Brockton School Subcommittee Flags Amazon Purchasing Disorder, Two Vacant Procurement Posts

BROCKTON -- March 31, 2026, Brockton School Account Review Subcommittee raises alarms over Amazon spending and vacant procurement posts. The three-member panel, meeting March 31 at Brockton High School with an acting chair filling in for Chair Mr. Gomes, pressed Chief Financial Officer Kim Tsai on why staff have been placing Amazon orders before purchase orders are approved, the reverse of proper procurement sequence, across a district she described as a $370 million operation. Tsai acknowledged the lapse, said a corrective memo was paused when a price-fluctuation complication emerged, and described a pay range of roughly $75,000 to $95,000 that has kept two budgeted procurement officer positions vacant for months, with the district now open to hybrid work and salaries potentially reaching $125,000. "A lot of the things that have been going on here for a long time, well, they led to an $18 million deficit," Tsai told the subcommittee. Members asked for monthly procurement updates, with the next fiscal report scheduled for April 7.