Firm with school contracts donates to WL school board race

KJG Architecture was hired for the engineering and design work on West Lafayette School Corporation's recent $80 million building projects

For its recent 80-million- dollar building projects.

News 18's joe paul has been following the west side school board race.

He's been looking into the numbers in a recent campaign finance report.

He joins us live with more details.

Joe?

West lafayette-based kjg architecture was one of the firms hired to design the building right behind me: west lafayette intermediate school.

The firm also did the engineering and design work for the renovations to the elementary school and junior-senior high school.

Kjg donated three- thousand dollars on september 16 to the red devil pride political action committee.

That's according to the pac's recent campaign finance report.

The pac is raising money for four school board candidates endorsed by the west lafayette education association.

That's the union representing west side teachers.

The pac was formed and the donation was made in advance of the union's endorsements.

Two of the endorsed candidates, brad marley and tom schott, were on the school board when kjg was contracted.

School board president alan karpick says he sees no conflict in the candidates using that money for their campaigns.

Why wouldn't you donate to a school and district that has the record that west lafayette schools has been fortunate enough to have?

I think that's the nuts and bolts of it.

Tom schott and brad marley had nothing to do with the fact that what was donated.

Karpick also donated three-hundred-and- fifty dollars to the pac.

He called that a "relatively token donation."

And he said he made the contribution to support west lafayette teachers.

I reached out to marley and schott for comment but so far haven't heard back.

Coming up on news 18 at 6, you'll hear from the owner of kjg about why the firm made the donation.

Reporting live in west lafayette, joe paul, news 18.

Turning drier across the area.

Precision 18 chief meterologist chad evans is here