The Department of Education of Palm Beach County is evaluating bids to change air filters. Last week, the Board of Education questioned whether one company should be awarded a $1.4 million contract. Evidently, the Department of Education staff who reviewed competing bids determined that “senior” persons skilled at basically changing air conditioning filters should be paid $44 per hour (inclusive of benefits), or $90,992 per year. However, due to the challenging nature of the work, each “senior” person needs the full-time assistance of a “junior” air conditioning filter changer who would be paid approximately $70,000 (inclusive of benefits). Each dynamic-due team would cost taxpayers about $160,000. The district feels it needs eight senior and eight junior persons for a whopping cost of nearly $1.3 million. The best part of this story is that the Board of Education staff selected the contractor over another, who is believed to be completely capable and competent to do the work, but would charge $711,000 less. If you are an American taxpayer (only 40% of Americans pay any taxes at all), at what point do you get really angry, stand-up and shout-out that “enough is enough”. There is something seriously wrong when people who are paid by our hard-earned taxes think nothing of throwing the rest of our money right out the window. Or, is there more to this story?
Comments are closed.