Construction still king of big-money vendors for K12 schools
90 of the state’s biggest vendors had contributed about $1.8 million to Gov. Nathan Deal’s campaigns
We reported last week that health care had overtaken road-builders and other construction companies as the state’s biggest vendors in recent years. But there is one place construction remains king: K12 schools.
The state allocates more than $10 billion a year in state and federal funding for schools, and a vast majority of it goes to teacher pay and benefits.
There are also a few vendors for food services and educational materials who do big business with the state’s school systems, according to the Open Georgia web site.
But 14 of the 25 biggest payments to vendors last year went to construction companies, who keep plenty busy in a growing state that always seems to be building or renovating schools.
Some of the top school construction companies – like their road-building counterparts – have been big donors to state politicians over the years, and with good reason. The governor and lawmakers must approve spending plans each year. The state this year will send districts about $230 million for construction. Districts raise tens of millions more through local taxes.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported last week that 90 of the state’s biggest vendors had contributed about $1.8 million to Gov. Nathan Deal’s campaigns and his political action committee. Many of them are also frequent donors to the campaigns of top lawmakers.
The AJC’s investigation examined how common it is for the campaigns of politicians to hit up the people who do work for the government. The issue was raised anew by the recent conviction of former DeKalb CEO Burrell Ellis, who was accused of strong-arming contractors for campaign contributions.
While companies like C.W. Matthews and E.R. Snell in Metro Atlanta have long been dominate road-builders for the state, Parrish Construction of Perry has led the way in school construction, according to the Open Georgia site. Districts reported paying about $241 million to Parrish for school construction from fiscal 2010 through fiscal 2014, the last year for which figures are available.
The company and its executives have contributed about $30,000 to state candidates since 2009, including about Construction still king of big-money vendors for K12 schools | The Watchdog blog:
