LRSD to reissue marketing RFP after conflict of interest found in Phase 1 vendor work

The Little Rock School District will reissue an RFP for the second phase of a district marketing and branding contract after staff discovered a conflict of interest with the firm that completed the research phase, Superintendent Dr. Wright told the board March 19.

Dr. Wright said the vendor completed phase one — research and focus groups — and produced a recommendations report, but a conflict of interest came to light after the work. She said the district has paid the vendor less than $20,000 to date for that initial phase.

District staff have revised the RFP so the second phase will solicit a firm to execute the recommendations rather than restarting research. The superintendent said the reissued RFP would be posted immediately and the staff aims to award a contract in time to implement outreach and branding recommendations for the 2026–27 open-enrollment season.

Board members asked whether the district would need to start over; staff said the research deliverable and plan are complete and the new RFP will request firms to pick up where the previous contractor left off rather than repeating phase one.

Provenance: Topic introduced SEG 2056; topic last discussed SEG 2160.