SCHOOL SETS NEW BIDDING FOR RADIOS

Cape Girardeau schools are asking for bids a second time for two-way radios and pagers.

Cape Girardeau's Board of Education voted to rebid a package of two-way radios and pagers after an unsuccessful bidder questioned the process.

Several board members said they felt the bid process was fair and handled properly, but the board voted, 4-2, to rebid the equipment and avoid any appearance of impropriety.

The board had received a recommendation to award the contract to Johnson Communication, owned by Reg and Kathy Swan. Kathy Swan serves on the school board.

Since then another competitor said he had hoped to enter a bid but couldn't get the specifications from the school district office the first time around. Rick Dittlinger with Dittronics wonders if he got the run-around this time.

A mandatory pre-bid meeting for the 12 two-way radios and four pagers is set for Monday morning at 9:30 in Superintendent Neyland Clark's office.

Tim Singleton with Star Communications told the board he thought the process was handled incorrectly and asked that it be rebid. However, Singleton's bid didn't meet the specifications of the bid.

Singleton referred to Kathy Swan's involvement in the company and on the board.

The district's conflict of interest policy says a school board member's business may sell items or service to the schools up to $500. Anything more than $500 must be bid. To win, the board member's bid must be the lowest.

Reg Swan said he felt his company submitted the only qualified bid.

Johnson Communication has done business with the school district for years.

Joe Bill Davis, a salesman for Johnson Communication, has started handling the company's dealings with the schools.

"We wanted everything to be above-board," Swan said.

In May, the school spent $1,497 for three two-way radios at Central High School.

According to the district's conflict-of-interest policy, purchase of the radios should have been bid.

Business Manager Larry Dew said the school district uses site-based budgeting, which means each school makes decisions on certain purchases. The radio purchase was a mistake by the high school staff, he said.

In November, the school spent $495 to upgrade the high school radio equipment purchased in May. Johnson Communications gave a $1,100 trade-in and charged an additional $495.

On at least one other occasion in 1994 a check for $485 was written from the school district to Johnson Communications.

Board President Ed Thompson said the superintendent was in charge of this particular bid to avoid any air of impropriety.

Dew is the contact person on virtually every other legal notice the school district places.

Dittlinger said he was interested in finding out more information when he first saw a legal notice about a communication system for the school.

He went to the board office three times and called three times before he received a faxed copy of specifications for a computer server. He threw it away.

A few days later he read in the newspaper that the radio equipment was to be re-bid.

Dittlinger asked Clark why he had received the wrong information. Clark said it was a clerical error.

Dittlinger saw the legal advertisement Wednesday morning. He went to the school board office to pick up the specifications.

At 1:30 p.m. Wednesday he was told the bids couldn't be given out because Clark planned to make a minor change.

At 3 p.m. he received a call that the papers were ready. But when he arrived at the office, a secretary told him Clark changed something else and the papers wouldn't be ready until the next day.

Dittlinger called at 1 p.m. Thursday and was told the secretary in charge of typing the specifications couldn't get to her computer because her office was getting new furniture.

He finally got the information at 3 p.m. Thursday, except it was missing an addendum.

"I now have 10 working hours to prepare my questions and information before the mandatory pre-bid meeting," Dittlinger said.

The second set of specifications add requirements for non-collusion and non-kickback affidavits. It also adds that any explanation of the specifications must be submitted at the pre-bid conference.

Dittlinger said it will be tough to formulate the proper questions without all the information.

"I don't want to make trouble," Dittlinger said. "I just want a chance to do business."