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Denver Public Schools Disparity Study proposes MBE, WBE changes

According to a 294-page report delivered in October, Denver Public Schools (DPS) has a poor record of awarding contracts to women (WBE) and minority-owned businesses (MBE). The report, which surveyed 44 MBE and WBE owners, was administered by the Florida-based MGT of America, Inc. and covered the period between 2009 and 2013.

Among the surveyed contractors, the most common concerns with the bidding process were the lack of feedback received regarding submitted bids and the belief that smaller contractors are unable to compete with the larger and better financed firms.

In response to report, the district has rolled out new programs to provide more opportunities for MBEs and WBEs to participate in DPS contracts. The first will un-bundle the large multimillion dollar contracts that were once standard and break those projects into more manageable dollar amounts in order to allow smaller firms to compete in the bidding process. The second program would establish quotas for diversity participation on DPS contracts, though the implementation would only come after a DPS selected committee establishes realistic quotas based on businesses actually available to participate in that piece of work.