BUSINESS
AND OPERATIONS: CONSTRUCTION USING [LAW]
The
following provisions apply only to a charter holder that has amended its
charter to adopt
The
school may award a contract for the construction, repair, or renovation, of a
structure, road, highway, or other improvement or addition to real property by
using competitive sealed proposals.
1. Use of Competitive Sealed Proposals
The school may use competitive sealed proposals as a
method of entering into a contract for construction if it has determined that
competitive sealed proposals provide the best value for the school.
2. Delegation of Authority
The school board may not delegate to
others the authority to:
A.
Select the
construction delivery method that provides the best value; or
B.
Adopt special
rules and procedures for the selection process.
The board may choose to delegate its authority regarding
an action required under Texas Education Code, Chapter 44, subchapter B, to a
designated person, representative, or committee. In procuring construction services, the school
shall provide notice of the delegation and the limits of the delegation in the
request for bids. If the school fails to
timely provide notice of the delegation, a ranking, selection, or evaluation of
bids, proposals, or qualifications for construction services, other than by the
board, is advisory only.
3. Notice of Proposals and Selection Criteria
A. Notice of the
time by when and place where the proposals will be received and opened shall be
published in the county in which the school’s central administrative office is
located, once a week for at least two (2) weeks before the deadline for
receiving proposals. If there is not a
newspaper in that county, the advertising shall be published in a newspaper in
the county nearest the county seat of the county in which the school’s central
administrative office is located. In a
two-step procurement process, the time and place where the second-step
proposals will be received are not required to be published separately.
B. In the
published request for proposals the school will identify the criteria that will
be used to evaluate the offerors and the relative weights given to the
criteria.
3. Selection of Architect or Engineer
The school
shall select or designate an engineer or architect to prepare construction
documents for the project. The selected
or designated engineer or architect has full responsibility for complying with
the Texas Engineering Practice Act (Article 3271a, Vernon’s Texas Civil
Statutes) or Chapter 478, Acts of the 45th Legislature, Regular Session, 1937
(Article 249a, Vernon’s Texas Civil Statutes), as applicable. If the engineer or architect is not a
full-time employee of the school, the school shall select the engineer or
architect on the basis of demonstrated competence and qualifications as
provided by § 2254.004, Tex. Gov’t Code. [See
Business and Operations: Professional Services Policies].
4. Inspection and Testing Services
The school
shall provide or contract for, independently of the contractor, the inspection
services, the testing of construction materials engineering, and the
verification testing services necessary
for acceptance of the facility by the school. The school shall select those services for
which it contracts in accordance with § 2254.004, Tex. Gov’t Code, [See Business and Operations: Professional
Services Policies] and shall identify them in the request for proposals.
5. Request for Sealed Proposals
The school
shall prepare a request for competitive sealed proposals that includes
construction documents, selection criteria, estimated budget, project scope,
schedule, and other information that contractors may require to respond to the
request. The school shall state in the
request for proposals the selection criteria that will be used in selecting the
successful offeror.
6. Opening of Proposals
The school shall receive, publicly open, and read aloud
the names of the offerors and, if any are required to be stated, all prices
stated in each proposal. Within 45 days
after the date of opening the proposals, the school shall evaluate and rank
each proposal submitted in relation to the published selection criteria.
7. Selection of Offeror
A. Evaluation
Based on Selection Criteria
The school
shall select the offeror that offers the best value for the school based on the
published selection criteria and on its ranking evaluation. The selection criteria may include the
following factors:
(1) Purchase
price;
(2) The
reputation of the vendor and of the vendor’s goods and services;
(3) The
quality of the vendor’s goods or services;
(4) The
extent to which the goods or services meet the school’s needs;
(5) The
vendor’s past relationship with the school;
(6) The impact
on the ability of the school to comply with laws relating to historically
underutilized businesses;
(7) The
total long-term cost to the school to acquire the goods or services;
(8) Any other
relevant factor specifically listed in the request for bids or proposals.
B. Negotiation
Procedure
The school shall first attempt to
negotiate with the selected offeror a contract.
The school and its engineer or architect may discuss with the selected
offeror options for a scope or time modification and any price change
associated with the modification. If the
school is unable to negotiate a contract with the selected offeror, the school
shall, formally and in writing, end negotiations with that offeror and proceed
to the next offeror in the order of the selection ranking until a contract is
reached or all proposals are rejected.
8. Best Value
In
determining the best value for the school, the school is not restricted to
considering price alone, but may consider any other factor stated in the
selection criteria.