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Without relying on legal advice or precedent, however, common sense tells us that sealed bids should be publicly opened and read. If the offers are opened and considered in private, how are we to know that the accepted bid was in truth the lowest bid?
After returning from private deliberations at the May 8 meeting, the school board chairman announced that the board had accepted “the low bid” for school insurance “on a three year annual contract, subject to clarification.” That was it. There were no names mentioned—not the name of the insurance company that was the supposed low bidder, not the names of any other insurance companies who submitted higher bids. Nor were any figures given.
As careful as the school board is with money, we think that not a penny more than absolutely necessary was spent for the insurance. But we can’t be sure. And we won’t ever be sure on this or any other business transaction that the accepted offer is the lowest offer unless sealed bids are opened here as they are everywhere else that we know of—in public.
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