FUSD board divided on need for outside investigation of bidding processes
The Fresno Unified School District Board of Trustees remains divided in the wake of acontroversial construction deal that was recently deemed illegal by the 5th District Court of Appeal.
Board members disagree about whether an independent investigation should be conducted to answer questions about how and why the district went outside the scope of typical bidding processes when it signed a near-$40 million contract with Harris Construction to build Rutherford B. Gaston Middle School.
While the board has not taken up the matter in a public meeting, with board leadershipshutting down requests to get it on the agenda, trustees have taken their arguments public anyway, signing off on two conflicting letters to the editor in The Bee in the past week.
In a letter to the editor in Tuesday’s paper, trustees Janet Ryan and Christopher De La Cerda say fellow trustees’ call for an outside investigation is unnecessary, and defend lease-leaseback deals — the process used in the Harris Construction case. Lease-leaseback deals were designed for cash-strapped districts that want to build schools. The method allows school districts to handpick developers who will pay the upfront building costs, then the district pays to lease the school until it’s paid off.
The appellate court found the Gaston Middle deal was not a true lease-leaseback deal because Fresno Unified had the money to pay it off immediately, and the decision has left critics alleging district officials broke the rules in order to favor Harris Construction.
I WOULD SUGGEST THAT THE ON-GOING CRITICISM HAS BEEN WORTH IT.
Fresno Unified Trustee Christopher De La Cerda, citing construction of Gaston Middle School as a positive development being overshadowed by the debate of how it was paid for
“As a current board member and former educator, I continue to remind myself what is at the center of this issue. The district finally built a state-of-the-art middle school for a part of our community that lacked one for more than 30 years. The positive impact that it has had on the children, their families and the community is just beginning to be realized,” De La Cerda said Tuesday in an email. “For that, I would suggest that the on-going criticism has been worth it.”
De La Cerda and Ryan point to other cases where other school districts in California have gone to court and won regarding the lease-leaseback method, and say any investigation would be “unwise” while the case is still pending a final court decision. The board voted to appeal the most recent court decision, asking that the case move to the California Supreme Court. The district has already spent $117,000 litigating the case, according to a district official.
The case was not addressed at a Fresno Unified Audit Committee Meeting on Tuesday, but it could be in the future, according to Ryan.
The committee — made up of some trustees, district staff and community members — meets quarterly with an external auditor, required to oversee districts by state law, and an additional internal auditor that Fresno Unified employs voluntarily to keep an eye on finances and business practices.
Ryan said that while she doesn’t think an investigation is needed, she would support a move to have the firm already employed by the district — Price, Paige & Company — to conduct an audit of the bidding process in question.
“I’m a part of this committee and I trust these guys and think they do a good job,” Ryan said Tuesday. “In September, if we want to put that on the agenda, that’s something I would support.” The Audit Committee voted Tuesday to renew its contract with Price, Paige & Company, extending its seven-year business relationship.
But three of the seven Fresno Unified trustees want new eyes on the case and are asking that the board consider hiring an outside firm that has no prior ties to the district to look into the Harris Construction contract.
THE PUBLIC SHOULD BE OUTRAGED.
Fresno Unified Trustee Brooke Ashjian, lamenting what he says is a lack of open discussion about how bond dollars are being spent
Trustee Brooke Ashjian said the board’s current focus on the purpose of lease-leaseback deals is a red herring, and that the concern is more about the deals that happened between Fresno Unified and Harris Construction prior to the company’s selection for the project. Harris Construction agreed to do consulting for free in exchange for winning the project’s contract — and without the full board’s approval.FUSD board divided on need for outside investigation of bidding processes | Fresno Bee Fresno Bee:
