Lfi project report final

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www.bondaccountability.org

Procurement practices

Locally funded repairs and improvements July 26, 2016 The BAC has embarked on a project to examine spending on so-called Locally Funded Initiative repairs and improvements to help ensure that tax proceeds of Issue 14 (2001) and Issue 4 (2014) are being spent efficiently. Page 2. The District's difficulty in compiling information requested for 2013-15 highlights a need for a more systematic and responsive way of tracking repairs and improvements. Page 2. In 2013-14, the District-supplied data show that "summer work" Purchase Orders over $2,500 without multiple price quotes were about half the value of all non-consultant Purchase Orders issued. Pages 3-4. State law and Board of Education policy generally require competitive bidding or multiple price quotes before contracts are awarded, but in the Cleveland District's repair/improvement program, exceptions are the rule, thanks in large part to the Board of Education's annual "urgent necessity" Resolutions. Pages 4-7. Instances in which the District has obtained multiple price quotes for repair/improvement projects show that competition saves money and indicate the potential for substantial savings if more projects were offered for quotes. Page 8. There clearly isn't time for bidding or for soliciting multiple price quotes in emergencies, but the "urgent necessity" Resolutions also cover repairs and improvements that have been planned for months or even years, leaving plenty of time for bids or quotes. Pages 9-10. When the Board of Education approved this year's "summer work" Resolution on May 24, a Board member asked for the first time that the Administration report back to the Board about what work was eventually done under the Resolution, and the Administration agreed to do so. That's a good start, to which the BAC adds some recommendations: Pages 11-12.

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