Cap and gown review could mean lower prices for high school seniors

Broward’s graduating seniors may soon have more choices and lower prices for caps and gowns, as the school district makes changes to address concerns that it has been unfairly favoring one vendor.

The School Board will be asked Nov. 9 to reject the two bids it received — from Herff Jones and Jostens — for a threeyear contract to supply caps and gowns. A selection committee had recommended in April that the district give an exclusive contract to longtime vendor Herff Jones, but it was never actually awarded.

The district started reviewing its practices after the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported this summer that parents were paying high markups for graduation products, while district administrators were taking steps to favor Herff Jones distributor Chuck Puleri & Associates, who sponsored parties and events for administrators, including a June party at the Funky Buddha brewery in Oakland Park.

“After further review, it was determined the structure of the [request for proposals] needs to be revised as well as some of the specifications and conditions,” the district wrote to bidders Oct. 4, adding it was the district’s intent “to rebid this item in a future date with revised specifications and conditions.”

What this means for students and parents who have already bought caps or gowns, or plan to soon, is unclear. Chuck Puleri & Associates the Broward distributor for Herff Jones, has already been visiting schools and distributing catalogs. Although it’s expected that Herff Jones will remain an approved vendor, parents may get the option to choose a lower-priced option.

The office of chief communications officer Kathy Koch declined to say what parents should do, only that “we anticipate having a new bid in place in time for parents to buy caps and gowns for graduations this school year.”

“So far, I haven’t heard of anything changing,” said Ashley Lehman, a senior class adviser at South Broward High in Hollywood. “Kids have been ordering caps and gowns through Herff Jones This is the first I’ve heard about rejecting the bids.”

Koch’s office would not comment on what specific changes were being made, saying the current bid is still under a “cone of silence” or a period in a bidding process in which discussion is limited. That period ends after the School Board votes on the issue next month.

Herff Jones is the predominant cap and gown vendor in South Florida, with exclusive contracts in Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties. Broward’s bidding practices, on paper, have encouraged having a pool of vendors to provide better prices, but in reality that hasn’t happened.

Online, the cheapest price is $69 because purchasers are made to buy caps and gowns in a bundle with other products

Herff and Jostens both offered the same price for a basic cap, gown and medallion, $44, but the price wasn’t on the Herff Jones website.

As noted, the cheapest price online is $69 because of the bundling requirement. To pay just $44, students had to meet directly with a Herff Jones representative or mail a form.

For the past four years, the district has had two approved vendors, Herff Jones and Jostens, but hardly anyone knew about Jostens. Every school website instructs parents to use Herff Jones, and only Herff Jones representatives visited the school. Whether parents could actually use Jostens if they did know about it was unclear.

An April 21 email from Herff Jones representative Caitlin Hanley to a principal said Shawn Cerra, director of student services, instructed schools to allow them to wear graduation products only from Herff Jones.

“Please send out an email or communication reminding all students and parents that in order to enter Auto Nation Drive Pink Stadium they will be required to have a Herff Jones Rental Cap & Gown,” Hanley wrote to South Broward Principal Patty Brown. “This is for consistency and more importantly safety and security. Students wearing a non-Herff Jones Rental Cap & Gown or gowns purchased somewhere else online will not be admitted to the stadium for graduation.”

It’s unclear if that practice was allowed. Asked whether it’s the school or parents who get to choose an approved vendor, Koch’s office would say only, “The bid is put in place as a purchasing vehicle for parents to buy/rent caps & gowns from approved vendors” and did not respond to multiple requests for clarification.

Puleri, the longtime Herff Jones representative, did not respond to calls on Wednesday and Friday.

Thomas Rhodes, president of Jostens distributor Rhodes Graduation Services, said he was happy for the opportunity to possibly enter the market.

“I have faith that the district leaders will do what’s in the best interest of their students, and I look forward to being a part of that process,” he said.

Lehman, the senior class adviser, said she hopes the new bids will result in lower prices for students. But she said she would prefer to keep using Herff Jones over Jostens, noting that the Jostens distributor doesn’t have a local office. Rhodes is based in South Carolina.

“The thing I love about Herff Jones is they’re always reachable,” Lehman said. “If there’s a problem, they show up to fix it. They are really accommodating.”