During policy and procurement review, a board member asked why the district continued to pay Media Leaders LLC (SmartSocial) after an initial contract in 2021 had a defined end date.
The board member reported that, while the original contract had a 12-month term and no renewal language, the district has continued to pay for SmartSocial services through purchase orders and that the cumulative payments now total roughly $140,000. The member said that the question arose while tracing spending tied to a prior community partnership grant of $635,000 and requested clarity on where those dollars were spent.
Administration acknowledged the board's questions and said some grants include amendment and reporting mechanisms; they pledged to review the SmartSocial purchase orders, provide a list of recurring contracts, and check whether federal- or state-grant procurement requirements were followed for specific expenditures.
Board members asked the administration to present a consolidated list of recurring vendors and contracts as the district moves to a blanket PO model under the new Skyward ERP implementation, and to provide transparency about which recurring services may exceed board-approval thresholds over time.
No formal finding or vote was taken; administration committed to follow-up reporting to the board.