VIGO COUNTY, Ind.  – Last week the Vigo County School Board voted to allow attorneys to negotiate with a contractor over potential over billing. If negotiations are not successful the board authorized attorneys to sue Energy Systems Group.

ESG is implicated in a potential bribery case involving former school superintendent Dan Tanoos.

Authorities say Tanoos accepted gifts from ESG in exchange for favorable recommendations that the company be hired to perform work worth millions of dollars.

After research, the board believes that ESG made more profit than is customary for the kind of work performed.

Board member Mel Burks abstained from voting on the resolution to pursue legal action.

Burks has said that he was not able to attend a meeting with attorneys to be briefed on what ESG may have done due to prior commitments with his job as CEO of Hamilton Center.

Because of that Burks felt he was ill-informed to make a decision.

There was 13 days between the meeting with attorneys and the board vote.

Burks told News 10 that “If I did not receive any information from the person who’s leading the meeting, then I think I’m still not…what I usually do is ask particular questions and I was not able to do so.”

Burks has said that he plans on meeting with attorneys next week to gain information that he has yet to receive.