Located here:
http://schoolroofingscam.blogspot.com/2009/05/carlisle-vs-tremco-in-carlisles.html
A lot.
Mr. Nick Shears, Vice President, Sales and Marketing for Carlisle Construction Materials, wrote a letter to Mr. Jack Wagner, Pennsylvania's Auditor General, in response to Mr. Wagner's "As I See It" column in "The Patriot News" entitled "Competition lacking in state contracts".
Mr. Wagner, the Pennsylvania Auditor General, had stated:
"Innovation is the growth engine of capitalism, and it's why the United States has one of the highest standards of living in the world."
then:
"Innovation, in turn, leads to new jobs and new industries."
"Innovation and competition also lead to lower prices."
"Competition is the American way."
"A competitive and open bidding process must ensure that all interested companies are afforded the opportunity to bid for state contracts."
and finally:
"Competition is good. It spurs innovation, creates more jobs and saves state taxpayer dollars."
And this author's note:
Competition adds more dollars back into the kitty for actually educating - and spurring on more innovation as a result.
Mr. Wagner has "got it".
If competition is "perverted" in any way, the entities and those who help them do so have helped to destroy our present and our future.
And right now, that is dear - in this economy.
So to those who play with "Lock-specs" - you are destroying capitalism - and all our futures.
Editorial is reprinted below and at:
http://schoolroofingscam.blogspot.com/2009/05/carlisle-vs-tremco-in-carlisles.html
(A recent Wall Street Journal article showing extreme cuts in education - and our futures as a result - is also shown below.)
Mr. Shears, the Carlisle Construction Materials Vice President, Sales and Marketing, responded to Mr. Jack Wagner's Op-Ed as follows, in part - emphasis this author's (see his letter reprinted below):
"I was greatly interested in your article because the Association of Educational Purchasing Agents (AEPA) operates a purchasing program for the selection and sale of roofing materials that circumvents established state procurement codes and awards all roofing contracts to one, predetermined manufacturer."
[Note: Only licensed architects and engineers should be specifying fire-rated materials and any materials in public buildings - not purchasing agents.]
He continues by saying that:
"The AEPA operates in 23 states, including Pennsylvania. It was originally intended to improve school districts' purchasing power and lower pricing on commodity products such as toilet paper and cleaning supplies. It has since grown to include larger ticket items such as computer networks, athletic equipment and facilities as well as roofing products. The non-competitive AEPA model leads to higher prices on products, which sell in the open market for far less every day. ....Unfortunately, taxpayers bear the burden of these costs through incremental and repetitive tax increases; and because there is no accountability at the school board or decision-making level, the problem continues. It is especially bad in Pennsylvania, where school districts spent $30 million on roofing products through the AEPA in 2008, the highest amount in the country. The AEPA program is extremely secretive, so it is difficult to estimate how much of the $30 million could have been saved if the projects were openly and competitively bid."
And then Mr. Shears goes on to explain by a horrific example, and one we see all the time.
In Carlisle, the local school board decided to buy Tremco products for their roofs (not hiring a licensed architect and engineer to make proper recommendations for competitive products, as required by licensing laws and building codes). The Tremco rep convinced them that instead of making any repairs necessary under their present warranty, they should replace the roof -for $600,000. However, for a ten-year warranty, the cost by the existing manufacturer were $60,000, which the manufacturer of those products were forced to make strenuous objections to the replacement in order to keep the School Board from spending the extra $540,000. On two other roofs in the School District, the huge expenditures were inexplicably made.
Mr. Shears concluded, in part:
"I am urging you [the Pennsylvania Auditor General, Mr. Jack Wagner] to look more closely at the AEPA purchasing program. Not only does it result in higher prices and taxes, but it also stifles the economic growth of companies like Carlisle Syntec that adhere to state bidding requirements and seek to provide its customers with proven products at fair market prices."
[Note: We are aware that Tremco had an employee on the AEPA that ensured their selection as the "roofing product" to purchase.]
Good for Carlisle Syntec!
For more information on what happened, and more clearly defined issues with the AEPA "Model", please see this article - "Taxpayers Angered Over School District's Failure to Competitively Bid Roofing Projects", located directly below:
Mr. Jack Wagner, Pennsylvania Auditor General's, Op-Ed piece:
Mr. Nick Shears, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Carlisle Construction Materials, response to Mr. Jack Wagner's Op-Ed piece:
Wall Street Journal article on School activity funding decreases from Oct. 28, 2009:Link is
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703574604574499283752291324.html
For Further Reading, please see:
Midwest Roofing Contractor's Association (MRCA) Article of , entitled "Carlisle SynTec employees sue CV over roofing contracts ", at:
http://www.mrca.org/i4a/headlines/headlinedetails.cfm?id=1008
and in The Sentinel Online, June 19, 2009, entitled "Carlisle SynTec employees sue CV over roofing contracts", at:
http://www.cumberlink.com/articles/2009/06/20/news/local/doc4a3c2c6722332841382376.txt
