WAUSAU (WAOW) - The state superintendent speaks after a Wisconsin company was passed up for an education contract. This comes just days after that company filed an appeal with the state.
Wisconsin Superintendent Tony Evers says he'd like to give any Wisconsin company an advantage for a state contract. But, he says that decision was not up to him.
Evers says he helped decide to open up bids to create one uniform state-wide student information system. Stevens Point company, Skyward, put in a bid, as well as a Minnesota company called Infinite Campus. In the end, Infinite Campus won.
Superintendent Evers says he understands why that decision upset so many people, but it wasn't one he made.
Instead, an independent team scored the companies, and it was overseen by the state Department of Administration.
Skyward claims the process was not fair, and now the superintendent says it's time to take a look at Skyward's claim.
"I know it's been difficult for everybody. And as we move forward, we're going to do the best we can to make sure Skyward's complaints and concerns are dealt with in a reasonable way," says Evers.
Governor Scott Walker says he'd like to see Skyward stay in Wisconsin. But he says the process was ultimately up to that state board.
"They set the criteria, they said what they're expectations were. Our responsibility to the state, in terms of the DOA, was making sure that was a legally followed process, that they used objective criteria, that they upheld that. But in terms of how they got to that final conclusion, that's ultimately up to them," Walker said.
Skyward leaders say they've appealed the decision and plan to follow through until the end. Infinite Campus leaders have said they believe the process was fair.
