BUSINESS AND OPERATIONS:                                                                          [LAW]

CONSTRUCTION MANAGER-AGENT CONTRACTS

 

 

The following provisions apply only to a charter holder that has amended its charter to adopt Tex. Educ. Code Chapter 44.

 

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 a construction manager-agent.

 

Tex. Educ. Code § 44.031(a)(7); 19 Tex. Admin. Code § 100.103.

 

1.         Definition

 

A construction manager-agent is a sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, or other legal entity that provides consultation regarding construction, rehabilitation, alteration, or repair of the facility.  A school using the construction manger-agent method may, under the contract between the school and the construction manager-agent, require the construction manager-agent to provide administrative personnel, equipment necessary to perform duties under this policy, on-site management and other services specified in the contract.  A construction manager-agent represents the school in a fiduciary capacity.

 

Tex. Educ. Code § 44.037(b).

 

2.         Use of Construction Manager-Agent

 

The school may use a construction manager-agent as a method of entering into a contract for construction if it has determined that construction manager-agent provides the best value for the school.

 

Tex. Educ. Code §§ 44.035(a), 44.037(a).

 

3.         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.

 

Tex. Educ. Code § 44.0312.

 

4.         Notice of Bids and Selection Criteria

 

A.        Notice of the time by when and place where requests for proposals or qualifications, as appropriate, 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 or qualifications.  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 a school’s central administrative office is located.  In a two-step procurement process, the time and place where the second-step bids will be received are not required to be published separately.  [See also Selection process, paragraph (6) below].

 

Tex. Educ. Code § 44.031(g).

 

B.         In the published request for proposals or qualifications the school will identify the criteria that will be used to evaluate the offerors and the relative weights given to the criteria.

 

Tex. Educ. Code § 44.035(b).

 

5.         Designation of Engineer or Architect

 

Before or concurrently with selecting a construction manager-agent, the school shall select or designate an engineer or architect who shall prepare the construction documents for the project and who has full responsibility for complying with Vernon’s Texas Civil Statutes 3271a (Texas Engineering Practice Act) or Vernon’s Texas Civil Statutes 249a, 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.  The school’s engineer or architect may not serve, alone or in combination with another person, as the construction manager-agent unless the engineer or architect is hired to serve as the construction manager-agent under a separate or concurrent procurement conducted in accordance with the contracting methods of Chapter 44, subchapter B of the Texas Education Code.

 

Tex. Educ. Code § 44.037(c).

 

6.         Selection

 

The school shall select a construction manager-agent on the basis of demonstrated competence and qualifications in the same manner as provided for the selection of engineers or architects under § 2254.004, Tex. Gov’t Code.  [See Business and Operations: Professional Services Policies].

 

Tex. Educ. Code § 44.037(d).

 

7.         Contractors and Subcontractors

 

The school shall procure, in accordance with applicable law and in any manner authorized by Chapter 44 of the Texas Education Code, a general contractor, trade contractors, or subcontractors who will serve as the prime contractor for their specific portion of the work.

 

Tex. Educ. Code § 44.037(e).

 

8.         Testing or Inspection

 

The school or the construction manager-agent shall procure in accordance with § 2254.004, Tex. Gov’t Code, all of the testing or construction materials engineering, the inspection services, and the verification testing services necessary for acceptance of the facility by the charter holder.

 

Tex. Educ. Code § 44.037(f).

 

9.         Making Evaluations Public

 

The school shall document the basis of its selection and shall make the evaluations public not later than the seventh day after the date the contract is awarded.

 

Tex. Educ. Code § 44.035(c).