As federal funding opportunities pour in for various entities such as public school districts, the Greenville Public School District Board of Trustees was tasked with making a crucial decision in capitalizing on those opportunities during their regular Tuesday meeting.
After extensive inquiry and deliberation, the board voted unanimously for the approval of an engagement letter or resolution, with Young Law Group, LLC.
The motion as made by Trustee Antoinette Williams was to approve the purchase of a template developed and formulated by Young Law Group, LLC for $950 and to consult with the board of trustees for any other additional needs or services of the staff as it pertains to expending Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds.
Per the U.S. Department of Education’s (DOE) Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Congress set aside approximately $13.2 billion of the $30.75 billion allotted to the Education Stabilization Fund through the Coronavirus Aid Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act for the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER Fund).
“Signed into law on March 20, 2021, the Department awarded these grants to state educational agencies (SEAs) for the purpose of providing local educational agencies (LEAs), including charter schools that are LEAs, with emergency relief funds to address the impact that COVID-19 has had, and continues to have, on elementary and secondary schools across the Nation,” the U.S. Department of Education website states.
On Jan 5. 2021, the DOE announced, “The Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021 (CRRSA), was signed into law on December 27, 2020 and provides an additional $54.3 billion for the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER II Fund). ESSER II Fund awards to SEAs are in the same proportion as each State received funds under Part A of Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended, in fiscal year 2020.”
Superintendent Dr. Debra Dace said regarding the letter of engagement, “This is a letter of engagement to expend ESSER funds and we have to show that we have gone through the competitive process to number one, identify an architect and actually go through the competitive process for every step.”
She continued, “Typically when we have a project, we can identify or just select an architect; at this point, we can’t just select an architect — we have to go through the competitive process so this letter engages us and Young Law Group so that they can assist us with creating or developing an RFQ (request for qualifications) or request for proposals for architectural or engineering services.”
Dace said approval of the letter would be the district’s first step in working towards its desired construction projects.
She noted although the letter of engagement was not a requirement to begin the process, evidence of entrance into the competitive process is.
“So the architect or the firm, if approved to work with the district, will begin working with myself and team members to develop an RFQ and then we would put that RFQ out,” Dace said. “Once the architects bid on it or submit their proposal we would come back before the board and then the board would vote on an architect.”
Subsequent to the board’s approval, Dace noted the architect would complete the district’s specifications and put those out for bid as well so actual construction could “hopefully” begin.
She added, “This is probably a two month process or longer but it starts with this engagement letter so that we can put an RFQ out for architects.”
At a Jan. 26 regular meeting, associate director of operations Michael Banks informed the board where the district’s most significant costs lie in terms of campus sites in dire need of repair, internal and external improvement, modernization, etc.
He also provided a list of other objectives and potential building restructures which included teacher shortages, MDE accountability, safety, security, modernization, energy efficiency and enrollment (growth vs. decline).
Dating back to a regular meeting over the summer, Banks informed the board of trustees of both Greenville High and T.L. Weston campuses needing boiler and HVAC replacements.
According to Banks’ presentation, work to be done at the Greenville High campus alone, comes to an estimated total cost of $2.6 million.
In addition to the boiler HVAC replacements ($2,100,000), that work includes asbestos abatement ($300,000) and roof removal and replacement ($1.5 million).
Work to be done at the Weston Middle School campus is estimated to cost $2.2 million total and also includes asbestos abatement ($100,000) and roof removal and replacement ($2,100,000).
Board president Jan Vaughn asked if it was possible to put the RFQ out without an engagement letter.
Dace responded saying that she nor anyone on her staff knows how to draft such a formal RFQ.
Bored attorney Dorian Turner told the board there was one primary advantage in allowing Young Law Group to render the proposed services.
“The ESSER laws and regulations are thousands of pages and the Young Law Group folks have gone through this and developed a form template already, and that’s the $935 they are referring to on their proposal,” she explained. “So it’s not that I couldn’t do it, but I could tell you I have not gone through and already developed one and it would cost you more than $935 for me to go through all of those laws and regulations to do it.”
Turner continued, “They’ve already done it, packaged it and now they are going around to all the different school districts selling it so what they have is this form template to say, “If you retain us, we’ll give you a form RFQ that we’ve already developed and you can use it.””
Turner noted that the form template RFQ would include all of the provisions that will be applicable such as the district’s bid period, scoring and grading process, how it will be evaluated and so forth.
Young Law Group’s proposed rate for general services is $235 per hour, which posed a concern for some board members.
“It can be tweaked by the district essentially and be customized to how you want it,” she added, “I think that one document is certainly valuable; over and beyond that, you would just look and see what services, if any, you want.”
Trusty Antoinnette Williams pointed out the potential projects being discussed with Entegrity Energy Partners.
“The problem you’re going to have with that is under these competitive requirements, the energy efficiency project that you were contemplating, you’re not going to be able to use ESSER funds,” Turner clarified.
“Those construction projects that can only be funded with ESSER, have to be separate from the ESCO (energy service company) projects,” Dace added. “We know the projects that we need so there will be some conversation about what those specifics in the RFQ will be and they will start with a template. We’ve already kind of worked together on what the specifications are and it’s mostly the HVAC systems and things of that sort that we have in place to show them.”
