On April 25, 2006, the Purchasing Department on behalf of the Department of Risk Management issued an RFP for Legal Services based upon the specifications provided by the department. The purpose of this RFP is to award additional vendors to increase the existing list of available firms providing legal services in the area of Workers' Compensation. Firms were asked to provide the experiences and qualifications of the firm, the experience of the primary individual, their pricing proposal, and their small business/minority/women participation. Proposals were due on May 9, 2006.

The District utilizes an online vendor registration system to notify potential bidders of opportunities. Through this system, two (2) bidders responded (Attachment A). The proposals were received from Barbas, Koenig, Nunez, Sanders and Butler, and The Bleakley Law Firm. The evaluation process included a committee of district level personnel (Attachment B). Prior to Phase I, Purchasing staff contacted references to assist the committee in determining which firms would advance. During Phase I, the committee evaluated the proposals on May 15, 2006, based on the RFP criteria (Attachment C). The committee elected not to hold oral presentations in Phase II, but to recommend award based on the results of Phase I evaluations. The committee reviewed key points as a group and individually rated each vendor for a final compilation (Attachments D & E). The fee schedule for each firm recommended for award is provided (Attachment F). The initial term of the contract shall be for a three-year period with an effective date of June 7, 2006.

As stated in OPPAGA report: “Efficient purchasing and warehousing requires that management processes be in place to ensure that supplies, equipment and services vital to the school’s education mission are purchased from a competitive source, in the right quantity, delivered timely to the correct location, and stored in a secure location. These criteria should be met for each purchase without sacrificing quality.”

The average yearly total cost of attorney fees for all district legal services is $749,293 based upon the expenses for the past three years. Legal activity does vary from year to year in amounts and among the various legal disciplines based upon circumstances at the time. The average expenses, paid for from operating budget dollars, have been paid for from budget dollars charged to the operation of the School Board. Legal costs incurred due to capital outlay matters including bond counsel, land use, real property, and construction litigation are charged to the appropriate projects in the capital outlay budget.

Contract Administration or evaluation is performed by the Project Manager (end user) and Purchasing Agent, who function as a team. Reviews are conducted face to face, typically quarterly, or by utilizing an online vendor performance report. Prior to soliciting a new contract, the Contract Administration team must first give consideration to the specifications and supporting data of the expiring contract.