Auditors see $250,000 savings in Jefferson Parish schools copier contracts

The Jefferson Parish public school system could have saved more than $258,000 had all of its principals acquired photocopiers under the state contract rather than individually entering into overpriced leases, a new study of the controversial issue concludes.


Ray St. Pierre
School Board member Ray St. Pierre, who raised the issue last year, said he thinks the potential savings is considerably higher, and that the consultant that wrote the study, Rebowe & Co., is redoing its report to reflect a higher number. Company President Philip Rebowe did not return phone calls for comment.

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Share 15 Comments Rebowe officials are scheduled to present their findings at Wednesday's School Board meeting. It begins at 5 p.m. at Bonnabel Magnet Academy High School.

The firm launched its study in April after St. Pierre complained that some copier vendors were taking advantage of principals by persuading them to sign leases they could not afford. He said many contracts included non-cancellable clauses, lasted five years and were resold to third-party financing companies. If a machine started having problems, he said, vendors persuaded principals to sign new long-term leases for an upgrade yet they were still obligated for payments under the old lease.

The board then ordered principals to rent or buy copiers from vendors on the state purchasing office's contract. When problems continued, the board ordered schools to buy or rent Kyocera copiers from a single distributor: Bell Office Machines, which had been selling copy machines to the school system's central office for the past eight years.

Because Kyocera is an approved vendor on the state purchasing office's contract, Bell, as a distributor of the product, must adhere to strict polices and standards when doing business with public bodies.

Bell owner John Poole is a friend and golfing companion of St. Pierre's. St. Pierre said the relationship has nothing to do with his push to go with a single vendor.

Rebowe accountants analyzed 122 copier contracts, comparing those of vendors on state contract with those that are not.

To determine the potential savings, accountants looked at such categories as monthly payments, lease terms, maintenance plans, models and financing.

The School Board now must decide whether to take legal action against the questionable firms. Last month, board President Gene Katsanis proposed sending cease-and-desist letters to these vendors and to suing any company that fails to heed the letter. The board did not take action, however, saying it wanted first to review the Rebowe report.

St. Pierre said it might not be worth it to file suit, considering the legal fees that the school system would incur.

"I think in the long run the best thing for us to do is let the other contracts run out, and eventually when the whole system is on state contract, there will be a tremendous savings," he said.

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