Board President Speaks from Behind the Black Curtain

PDF Link of Email

The email is rather "wordy", in case you miss it, the board president is stating that the subgroup of the school board that is making all of the decisions has now flip-flopped on hiring a PR Firm

TEXT OF EMAIL:

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From: Kristi Swett
Sent: Thursday, February 20, 2014 8:10 PM
To: Heather Bennett; Laurel Young; Doug Nelson; Tiffany Sandberg; Rosemary Emery; Michael Clára
Cc: Janet Roberts; McKell Withers; Jason Olsen; John E.S. Robson; Kristina Kindl
Subject: RFP

Dear Board Members,

 

The recent Request for Proposals (RFP) from local public relations firms was initiated in response to district and board leadership wanting to consider the option of having an external group of professionals critique and make recommendations to improve the district’s ability to communicate to our various stakeholders in open, transparent, efficient , and effective ways, after the conclusion of any and all investigations related to school lunches.

 

This additional independent and external feedback (performance audit) could be very helpful in meeting the board’s expectations under the Internal Communications and External Relations essential of our 2010-2015 Student Achievement Plan.  The scope of the work and the anticipated costs (less than $50,0000.00) would be determined if we moved forward.  The RFP is not a contract or a purchase and the district has not spent any money for this professional service.  We are not recommending that we go forward with this option at this time. 

 

The RFP asked seven local PR firms to give a quick critique of the recent school lunch issue, explain their expertise and background in public relations, and provide some basic pricing information.  The proposals were due to the purchasing department by Friday, February 14, 2014 and a committee reviewed the proposals and selected the best proposal to be considered for any future work on Tuesday, February 18, 2014.  I am sorry that the whole board was not fully informed of this RFP and the reasoning behind it.

 

Sincerely,

 

Kristi Swett

President
Salt Lake City Board of Education
Precinct 7