BOE don't need no stinkin' bids!

Here's what the Board of Education paid for the FIELDTURF artificial turf at these two high schools:

5/25/2012    Gaithersburg High School    $4.47 per square foot

10/17/2012  Paint Branch High School    $4.47 per square foot

Pennsylvania's Keystone Purchasing Network:  $4.89 per square foot

The BOE claims that their prices are based "off" the Keystone Cooperative pricing. 


Now, here's the 10/23/2012 price a school system in Pennsylvania can pay for FIELDTURF artificial turf based on the COMPETITIVE BID they received from FIELDTURF

$3.77 per square foot

Keep in mind that an artificial turf field is about 92,000 square feet.  So a savings of 70 cents per square foot on the two MCPS fields would have yielded savings of almost $130,000 on this one component of the project alone. (There are many other parts to an artificial turf field installation.  None of the components are put out for bids in MCPS land.)

Want to hear more? The $3.77 price that the PA school system can pay for their FIELDTURF is a full $1.00 cheaper than the Keystone Pennsylvannia purchasing price that the BOE claims gives them such a "deal".

So is using the Keystone Purchasing Network really a good thing?