Utah School District Issues RFP for Collections Contract

A school district in Utah has put out a Request For Proposal seeking a collection agency to help it recover $100,000 in unpaid fees.

The schools in the district have been trying to collect the fees on their own, but are running into problems because there are “no consequences” for unpaid fees, according to a published report.

If approved, the contract with the collection agency will run for five years. The approved agency will have been in business for at least five years and will have experience in collecting school-related debt, according to the RFP.

The winning agency will perform debt collection activities on behalf of the school district, provide the district with access to an online portal to view account-level collections data, and provide monthly status reports. The agency will not be authorized to settle any account for less than the balance owed without the district’s written consent, and will not file lawsuits without receiving permission from the district first.

“As we get larger, we’re going to have more unpaid fees and realize this is becoming a problem in our school district,” said Lana Hiskey, a spokesperson for the school district.