An Administrator's Guide to California Private School Law

Chapter 17 – Construction

D. A WARDING T HE C ONTRACT A school may award the contract to the contractor of its choice, assuming the language of the request for qualifications or request for proposals, if used, established and reserved that right. Schools should follow their own policies and procedures regarding internal approval to award the contract prior to executing an agreement. S TARTING O UT W ITH S TRONG , D EFENSIBLE C ONTRACT D OCUMENTS While planning a construction project, the focus is usually on the project itself. Many schools do not pay much attention to the contract documents until a dispute arises, which is usually after the contract has been executed. By this time, the school’s ability to change the contract language to ensure the school is protected is limited to the terms of the contract. Schools should thus allow time for a legal and design review of contracts before bidding, awarding, or executing a construction contract. Additionally, schools should coordinate contractor, architect, and construction manager contracts to avoid overlapping duties, confusion on the job site, and delays to the project. LCW Practice Advisor Section 5

Schools should ensure the contractual duties of its contractor, architect, and construction manager are consistent. A school may end being liable for delays to the project if, for example, the architect agreement permits an architect 14 days to review a request for information, but the contractor agreement states the architect must respond to a contractor’s request for information within 10 days.

A. A RCHITECT A GREEMENT Architects must enter into a written contract with their client to provide their professional architectural services. 2326 A written contract is not required if the architect is not being paid for its services or if the school waives its right to a contract in writing. 2327 Architect agreements must, at a minimum, contain the following provisions:  Describe services the architect will provide to the school.

 Describe the architect’s compensation and the method of payment to the architect.  Provide the name, address, and license number of the architect and the name and address of the school.

An Administrator’s Guide to California Private School Law ©2019 Liebert Cassidy Whitmore 558