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It is a fact that Beaufort County School District supplies at least some, if not all, of the vehicles that Sodexho employees drive, and the gas in these vehicles is paid by Beaufort County School District!
I also know that some of these employees drive these vehicles home - one lives a couple streets away from me. The tags on these vehicles state that they are governement vehicles, but there is a Sodexho name on the side.
Soooo, let's recap:
Sodexho is a contractor of Beaufort County School District. It appears we supply them office space, warehouse space, and utilities for this space. We definitely supply vehicles and gas. I would assume we carry the insurance on these vehicles - which is a huge liability! I thought the benefit of using a contractor as opposed to employees was that these expenses would be the responsiblity of the contractor (most contractors do absorb these expenses).
Are we really saving money using Sodexho to provide maintenance and janitorial for our schools?
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as one blogger has already pointed out, we dont know the itricacies of the contract. Get a hold of the contract (if you dont already have it) and then pass judgement. enough already
Please consider doing yourself and the rest of us a favor. If you wish to post an opinion, or in this case just bash someone for expressing her own, please make an attempt at grammatical accuracy and spelling. You could greatly improve your own credibilty and perhaps gain some tolerance from other bloggers if we were not constantly insulted and berated with your poorly structured and mispelled entries. Legitimate opinions and contributions are welcomed by most bloggers. However, it seems to me that most of your rantings have very little merit and are generally personal attacks on others and their opinions.
By the way, you are correct in your assessment that we do not know the "intricacies" of the contract. Rest assured, I will review the contract. This is not about "passing judgement". The purpose of this questioning is to hold accountable those in elected positions. No one has stated that there is wrongdoing. It is merely a supposition.
Finally, those of us who are actually interested in this topic and have valid thoughts and ideas on the subject will decide what is "enough" .
Bravo!
i say again get ahold of and review the contract then pass or make an informed judgement call. Otherwise you and "those of [you] who are actually interested in this topic and have...thoughts" are merely spinning your wheels. enough already
oh and im not here to win a popularity contest.
As I stated in my previous post, I WILL be reviewing the contract.
If you continue to insist on "butting in" to threads that apparently are of no interest to you, I will be sharing my findings. Stay tuned.
What you refer to as "spinning wheels" may also be considered investigation. There seem to be quite a few (present company excluded)
intelligent and enlightened bloggers with valuable insight to share on this topic.
As for the popularity contest...I'm glad to hear it !
I also hope that you are not competing in a spelling bee or writing contest.
at least now youre gonna finally review the contract and hopefully it'll substantiate as you say your "suppositions".
ahaaaaa!
The RFP which was available to all bidders should be reviewed in addition to the contract. Do that in order to determine if all bidders were offered the same benefits as found in the contract
you can thank me later. wink
Prior to Sodexho coming on board only top officials in maintenance were allowed to take county owned vehicles home. After Sodexho it is almost all maint vehicles driven home. Some from as far as St Helena to Hilton Head and back daily. You will probably hear it is because these personnel are "on call". That is far from the truth and an example of poor management that plagues the maint dept as well as the entire district. As far as the intricacies of the contract, it is only as good as the people who created it.
We definitely won't know the concessions that were made to Sodexho UNTIL we are able to read the RFP and contract Sodexho has with BCSD.
The one thing I DO KNOW is that there is absolutely, positively NO dollar amount you can give in a contract for liability!
Sodexho employees are driving BCSD vehicles (which we gas) to and from home and around town. If one of them is involved in an accident which injures someone seriously, then because BCSD owns the vehicle, guess who else gets sued. What dollar amount can you put in a RFP or contract to allow for that. It could be millions.
If we used normal contractors (normal meaning in relationship) who supplied their own vehicles, gas, and insurance then the school would not have liability because most of these "normal" contractors would not just be providing a service to BCSD.
NO way can you provide a dollar amount for liability!
as another blogger has already pointed out, these things could have been negotiated in the initial awardance of the contract. Insurance is a normal and worthwhile cost of doing business, and I would bet my last dollar that not only does BCSD have atleast the state's required minimum coverage on its fleet, but Sodexho (the corporation) have some coverage (that may be a non transparent cost in their operational bid) beyond this.
It would seem that if these were concessions that the district was willing to negotiate with the successful contractor, they would be included in the RFP. This would allow all of the bidding contractors to bid on the same "playing field". They may, in fact, be part of the RFP. I believe that is what Susan intends to find out.
I agree with your comment regarding insurance and do not question that the BCSD vehicles are adequately insured. Perhaps you are also correct in your assessment that Sodexho also carries an additional policy. I am unclear what you mean by a "non-transparent cost". Are your refering to overhead ?
The question posed was not regarding the insurance of the vehicles.
The question is one of legal liability regardless of insurance coverage. Perhaps someone with insurance or legal background could enlighten us on this topic.
yes i was referring to overhead.
Im not an atty or an insurance professional, but anyone can sue you or me and in this case BCSD for anything. As far as "legal liabilty regardless of insurance coverage" is concerned, you can take it to the bank that if Sodexho maintenance employees drove privately owned company vehicles and an accident happend, an aggressive and smart lawyer would still make BCSD a part of the lawsuit...just because they're contractors for the District. Whether a claimaint is successful in suing BCSD is another issue, but nevertheless they could and probably would still be held liable.
So the question of legal liability in my unqualified mind is moot. The two entities are joined together and could be held liable regardless of who owns what vehicles.
I may not always be right, but im never wrong!
Even my business has an umbrella policy to cover unforseen liability suits. Many contracts have a "hold harmless" phrase which signifies contractual intent. I would think that BSCD and any contractor would have insurance and BCSC should have contractors provide certified copies of those policies.
It is difficult for the general public to become involved in the specifics of a contract because many may not be aware of the rules of trade and for contracts. It is better left to professionals. Most in the public would be satisfied for someone they trust to say "we got a fair deal".
Congratulations, Egret57, the last sentence of your previous post
"hit the nail on the head" !!!
While your posts generally defend BCSD and their actions, this time you actually made "our" point. THANKS !
Most would (and should) be satisfied for " someone they TRUST to say 'we got a fair deal'. "
TRUST being the key word.
In this case, " most in the public " are satisfied for someone to say "we got a fair deal " whether that person is trustworthy or not. Or to be more PC, without investigating the trustworthiness of that person. That's right, let's continue to turn a blind eye and have these issues " left to professionals ".
You are assuming that the "public" is ignorant of these subjects and not capable of forming informed opinions and observations.
And yes, we do have umbrella policies and yes, we do provide copies to the district. AGAIN...we are not talking insurance, we are discussing legal liability.
Thanks for you "insider" input from the view point of a contractor in your posts.
I don't remember defending the district on any issue, but I have questioned some of the logic in the posted criticism at times. Some criticism is based on misinformation and rumors and like many, I would like to have some validation or documentation to support a viewpoint.
As for trusting the public as a whole to make decisions, I do question the wisdom in letting the public become involved with details of business law or any other complicated negotiations. As an analogy, a citizen can decide to build a house, but it would be small minority who could actually know how to get the permits, know the codes and to actually build a house himself. GettinG a professional is the best way to go.
When it comes to contract negotiations for the district and a large corporation, it is better to have professionals involved rather than a person off the street who knows little about business and contract law. The public's part is to elect representatives who become responsible for those negotiations.
As for liability, we know that the lawyers bringing suit can and do name as many people or groups as they want. It is up to the civil court proceedings to sort it out. Those responsible will be named and the liability of those not involved will be denied.
I agree, it IS better to hire a professional to build a house.
I don't remember anyone suggesting that we allow a "person off the street" to negotiate contracts and contract law.
We are, indeed, responsible for electing representatives to be responsible not only for performing these negotiations but also for hiring others to perform them. These blogs and the "criticisms" are a direct result of proof that our elected officials and those they hire are NOT acting responsibly.
It is naive to think that we "common folk" on the street do not have the applicable knowledge or experience to question these decisions.
If I hire a professional to build a house, it does not mean that I (as their employer) do not have the knowledge and experience to oversee his work even if I do not have the knowledge to build it myself. Research and education are powerful tools and I am building quite a collection of tools myself these days.
You are absolutely right. In this " sue happy " world, anyone can be named in a lawsuit. However, it seems clear to me that some relationships would make the district more vulnerable to legal action than others.
I am currently a BCSD contractor.
1) my vehicles are privately owned
2)privately insured
3) privately registered
4) not used solely for services provided to BCSD, but to fulfill contracts with many commercial, residential and state entities.
Therefore, would you not agree that the PROBABILITY of legal action involving a Sodexho driven BCSD vehicle versus a privately owned contractor's vehicle would be greater ? This seems to be common sense.
If one of my crew inflicts serious damage in an auto accident, why would BCSD be named in a suit ? Now if the truck my employee was driving was owned, registered, and insured by BCSD......that's quite possibly a different story.
sdcf3 does BCSD pay for your gas?
NO !
Nor do they pay for my office space, equipment storage, insurance or
vehicle taxes.
In fact, all BCSD pays me for is performing the services as outlined in our RFP.
As it should be ????
greater probability yes, but that still doesnt negate anything that ive said.
I give up !
After reading your various posts, there is one thing of which I am certain, you definately BELIEVE what you THINK you know !
To quote the great Winston Churchill, "Never! Never give up!" if you sincerely believe you've been wrong through illegal and unethical practices. However, just be informed and objective in your pursuit for justice and remember that being the home team and the lowest bidder isnt a guaranteed quality for awardance.
Godspeed
Good advice! I hope Beaufort county citizens will take this advice as it could very well be that we're all victims of wrong-doing. We all need to expect a higher standard when it comes to those who are responsible for making decisions with our tax-dollars and the approach that will be taken in how to improve the lowcountry school system.
Don't settle for allowing these "experienced" in making their decision as it may not really be the best decision. Question and challenge if it could be better.
If we fix the ed problems BCSD has, all the rest of the sweetheart deals and the inside knowledge will go away as well. Once you bring in BOE members with character you then will get senior adminsitration with character and then you will get non-educators with character. Then we can partner with licensed and qualified teachers and their union reps to make good things happen in the classroom.
All the studies and experts and consultants in the world will not do a minor fraction of the good that a motivated teacher can have in a classroom. And, you are already paying the teacher, so all you need to do perhaps is listen to their ideas for what will work in their classrooms, they know bft kids better than an iowa or california or NY consultant or 'expert' corporate firm that makes it's money selling seminars in a box.
before i respond is this directed to me?
not to you . . . personally
I have been the the BCSD office and have seen many "characters" moving around in the building. Most of the time, I wasn't able to acertain what they were doing besides moving around, but they were definitely "characters." Perhaps it is because these "characters" move around so much, that we can't figure out what the problems are. In fact, with them moving around so much, it is hard to even count how many there are in that office. Didn't someone famous once say that it is more difficult to hit a moving target?
. . . who said "Don't look behind you, someone may be gaining on you."
No, he was a pitcher.
The indescribably talented Satchel Paige was indeed a major league pitcher, and he was almost as well known for his witticisms and one-liners as for his pitching prowess. He said, "Don't look back. Something might be gaining on you." My favorite of all is his advice, "Age is a question of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter."
Of course I was just kidding, but do you think that the general public would have ever paid any attention to his witticisms if he hadn't been a great pitcher?
Why do we have to go outside our county and in some instances outside the state to find contractors to do our maintenance work? It seems to me the County administrators are saying there is not any qualified people within the county to do the work yet though they have been doing it for years.
I would think the county would try to use local people to do the work
Although Sodexho is a world wide company, with the exception of a few managers the rest of the employees with the maintenance, custodial and food service at BCSD are "local people". Some are actually Beaufortonians. There is also a few local contractors that do maint related work. One thing that is interesting is the gentleman that oversees the operations, once a Sodexho Food Service Manager, is now a BCSD employee after only one year on the job. I think his title is something like "executive director of operations". I guess some positions were not created for "local people".
Just a question from someone who knows very little about this whole thing. Does the official policy of the school district/board contain anything stating that local people should be hired if they possess the stated qualifications and want the position with the pay that is offered? If not, is someone going to lobby to modify the policy? I certainly agree that there is too much going outside when there are equally qualified people who want the jobs in Beaufort. However, just because a person is from Beaufort doesn't mean that they should be paid more or given any additional considerations.
You are absolutely right !
Locals should NOT be given special consideration or higher pay just because they reside in Beaufort,nor should they be held to different standards.
They should, however, receive equal OPPORTUNITY to perform services and provide goods for the local school district.
This gentlemen you speak of should not be considered in charge - a manager from Sodexho is really in charge. If the Sodexho manager is not doing his job, complain to Sodexho!
Why should he not be considered in charge ? His title would suggest ultimate authority over the contracts. As s BCSD employee, HE is responsible to answer to the board and to the taxpayers regarding these contracts, not a Sodexho employee.
It would seem that the suggestion of complaining to Sodexho because King Larry isn't in charge further makes my point. If indeed Sodexho is in charge why do we need a Director of Operations? If the District is in charge why do we need a Sodexho manager? The answer is clear; have enough layers of management so that no one can be held accountable.
I also need to mention that King Larry put out the RFP for grounds, not Sodexho. Why? So Sodexho could get the work!
Elida987 may be close to either King Larry or Sodexho but maybe not. I suggest that you take a step back and take a deep look into the situation. This entire mess isn't about Larry or Sodexho, it's about running the District like a business. All the extra dollars involved only takes more away from the students. I miss Abbott and Costello; who's on first?
elida987 - Through all of the blogs, I understand Sodexho to be only a contractor to BCSD. The BCSD employee who is over maintenance should be in charge.
I don't think the issue is if Sodexho is doing their job - the issue is that they are treated differently from other contractors starting with the RFP all the way to gassing their vehicles which are furnished to them by the district. It is equal treatment to ALL contractors! That is the issue.