It was the second time in the last year the superintendent had steered work to the Mount Airy company. On the earlier occasion, the district ended up paying 12 times more than the offering price of another contractor.
The latest award also appears to violate state guidelines that allow school business officials to bypass bid requirements: "To be deemed an 'emergency,' the situation should involve a serious hazard such as fire, flood, or unexpected structural or mechanical failure."
Ackerman declined two written requests for an interview. District spokeswoman Shana Kemp repeatedly denied that Ackerman had played any role in selecting IBS for the work. "That is not correct at all," she said. "She had nothing to do with it."
Even in dire circumstances, district policies require emergency work to be performed by companies already under contract. Alternatively, the district can contract with businesses on a list of vendors that have been approved by the state and have prenegotiated prices.
The sources, who questioned Ackerman's actions and described them as extremely troubling, said they did not want to be identified because of fears their jobs could be jeopardized.
Not only was there no emergency, the sources said, but Ackerman appeared to be motivated by public-relations concerns, seeking to defuse criticism about school safety in a soon-to-be-released state report.
Kemp defended the need for the no-bid award to install camera systems in 19 schools classified as "persistently dangerous."
"School safety," she said, "has been a huge issue, as you are aware of. And we couldn't take the chance of waiting around and putting our kids in danger."
Rather than Ackerman, "our procurement officer approved it," Kemp said of the selection of IBS.
