Bristol, Groton officials: State pressured them on school building contracts

Current and former officials in both municipalities said they received orders from the Connecticut Office of School Construction Grants and Review, which was led by former legislator Konstantinos Diamantis, to reject the winning bids for demolition services and hazardous materials cleanup for three different schools. Documents have also emerged that show a disgruntled contractor warned the Lamont administration and Attorney General William Tong as far back as April 2020 that state officials were allegedly sidestepping the normal bidding procedures for school-related projects. Elected leaders and municipal employees in Groton and Bristol said they were baffled when the state instructed them to throw out the winning bids that had been chosen after a public procurement process. In the end, both municipalities ignored the state’s advice and awarded the contracts to companies that made lower bids.

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