By Bill Short
The Millington School Board has approved a contract with American Esoteric Laboratories to provide 3,000 COVID tests at $70 each for a total of $210,000.
Board members took the action during their July 6 meeting on a motion offered by Larry Jackson and seconded by Cody Childress.
The motion was passed by four affirmative votes, with members Marlon Evans, C. J. Haley and Vice Chairman Barbara Halliburton absent.
The tests will be funded by the Epidemiology & Laboratory Capacity Grant.
During discussion shortly before the vote, Jackson asked whether the test kits can be returned if not all of them are used.
Jill Church, director of Special Education and Student Services for the school system, said it will not receive all of them at one time.
“So, we’ll just order what we need,” she noted. “If we get halfway or three-quarters through the year, and we see that we’re not going to need all of those, then we can readjust our budget.”
The contract states that it is subject to all conditions contained within it, except for pricing, which is subject to review and adjustment by AEL.
If there are legal or regulatory changes impacting the contract, AEL reserves the right, with prior written notice, to alter it to fully comply with those changes.
All other modifications or amendments to the contract must be in writing and signed by both parties to be binding.
The contract states that all COVID tests performed will be billed to and paid for by the school system.
All pricing will be in accordance with the applicable fee schedules in place on the date of the contract’s execution.
Pricing may be changed from time to time by providing the school system with 15 days’ notice prior to the effective date of the new pricing.
The contract states that payment is due upon receipt of invoice. All invoices will be final and not subject to dispute unless the school system files a written dispute “detailing all issues” within 21 days of the date of the AEL invoice.
After 30 days, all undisputed charges will be the responsibility of the school system. It will also be responsible for any costs associated with collecting any past due balances.
The contract states that the school system agrees to comply will all state and federal legislation and regulations regarding the receipt of discounts. To the extent required by state and federal law, the school system agrees to disclose all discounts it receives.
Either party, for any reason, can cancel the contract with 30 days’ prior written notice. AEL can cancel it at any time if the school system is more than 30 days past due in payment.
