Vancouver Public Schools was the topic of two findings by the Washington State Auditor’s Office for missing enough controls to make sure compliance with state procurement laws on public works initiatives and aggressive bidding for contractors in the course of the 2019-20 faculty 12 months.
The findings from an April 29 report had been based mostly on now-completed building initiatives at Harney, Hough and Lincoln elementary faculties and the Lieser Campus.
In September 2019, Team Construction was awarded a $1.675 million contract for building on 4 lecture rooms at Harney Elementary. Later, the corporate did rework work of the college’s entryway and Family-Community Resource Center for $254,004, which the auditor’s workplace mentioned required a proper procurement course of “to adjust to aggressive contracting necessities” because it was not half of the unique bid specs.
“Because the work was not half of the unique bid specs, this variation order ought to have gone by means of a separate procurement course of to adjust to aggressive contracting necessities,” the report learn. “When the district doesn’t adjust to state bid legislation necessities, it can’t assure all events had the chance to bid or that the bottom attainable value was obtained.”
In July 2020, the college board accredited Inline Construction Co. of Aloha, Ore., for rework work at Hough and Lincoln elementaries and a modernization mission at Lieser Campus, all totaling $8.8 million. The auditor’s workplace discovered Inline Construction didn’t meet all duty standards to be granted public works contracts.
“The District didn’t have a course of to make sure present accountable bidder necessities had been checked previous to awarding public works contracts,” the report mentioned. “Also, workers chargeable for authorizing change orders lacked adequate data to find out if further building work represented a brand new mission that required aggressive bidding.”
VPS referred to as the findings disappointing and a “minor oversight.” It did admit a technical deficit on one side of a discovering, however did state its failure on the main points saved taxpayer {dollars}. VPS additionally questioned the auditor’s workplace centering its concentrate on unique bid specs, and the way it appeared to acknowledge that was “purely subjective.”
The auditor’s workplace referred to as the district’s assertion incorrect and inspired the district to hunt authorized counsel for future compliance with state laws.
“It is the district’s duty to have procedures to make sure compliance with state laws governing buying exercise, together with figuring out a change order which constituted a separate mission that ought to have been competitively bid,” the report mentioned.
