Top lawmakers carve out millions of dollars for handpicked education vendors and pet projects each year, bypassing state bid laws and steering money to companies that know the right people or hire the right lobbyists.

A Clarion Ledger analysis of education appropriations for the last four years uncovered millions of dollars in earmarks for select vendors — most of them represented by three lobbying firms. In at least four cases, key lawmakers received campaign contributions from vendors who received those earmarks.

Since 2016, negotiators for the powerful House and Senate Appropriations committees have mandated that the Mississippi Department of Education spend up to $45 million on specific programs by writing the legislative expenditures directly into budget bills. Of that, nearly $10 million was earmarked not just for programs but for 13 select vendors.

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Lawmakers are effectively exempting these vendors from the bid process normally required for state agencies to select the best provider for the least amount of money. And they are doing so at a time as many of the same legislators have been critical of MDE spending and contracts.

Finally, this long-standing practice, similar to sole-source contracts, has continued even as lawmakers have rolled out reforms they say are aimed at reducing cronyism and corruption in government contracting and spending. Instead, the earmarks raise questions of whether elected leaders are undercutting their own watchdog efforts.

The Clarion Ledger analysis found:

Since 2016, eight education companies and nonprofit groups have sunk nearly $800,000 into lobbying efforts. These entities have received a cumulative $9 million as a result of their lobbying investment.

At least four companies made campaign donations to lawmakers who were instrumental in their obtaining earmarks. While nonprofits are prohibited from making campaign contributions, those receiving earmarks often employed lobbyists who made contributions to key lawmakers.

Clients for three lobbying firms received the majority of vendor earmarks.

The earmarks make it hard to determine if the state is getting the best deal or even using vendors with a proven record. Only one of the 13 vendors went through a competitive contract with MDE before receiving the directed money.

State education officials say they have oversight for only one of the earmarked vendors, raising questions about how these vendors are being monitored.

Nine vendors have received earmarks of at least $100,000, an amount that usually would trigger a bid process if conducted through a state agency.

‘The smell test’ selectively applied with education spending

Jumpstart ACT is a Brookhaven-based vendor that helps students prepare for college entrance exams. The company stands to receive up to $250,000 by 2020. Budget negotiators included Jumpstart in the MDE appropriations bills during the 2018 and 2019 legislative sessions. Fifteen schools are currently using the program.

Jumpstart CEO Sha Walker told the Clarion Ledger that Rep. Becky Currie, R-Brookhaven, was a key player in securing the program's funding.

In the past, Currie has been critical of the state education agency’s procurement practices.

Currie sits on the Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review. Two years ago, PEER looked into allegations of illegal invoice splitting and a lack of transparency and oversight at MDE.

After the report's release, she told the Clarion Ledger that the agency’s contracting practices did not “pass the smell test.” She also indicated that she wanted the state auditor to become involved. Then-State Auditor Stacey Pickering subsequently accused the department of circumventing bid laws.

But Currie bristled at the Clarion Ledger’s questions about whether requiring MDE to fund a pilot program for Jumpstart allowed the company to sidestep the state’s competitive bid process.

“I would never promote something I didn’t think was good,” she said. “Come down and meet the algebra teacher and see what they’re doing before you want to make it political or whatever you’re trying to do.”

‘That’s the reason for having a lobbyist’

Several companies told the Clarion Ledger that even without bidding, they’re confident the state is getting the best deal.

Jeff Maddox is the CEO of Sight Savers America. Mississippi pays another Alabama-based vendor called Vision Research Corporation to provide eye screenings to every kindergartner. Sight Savers role is to follow up with families after the exams and coordinate visits with a local optometrist.

“We have a comprehensive care model that no one else in the country does,” Maddox told the Clarion Ledger.

Since 2016, the nonprofit has received $1.45 million from the state to perform the work.

Maddox said he’s willing to go through a competitive bidding, if that’s how “Mississippi decides to do it.”

But he reiterated that he doesn’t see a problem with the Legislature's approach. He doubts another provider would be able to top what Sight Savers offers.

When the Clarion Ledger pointed out that the discretionary funding isn't subject to competition but rather the discretion of the Legislature, Maddox paused before responding:

“That’s the reason for having a lobbyist.”

‘Sales pitch’ to lawmakers involves wining and dining

Former state Rep. John Moore, R-Brandon, presided as chairman of the House Education Committee during a high watermark of earmark spending. In 2014, lawmakers directed MDE to spend more than $24 million on legislative requests. Beneficiaries ranged from a virtual charter school operator called K12 Inc. to Weight Watchers.

Moore told the Clarion Ledger vendors often made a "sales pitch" to legislators about their products. A review of lobbyist reports show it’s not uncommon for these “sales pitch” efforts to include inviting lawmakers and state employees to dinner.

Glimpse is an Alabama-based firm that helps districts review their education purchases. Their lobbying efforts in 2017 included at least two expensive meals for lawmakers and legislative staffers.

One was a lunch at the Mayflower Cafe for Moore, Currie and Rep. Mark Formby, R-Picayune.

On another occasion, Glimpse co-founder Nicole Pezent covered dinner at Crechales for Erika Berry, a Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves policy advisor, and Drew Maddox, a staffer for Senate Appropriation Chairman Buck Clarke, R-Hollandale.

Lawmakers passed an $80,000 earmark for Glimpse, doing so just weeks after Gov. Phil Bryant was forced to cut MDE and other state agencies because of revenue shortfalls.

‘We as a Legislature decide to do it this way’

Senate Education Chairman Gray Tollison, R-Oxford, defends handpicking vendors as a routine affair.

“We as a Legislature decide to do it this way,” Tollison said. “If they don’t work, the program’s eliminated. This is the way we’ve done it. I think these programs are working well.”

Moore said lawmakers sometimes had to act in the best interest of Mississippi schoolchildren because the bid process could take too long.

“If you wait three or four years, guess what? You’ve got an entire generation of kids ending up in Parchman,” he said. Moore claimed some bid processes can up take to 10 years, but it's unclear where he got that number from.

He further insisted legislators always took a hard look at all of the vendors.

Moore pointed to a committee run by then-Rep. Toby Barker, I-Hattiesburg. The Performance Based Budgeting Committee required vendors to complete a questionnaire and then assigned them scores.

Barker said it was a data-driven approach to make sure the state's limited resources were spent on programs that would have a positive impact on Mississippi schoolchildren.

When asked why MDE could not make a similar determination through bidding, Barker said lawmakers sometimes want more oversight over state agency spending.

However, the Performance Based Budgeting Committee has been dormant for the past two years, since Barker was elected Hattiesburg Mayor in 2017.

House Speaker Philip Gunn, R-Clinton, has yet to appoint a new chair for the committee. He told the Clarion Ledger this week that "no one has expressed the same passion for the committee, so I have not yet named a new chairman."

Little oversight exists with lawmakers’ direct spending

Amid the committee's dormancy, there's been a patchwork system of oversight.

The Research and Curriculum Unit at Mississippi State University conducted a review of a vendor called Algebra Nation. And several companies told the Clarion Ledger that they submit annual reports detailing their work to education officials.

But it's unclear what — if any — power MDE has to scrutinize the money that lawmakers direct to education vendors.

“The Mississippi Department of Education does not have any statutory oversight over programs/vendors in the appropriations bills,” the department said in a statement.

State education officials say they're only involved with assisting a company called Amplify Education that helps teachers track students' reading skills. MDE coordinates a bid process to determine which schools will participate in the program.

The Legislature has required some companies to submit progress reports to PEER as a safeguard. PEER Director James Barber says his office serves an advisory role only. PEER employees review the reports submitted to them and share any concerns with MDE.

And while Gunn said PEER has stepped in to fill the role of the dormant Performance Based Budgeting Committee, this year’s MDE spending bill does not require vendors to submit a status report. That leaves companies with no oversight, unless a legislator requests PEER to review the programs.

“Just because it’s not included doesn’t mean oversight can’t occur,” Barber said. “A legislator can request our committee to obtain information. Everything we do is request-based or directed by state law. I, as a director, don’t have the authority to instigate a project review independent of (those guidelines.)”

Concerns from some officials but no move to end practice

State Auditor Shad White said his office has received complaints outside of education spending alleging that companies and nonprofits receiving public money have misused taxpayers' dollars.

He recognizes the Legislature's spending authority but urges caution when appropriating money to nonprofits and corporations that are not subject to traditional bid laws.

"The Legislature has got to think really hard and be really sure that money going to those nonprofits or corporations is going to an entity having a good track record of protecting the money and that the money is going to be spent the way they want it to be spent,” said White.

Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves said he supports the Legislature's directing agencies to spend money on "policy decisions," but he agrees more scrutiny is needed when it comes to earmarks for specific vendors where a bid process could take place.

“Typically competition makes all vendors better. And the taxpayers ultimately win under that scenario," said Reeves, who has presided over the Senate for eight sessions.

Gov. Bryant pushed back against the practice — once

While Bryant's office declined to comment for this story, he has previously acknowledged that legislative earmarks can erode the public’s trust in the appropriations process.

But he's only pushed back on earmark spending once.

In 2017, he vetoed the Legislature's request to spend $80,000 with Glimpse.

"While I trust that this private education vendor may offer a worthwhile product, adding more earmarks in the K-12 budget is not an appropriate use of limited resources," Bryant wrote in his veto message. "Belt-tightening does not mean you buy a new belt."

The governor also questioned whether companies that haven't been through a competitive bidding process should receive tax dollars from legislative earmarks. He highlighted three out-of-state companies in his veto message.

“Could the eye screening services provided by two Alabama companies for over $1.1 million dollars (sic) over the last two years be accomplished for less through a competitive bid process? Should dropout prevention funding continued to be earmarked for a private vendor with a presence in only a few schools, or could that money be redirected to a dropout prevention program at 52 schools with a success rate of 92 percent?” the governor wrote.

In 2018, lawmakers limited the number of earmarks. This year, however, budget writers increased education earmarks for vendors by more than $1 million.

Contact Bracey Harris at 601-961-7248 or bharris2@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter.

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Correction: An earlier version of this story misspelled the name of James Barber, the executive director of PEER. The description of services for Glimpse has also been updated.