Carlisle Featured in Story Highlighting Waste of Taxpayer Funds in School Construction Work

CARLISLE, Pa., Aug. 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Carlisle Construction Materials, a leading supplier of commercial roofing materials nationwide, recently voiced grave concerns with the way many school districts across the country procure roofing work in a WBAL-TV news feature highlighting the issue.  The feature focused on Maryland-area schools whose roofing projects are alleged to have cost taxpayers tens of millions more than necessary due to a cooperative procurement model that circumvents the competitive bidding process.  To view the WBAL story, please visit http://goo.gl/hibTu.

This story comes on the heels of Pennsylvania Senator Pat Vance's July 7 bill that aims to eliminate loopholes in the procurement code for roofing contracts in PA.  The legislation would require all publicly funded projects over $10,000 to be competitively bid, and would require specifications to be prepared by an independent design professional.  Senator Vance's plan can be viewed at http://goo.gl/5UFr4.

"It's just mind-boggling to me that you'd have individual school districts that would be willing to pay that degree of a premium," said Mike DuCharme, Director of Product Marketing for Carlisle.  DuCharme provided reporters with a market study that found school districts that use the same cooperative procurement model in the state of Pennsylvania pay, on average, double the cost per square foot of roofing material than what is available on the open market.  "The costs for Pennsylvania are [the same as] the costs for Maryland," DuCharme said in the interview.

Carlisle is concerned that the cooperative purchasing model used in Pennsylvania, Maryland and 22 other states is unfairly restrictive.  For more than a decade only one company, Tremco, has been able to participate in the proprietary qualification process.  This bidding model results in inflated prices for both materials and labor.

About Carlisle Construction Materials

Carlisle Construction Materials is part of Carlisle Companies (NYSE: CSL), a diversified global manufacturing company serving the construction materials, commercial roofing, specialty tire and wheel, power transmission, heavy-duty brake and friction, foodservice, aerospace, and test and measurement industries.

SOURCE Carlisle Construction Materials

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