Accept the Proposal Submitted by Frank and Gramling Law Firm, Carlton Fields, and Enola T. Brown, P.A. for Proposal # 4751-TS Legal Services - Environmental Law. The work will be assigned by the Deputy Superintendent and Chief Facilities Officer, in consultation with the School Board Attorney, taking into consideration the expertise required and circumstances of each assignment. (Business Division)

On March 29, 2006, the Purchasing Department on behalf of the Risk Management Office issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the Legal Services - Environmental Law based on the specifications provided by Risk Management. The purpose of the RFP is to establish a partnership with a qualified contractor to provide environmental law legal services.

The District notified 517 vendors online of the RFP and received three (3) proposals within the proposed time frame. Proposals were received from: 1) Frank and Gramling Law Firm, 2) Enola T. Brown, P.A., and 3) Carlton Fields, P.A. (Attachment A). The evaluation process included a committee of district level personnel (Attachment B). The evaluation consisted of two phases. In phase I, the committee evaluated the proposals based on the RFP criteria. In phase II the companies presented to the committee. After presentations, the committee reviewed key points as a group and individually rated each vendor for a final compilation (Attachments C and D). The fee schedule for each firm recommended for award is provided under attachment E. The initial term of the contract shall be for a three-year period with an effective date of May 3, 2006. A partner of one of the awarded firms is being recommended for award pending negotiations on agenda item 5.23R, RFP #4712-TS Lease of Land for Wireless Tower Use.

As stated in the 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.