• By CHARLES LUSSIER
• Advocate staff writer
• Published: Jun 16, 2010 - Page: 1B

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The Baton Rouge Area Chamber is upping the pressure on the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board to conduct an independent audit of a $19 million school repair contract.

BRAC Chairman Robert Burgess as well as President and Chief Executive Officer Adam Knapp made this request in a June 7 letter to all 12 School Board members.

“Frankly, there are too many unanswered questions,” reads the letter, which concludes with: “We await your response and swift action.”

The business lobbying organization, which goes by the acronym BRAC, gave The Advocate a copy of the letter Tuesday upon request.

On April 1, in an 8-3 vote, the School Board selected Volkert Inc. of Mobile, Ala., to manage $19 million worth of school repairs and improvements made possible by the federal stimulus act.

The contract, however, quickly came under fire for a variety of reasons, including the fact that three of the other construction management firms that submitted proposals said they could do the work for far less. The board also was not told in advance that Volkert had in February settled a lawsuit with Mobile public schools for $9 million in connection with leaky roofs at five elementary schools there.

To address the concerns, Board President Jerry Arbour asked Domoine Rutledge, general counsel for the school system, to examine the selection process.

Rutledge interviewed several school officials involved in the process. In a May 4 memo, he concluded the process was “free of any improprieties that would lawfully impede the school board from entering into a contract.”

BRAC, however, dismissed Rutledge’s inquiry and continued to insist on an independent investigation. Knapp said Rutledge merely looked at legal questions and that the board needs to dig deeper.

In their June 7 letter, Burgess and Knapp identified three areas of concern:

n Why Volkert’s proposal was chosen despite being more expensive than others and despite lower initial scores than another firm.

n More details are needed on the process, including “individuals involved in the selection process and communication among the individuals on the bid review committee, within the school system, members of the board and the bidding vendors.”

n Why the board has not discussed the matter publicly despite attempts by a specific board member to do so.

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