Portage Public Schools administrators traveled to Germany

[Shadowninja]

LADY BUDGETDOWN HAS A QUESTION FOR PORTAGE PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

And this one started with a breadcrumb.

A reader contacted Lady Budgetdown with a very specific claim: that Portage Public Schools administrators traveled to Germany in connection with selecting furniture for the district's new elementary schools.

Lady Budgetdown has NOT independently verified that trip.

So I'm not going to tell you it happened.

I'm going to show you what I could verify — because the paper trail surrounding the furniture is interesting enough to ask the question.

Let's open the ledger. 📜

MAY 8, 2023

Assistant Superintendent of Operations Johnny Edwards brought a furniture recommendation to the Board.
The recommendation was addressed to then-Superintendent Mark Bielang and copied to Director of Finance Paula Johnson.
Edwards recommended purchasing $66,632.60 in school furniture from VS America, Inc., using the district's 2023-24 General Fund.

What was listed?

• 48 desks/tables
• 49 chairs
• Flexible seating

The district did not provide a quantity for the flexible-seating items in this summary. 

But the reason for the purchase is where this gets interesting.

According to Edwards' own memo:

"The requested furniture is aligned with the vision for flexible student furniture in the new elementary schools."

And:

"The majority of the furniture in this recommendation will be used as pilot furniture at Central Elementary and Haverhill Elementary."

The district also stated that the purchase was being made through an OMNIA cooperative contract with VS America, so an RFP was not required. 

MAY 22, 2023

The Board approved the $66,632.60 VS America purchase.

NOVEMBER 6, 2023

The furniture pilot returned to the Board.

This time, the recommendation totaled another $58,904.20:

Custer - $56,865.20
Great Lakes Furniture Supply - $2,039.00

The money was to come from the 2019 Bond Fund, Proposal #1 Unallocated Contingency. 

The district explained that this furniture would be distributed among four classrooms at Central Elementary and four classrooms at Haverhill Elementary so students and teachers could test it before final furniture selections were made for the new buildings.
 
And the purchasing documents actually identify the manufacturers and products being tested.

Among them were Steelcase, Smith System, FomCore, Fleetwood, and VS products, including VS Shift+ Fusion tables and VS Hokki stools. 

The district also stated that Custer had worked with the district's design team to research options involving pricing, warranties and products. 

DECEMBER 9, 2024

More than a year later, furniture was still part of the bond-project discussion.

Johnny Edwards presented a bond update focused on furnishings for the new Central and Haverhill elementary schools.

TowerPinkster's Senior Interior Designer and Senior Furniture Designer joined the presentation.

According to the meeting record, the presentation covered the furniture pilot process and timeline, furniture terminology, configuration options, and purchasing/product strategies.

So now let's add up just the two pilot-related purchases Lady Budgetdown could document:

May 2023: $66,632.60
November 2023: $58,904.20
TOTAL: $125,536.80

And now we arrive at the breadcrumb that started this rabbit hole.

VS America is the American subsidiary of VS, a German school-furniture manufacturer whose headquarters and manufacturing operation are in Tauberbischofsheim, Germany.

Lady Budgetdown was told that Portage administrators traveled to Germany in connection with looking at furniture for the new elementary schools.

Again:

I HAVE NOT VERIFIED THAT THE TRIP OCCURRED.

But after following the public records, I think it's a perfectly reasonable question to ask.

So, Portage Public Schools:

Did any district administrator, employee or representative travel to Germany in connection with researching, evaluating or selecting furniture for Central Elementary or Haverhill Elementary?

If so:

Who went?
When?
What was the purpose of the trip?
Who paid for the airfare, lodging, meals and other expenses?
Was any portion paid by Portage Public Schools?
Was any portion paid from bond proceeds?
Was any portion paid or reimbursed by VS, VS America, Custer, TowerPinkster, Great Lakes Furniture Supply, or another vendor or project partner?

And if the district paid nothing, that's useful information too.

That's why Lady Budgetdown asks questions instead of filling in blanks.

The records tell us Portage conducted an extensive furniture pilot, spent at least $125,536.80 on the two documented pilot-related purchases, tested furniture from multiple manufacturers, and ultimately brought professional furniture and interior designers before the Board to discuss the process.

The records I found do not tell me whether anybody went to Germany.

So rather than turn a reader's breadcrumb into a fact, I'll leave the question exactly where it belongs:

DID PORTAGE PUBLIC SCHOOLS SEND ADMINISTRATORS TO GERMANY TO LOOK AT SCHOOL FURNITURE, AND IF SO, WHO PAID FOR THE TRIP?

Receipts and questions with respect.

Portage Public Schools

#LadyBudgetdown #PortagePublicSchools #PortageMichigan #SchoolSpending #PublicSchoolSpending #FollowTheMoney #FollowThePaperTrail #PublicRecords #SchoolTransparency #TaxpayerDollars #EducationSpending #SchoolFurniture #MichiganSchools #WithReceiptsAndRespect