The Buffalo Board of Education has approved a new company to supply nurses to city schools. But Kaleida Health, which lost its contract with the district plans to appeal. WBFO's senior reporter Eileen Buckley talked to two city school board members about the controversial issue.
"I really believe our staff acted in good faith in everything that they did,” said Buffalo School Board president Barbara Seals Nevergold.
Seals Nevergold was responding to our question about Kaleida's concern that their request for proposal might have been unsealed, although Kaleida was told it was tossed out and not in consideration because the paper bid didn't meet a district deadline.
Seals Nevergold actually voted against hiring a new provider, Supplemental Health Care. But she said she believes they followed the process properly.
“Are you concerned, as board president, that there was any kind of violation of the RFP?” Buckley asked.
“I have faith in our staff that they followed the process that had been laid out and while I objected to certain processes in terms of informing the board and informing the public about the specifics of the contract, I have not had reason to be concerned about the specifics of the process,” Seals Nevergold replied.
Central District board member Paulette Woods voted in favor of hiring a new provider. Woods tells WBFO News she would have preferred to have the material sooner to vet out all the information in the RFP process, but is confident she made the right choice.
“It’s a legal proceeding and 13 people responded, and I think it is very disingenuous for Kaleida not to put their bid in on time, then there wouldn’t be this so-called tainting of the process, because it would have come out very clearly they weren’t the lowest bidder and by law, they didn’t win it,” remarked Woods.
Seals Nevergold noted that if there are legal ramifications as Kaleida looks into an appeal and it becomes a legal matter, then the district would follow the legal process in responding to it.
