District approves sale of CMS’ clear backpacks for $85,000

CHARLOTTE — Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools has officially sold its controversial clear backpacks.

A spokesperson told Channel 9 that the school district approved the sale late Friday for $85,000.

CMS confirmed the highest bid for all of its clear backpacks was $85,000.

The superintendent and his cabinet had to decide whether to accept that offer. If CMS did not accept the offer, a spokesperson said they could have placed the bags up for auction again under new criteria.

The starting bid for the bags, which were listed on govdeals.com, was $50,000.

CMS previously announced that the district was pausing the distribution of its clear backpacks because of concerns with Proposition 65 warning tags attached to them. In June, the district told Channel 9 the clear backpacks would not be distributed at all during the 2021-2022 school year.

Prop 65 is for California residents, and it “requires businesses to provide warnings to Californians about significant exposures to chemicals that cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm.”

The company that made the backpacks, A.D. Sutton, told Channel 9 the warning only applies to California and that the tags can be removed. In the description of the backpacks, CMS noted the Prop 65 tag doesn’t apply to North Carolina.

“Please note the manufacturer’s statement below regarding California Proposition 65 labels,” the listing reads. “‘A.D. Sutton’s protocol is to put prop 65 warning labels on all of our products for California residents in compliance with the prop 65 regulations. This warning does not apply to the other 49 states, and as such these tags may be removed.’”

The sale is a big loss for CMS. The district bought the nearly 46,000 bags for more than $441,000 in an attempt to improve security at schools -- that’s a difference of about $356,000.

The full description from the website is included below:

“Lot 50 contains approximately 45,980 clear backpacks. Bag material is 100% polyvinyl chloride (PVC) with straps of 100% polyester. Strap colors are an assortment of black, blue, green, red, yellow and pink. Quantities of each color are unknown. Approximately 85% are in box quantities of 24 with the remaining 15% in box quantities of 12. Backpacks are stretch-wrapped on approximately 50 pallets. Please note the manufacturer’s statement below regarding California Proposition 65 labels:

“‘A D Sutton’s protocol is to put prop 65 warning labels on all of our products for California residents in compliance with the prop 65 regulations. This warning does not apply to the other 49 states, and as such these tags may be removed.’

“Buyer is responsible for picking up backpacks and/or making 3PL shipping arrangements, as well as payment of any freight charges directly to the carrier. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools will not make shipping arrangements with third parties.”

(WATCH BELOW: CMS pauses rollout of clear backpacks due to warning tags)

CMS pauses rollout of clear backpacks due to warning tags

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