State IT chief threatens to cancel NC superintendent's 'emergency' Istation contract

The state superintendent announced late Tuesday he had signed a contract with K-3 reading test vendor Istation worth $928,570.

Johnson said Wednesday he has authority to do this under rules that allow him to make purchases without the usual required pre-approvals in cases of "pressing need" or "emergency" outside of normal business hours. He argued students that use Istation would otherwise not have had access to it during one of three test periods required by state law.

Johnson notified the Department of Information Technology of the purchase after the fact.

State board considering policy changes after NC superintendent signs late-night contract worth $928,000

In a statement Friday evening, Johnson's spokesman said the agency received DIT’s letter "late this afternoon, apparently at the same time the capital press corps did. We are happy to respond to their questions and will do so in a more timely fashion than DIT has exhibited thus far in their review process."

Johnson's 2019 decision to award the state testing contract to Istation drew a challenge from Amplify, a rival testing vendor who previously held that contract. The administrative challenge has been tied up in the state IT department, but a quasi-judicial hearing on the matter starts on Monday.

NC superintendent makes 'emergency purchase' so schools can continue using reading test as battle continues

The memo directs Johnson to submit an amended justification by Tuesday explaining why the contract needed to be signed after business hours.

"If every contract signed after business hours constituted an emergency, the term would be rendered meaningless," Bowers wrote. "In the absence of sufficient justification for the use of emergency purchase authority, the State Chief Information Officer may exercise his statutory authority to suspend or cancel an information technology procurement executed without his approval."