Bid Process? Study Weighted to Cost-Savings Due to Results for Center & Monaca Consolidations?

Unlike Center Area and Monaca Area School Districts, which commissioned their own studies for potential consolidation, Fayette County Area School Districts did not commission this study. State legislator, Rep. Tim Mahoney, according to the Herald-Standard.com article "formed an advisory group" and obtained state grant monies to initiate the study.

The article notes:

The money to pay the company will come from a $68,000 grant the authority agreed to administer on behalf of an advisory committee set by state Rep. Tim Mahoney, D-South Union, to study administration costs, Yauger said.

http://www.heraldstandard.com/news/local_news/city-county-close-on-heritage-take-over/article_0cb6d75d-1842-5f4c-b5df-4ff8bd237c3f.html

The Herald-Standard.com article also informs that:

the authority hired the Education Management Group of Harrisburg to conduct a study of the administration costs of school districts in the county.

http://www.heraldstandard.com/news/local_news/city-county-close-on-heritage-take-over/article_0cb6d75d-1842-5f4c-b5df-4ff8bd237c3f.html

Not Enough Said:

The questions beg to be asked:

Did state Rep. Tim Mahoney's 'advisory committee' seek an open 'bidding process' in order to acquire the services of educational consultants organizations or groups who would conduct the study of public school districts' adminstration costs?

Was Education Management Group of Harrisburg the lowest bidder?

Was Education Management Group pre-selected to conduct the study before state grant monies were obtained?

Will the study conducted by Education Management Group, which conducted a study for Center Area and Monaca Area school districts, be already weighted toward cost-savings of some amount due to results found for Center Area and Monaca Area school districts?

We must also ask: will Education Management Group indicate it has learned of the results of a 2007 study completed by Standard and Poor commissioned by the state Legislative Budget and Finance Commission?

City, county close on Heritage take over

Steve Ferris Herald-Standard.com

Posted: Wednesday, May 11, 2011

In other business, the authority hired the Education Management Group of Harrisburg to conduct a study of the administration costs of school districts in the county.

The money to pay the company will come from a $68,000 grant the authority agreed to administer on behalf of an advisory committee set by state Rep. Tim Mahoney, D-South Union, to study administration costs, Yauger said.

Yauger said the authority agreed to apply for and administer the grant because the committee was not allow to.

Oris said the authority would not take a position on any of the recommendations the company might make.

http://www.heraldstandard.com/news/local_news/city-county-close-on-heritage-take-over/article_0cb6d75d-1842-5f4c-b5df-4ff8bd237c3f.html

Center-Monaca merger timeline

Monday, July 06, 2009

By Brian David, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

October 2005: After talking about a merger study, superintendents Dan Matsook of Center Area and Mike Thomas of Monaca raise the issue with their board presidents and vice presidents.

November 2005: Center Area and Monaca school boards authorize a merger study.

May 2006: Consulting firm Ingraham Dancu & Associates issues a report on five options, from making no changes to a full merger.

September 2006-February 2007: Both districts create an educational plan.

February 2007: The boards hire Education Management Group of Harrisburg to analyze the financial impact of a merger.

May 2007: Five candidates for the Center Area school board, running on a platform of skepticism of the merger, defeat five pro-merger incumbents for the Democratic nominations in the primary.

Sept. 24, 2007: Education Management Group projects $1.5 million in annual savings and says Center Area's 50.2-mill real estate tax rate could be lowered to Monaca's 45-mill rate.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09187/982056-57.stm#ixzz1M39wkpe4

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