College Station ISD paid $166,250 for ballistic shields that were never delivered, and administrators want trustees to authorize a lawsuit to try to get the money back.
The request is the last item on the agenda for Tuesday night's regular board meeting, which starts at 7 p.m. at 1812 Welsh Ave. Trustees are scheduled to first consult with legal counsel in executive session about potential claims arising from the purchase, which the district made through TIPS under a contract the agenda lists as No. 230505.
Any vote would come afterward in open session.
What the district says happened
According to an Oct. 12 memo from Chief Financial Officer Heather Wilson to Superintendent Tim Harkrider, the vendor demanded half the price up front before it would begin making the shields. The district later paid the remaining balance after the vendor communicated that the shields were sitting in its warehouse. A later review confirmed the equipment had never been delivered, the memo says.
The district is working with its lawyers to figure out who is responsible and what remedies are available, including possible claims for breach of contract and unjust enrichment. The lawyers are examining how the vendor is organized, along with "related bankruptcy proceedings," to decide whom the district can go after, the memo says.
Wilson's memo is candid about the odds. Whether the district gets its money back, it says, "remains uncertain."
