Section 4 AAC 31.080 - Construction and acquisition of public school facilities(a) A school district shall construct a public educational facility with money provided through a grant under AS 14.11.011 - AS 14.11.020 or shall construct a public educational facility that is eligible for reimbursement under AS 14.11.100 under a written contract awarded on the basis of competitive sealed bids. If the estimated construction cost is less than $100,000 or if it is in the best interests of the state, the school district may, with the approval of the commissioner, construct the educational facility itself using its own employees.(b) The school district shall publish the first notice of its solicitation at least 21 days before the opening of the offers. The department may approve a solicitation period shorter than 21 days when written justification submitted by the school district demonstrates that a shorter solicitation period is advantageous for a particular project and will result in an adequate number of responses. A school district may provide additional notice by mailing its solicitation to contractors on any list it maintains, and any other means reasonably calculated to provide notice to prospective offerors. The district shall provide notice of its solicitation by publication at least three times in a newspaper of general circulation in the state. The department may approve an alternate means of notice through publication on the Internet if the website has the express purpose of advertising similar solicitations, has unrestricted public access, and is equally likely to reach prospective offerors.(c) The school district shall provide for the administrative review of a complaint filed by an aggrieved offeror that allows the offeror to file a bid protest, within 10 days after notice is provided of intent to award the contract, requesting a hearing for a determination and award of the contract in accordance with the law. The school district shall provide notice to all interested parties of the filing of the bid protest.(d) The award of a contract for the construction of an educational facility under this section must be made without regard to municipal ordinances or school board resolutions granting a preference to local offerors.(e) The department may deny or limit its participation in the costs of construction for a project eligible for grant funding under AS 14.11.011 or for reimbursement under AS 14.11.100 if the school district does not comply with the requirements of this section.(f) Nothing in this section precludes a school district from using an alternative construction delivery method as defined and described in the Project Delivery Method Handbook, 2nd Edition, September 2017, adopted by reference, if the department approves the method in advance of any solicitation, the proposed method is in the state's best interest, and the school district concurs in any directives the department makes concerning the type of selection and award of the contract. The department may deny or suspend use of an alternative construction delivery method by a school district if the department concludes, based on substantial evidence, that use or repeated use of a delivery method by the school district has resulted or will result in limited competition or higher costs.(g) A school district may, with prior approval by the department, enter into a lease or purchase agreement for, or accept a donation of, an existing facility or land for use as an education-related facility if (1) for the purchase, lease, or accepted donation of an existing facility, a cost saving over new construction is achieved;(2) the purchase or lease price is arrived at through impartial negotiation and is supported by a real estate appraisal that meets accepted standards; and(3) the purchase, lease, or donation is in the best interests of the state and the school district.(h) Notwithstanding (a) of this section, a school district may use any competitive procurement methodology for its solicitation for a public educational facility that is practicable under the circumstances to procure construction services that are estimated not to exceed $100,000, inclusive of labor and materials. A school district may not artificially divide or fragment a procurement so as to constitute a purchase under this subsection or to circumvent the selection procedures otherwise required by this section.(i) The department may deny or limit its participation in the costs of a school capital project if the real property for the project is acquired by a school district through purchase, lease, or donation without the approval of the department under (g) of this section.(j) A school district shall perform commissioning of the systems included in a school capital project if the school capital project is an addition of over 5,000 square feet or new construction of an education-related facility that is over 5,000 square feet. If the school capital project is a rehabilitation of an education-related facility over 10,000 square feet, a school district shall perform commissioning of each system substantially upgraded in the school capital project. A school district may perform commissioning for a rehabilitation of an education-related facility for each system impacted by the project but not substantially upgraded in the rehabilitation. Commissioning required under this subsection must include the services of a commissioning agent. Commissioning permitted under this subsection for a system that is impacted by a rehabilitation project but not substantially upgraded in the rehabilitation may use the services of a commissioning agent or may use a qualified facility professional, including a school district employee. The cost of commissioning, including the cost of a commissioning agent, required or permitted under this subsection is an allowable cost of school construction.Eff. 12/2/83, Register 88; am 8/31/90, Register 115; am 4/17/98, Register 146; am 11/20/2005, Register 176; add'I am 11/28/2019, Register 232, January 2020A copy of the Project Delivery Method Handbook, adopted by reference in 4 AAC 31.080 is available for inspection at the offices of the Department of Education and Early Development, 801 W. 10th St., Suite 200, Juneau, AK 99801 - 1878.
Authority:AS 14.07.060
AS 14.11.020
AS 14.11.132