School district contracts

[PDtek]

In a message dated 98-04-27 23:52:00 EDT, you write:

> I have a customer who is employed by the music department of a large (86,000
>  students) school district.  She feels that the current system of
contracting
>  out the piano tuning is a terrible way to accomplish the service needed.
>  Concerts have gone on without the requested tunings and the general 
> condition
>  of the instruments is poor.
>  
> Also, I would love to hear what other technicians have done to communicate
the
> real needs of pianos and performers to bureaucrats is school districts.

The Des Moines public school district sends bid forms to all of the area piano
techs. The winning bid is usually in the neighborhood of $10 per piano for 265
pianos. We can only imagine the kind of service they receive for that price.
One stipulation in the contract that has always scared me away states that the
pianos are to be tuned during the summer. Then, if anyone in the music
department determines in October that the pianos have not been properly tuned,
the tuner must retune the pianos again at no additional cost to the school
district. Well of course the pianos aren't going to be in tune by October
after being tuned amid the summer heat and humidity! This IS Iowa we are
talking about.

I realize that a limited budget is a problem, but quickly deteriorating pianos
that will have to be replaced makes this bid system short sighted.

Dave Bunch