’s purchasing
policy in other instances.

Rather than seeking competitive pricing, officials generally approved change orders based on quotes
from contractors who were already awarded contracts for project work. Specifically, the construction
manager created a proposal request (based on specifications from the architect) documenting

6  Of f ic e of t he New York State Comptroller