This appeal was brought by an unsuccessful bidder for a school roof replacement contract. T & K Roofing Company was the lowest bidder, but the District awarded the contract to a bidder who was $7,000 higher. The District was assisted in developing the contract specifications by a representative of the successful contractor's material supplier. T & K Roofing challenged the bid award on two grounds: (1) the District failed to follow all of the requirements of the Competitive Bidding Statute (Iowa Code section 73A); and (2) the District's use of the material supplier's representative created a conflict of interest under Iowa Code section 68B. Initially, the school district filed a Motion to Dismiss, alleging that the State Board did not have jurisdiction to hear this type of complaint under Iowa Code section 290. The Motion to Dismiss was overruled and the appeal was heard. The proposed decision approved by the State Board found that even though the District did not comply with the "letter of the law," the District substantially complied with the requirements of the Competitive Bidding Statute. In addition, there was no evidence of a conflict of interest. The State Board approved this decision on January 9, 1997.

T & K Roofing appealed the State Board's decision to the Iowa District Court for Linn County. A Ruling was issued on July 7, 1997, which affirmed the State Board's decision. This is a good decision for school districts because it re-enforces the importance of competitive bidding, but it does not render their contracts void for failure to strictly adhere to the competitive bidding requirements.