Board approves RFPs and bids, awards $313,695.91 general liability contract to Gallagher

On Sept. 19 the St. John the Baptist Parish School Board authorized several procurement steps and approved a contract award for district insurance.

After discussion of open FEMA claims and the status of All South Engineers’ work, the board voted to advertise for Disaster Management Services rather than extend the existing contract. A substitute motion to extend All South’s contract for six months failed on a 5–5 tie (with one absence), and the original motion to advertise carried 6–4. The meeting record includes administration comments that two open FEMA claims are still being handled by All South and may not be dispositioned until early next year; Anthony Miller summarized that timeline during the discussion.

The board also approved advertising an RFP for handling workers’ compensation claims (substitute vote carried 6–4), authorized advertising for property insurance, and instructed the architect to advertise construction bids for the West St. John High Fieldhouse. Finally, the board approved awarding the district’s general liability insurance contract to Gallagher for $313,695.91 on a unanimous recorded vote with one absence.

Quoted at the meeting, Anthony Miller described the reason the administration had recommended an extension for disaster management services: "We have been advised that these will not be dispositioned until early next year, so if there were a change in the Disaster Management Services, the potential new administrator would have to be brought up to speed on those current claims, resulting in further delays." The board ultimately chose to seek new proposals rather than extend the current contract.

Next steps include procurement posting of RFPs and bid advertisements and execution of the Gallagher contract.