Governor Scott Walker says the state followed the rules when it awarded a contract for school software to a Minnesota company. The competing company, Skyward Inc., of Stevens Point, is contesting the decision to award the $15 million contract for a statewide database to Infinite Campus of Blaine, Minnesota. The bid winner will be the sole provider of a student information system for more than 440 Wisconsin public school districts and charters. Speaking in Eau Claire today, Walker said the bid was requested by the Department of Public Instruction and the selection was made by a panel of school officials and a representative from DPI. "Our Department of Administration merely administered and made sure they followed the rules for procurement and people may or may not like the outcome but the bottom line is there's a legal process in the state that we're obligated to uphold because you don't want decisions, contracts based on political pressure you want them based on objective criteria and that's what they followed." Skyward is threatening to move the company out of the state and eliminate more than 200 jobs because they lost the award. At an earlier stop today, Walker said the state would not interfere in the process and he says any complaints should be directed at DPI. DPI's spokesman, Patrick Gasper, did not respond to requests for comment.
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