Alfred C. Williams, a former school board member, wants to have a contract renewed that pays him $171,000 annually to encourage minority-owned and economically disadvantaged companies to bid on work with the East Baton Rouge Parish School System. The school board is scheduled to discuss the contract tomorrow when it meets as a “committee of the whole.” The conversation should be short and the decision simple:
Do not renew the contract.
At a time when the EBR school system is 1] threatening to lay off teachers and other personnel, 2] on the verge of being swamped by retirement and benefit costs, and 3] altering bus schedules for Catholic schools to conserve money, it is ridiculous for the cash-strapped system to spend taxpayer dollars on a contract that essentially pays Williams a hefty sum to recruit companies to apply for work with the school system.
It is understandable—and right—for a government entity to attempt to spread its workload across the entire spectrum of the business community. Yet it is ludicrous to pay a consultant $171,000 simply to find these DBEs, show them the ropes of bid law and encourage them to bid on jobs. Moreover, it appears as if Williams failed to satisfy the basic terms of his last contract, hosting five outreach meetings instead of the mandated eight.
If the services offered by Mr. Williams are so valuable, then perhaps the DBEs who land work thanks to his efforts should pay his tab. Maybe he should work on commission, collecting a fee from the companies that actually benefit from his services. Even better, the Baton Rouge Black Chamber of Commerce or the Baton Rouge Area Chamber could provide this service at little or no charge to members. This much is certain: The taxpayers should not pick up the tab.
The larger issue, however, is that this is an opportunity for the School Board to demonstrate to parish residents that it wants to spend its precious resources where they are needed most—not on administration, but rather on educating our children. Send comments to editors@businessreport.com. —JR Ball
