The state inspector general’s office has recommended that Newton seek competitive bids before choosing who can administer a naming rights campaign for the city schools, the Globe is reporting,
The news caught the Newton Schools Foundation, which designed the campaign and had already received the School Committee’s approval to launch the school technology fund-raising effort, by surprise.
Greg, I think you misunderstand — the IG has opined that a contract for services to run the naming campaign be competitively bid, not the opportunity to get one’s name on a space.
Yep. My bad. The original post has been revised, thanks Steve.
I guess you must have slept in today, Greg. You missed the TAB story early this morning:
http://www.wickedlocal.com/newton/news/x465790387/Inspector-General-Competitively-bid-naming-rights-or-cut-costs#axzz1x8PVDdaX
Why doesn’t NSF immediately seek private funding of the Naming Rights campaign, ans since the nthe city isn’t funding this, there’s no need for a bid process. Assuming the BOA is comfortable that NSF can deliver on the overall Naming Rights funding goals.
What we don’t have is lots of time to debate this to death. If we aren’t willing as a city to raise up technology on the list of priorities, then we need to move on this soon.
It will be interesting to see whether NSF puts forth a bid still relying upon volunteers to do all of the fund raising. While it’s wonderfully generous of the individuals previously identified to be willing to undertake this effort, I believe that at least one of them has been retired for quite some time and should there be a change of circumstances for either of them, the organization could be faced with scrambling to find cost free replacements – not an easy task. Plus, I think that the executive director of the NSF has learned that it’s none too easy to get out of a contract based upon changed circumstances.
http://www.mitchellwilliamslaw.com/wp-content/files_flutter/1333998672Scan_Attachment104.pdf