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Certain funding eligibility requirements depend on actions your district takes in choosing, designing, and constructing its project. It is important to understand these requirements ahead of time so that you can maintain your district's eligibility for State funds, and make sure your district's eventual funding application is not delayed or rejected because of avoidable mistakes.
In particular, your district must use a competitive selection process to obtain all professional services used on projects to be funded by the School Facility Program (SFP). This includes the services of architects, civil and structural engineers, and construction managers. Unlike construction contractors — such as painters, site-grading subcontractors, or general contractors — these professional services must be obtained through a qualifications-bid selection process rather than a competitive bid process. This requires a formal, qualifications-based selection procedure.
Your district should seek legal counsel to ensure that it complies with the proper legal requirements for selecting any professional service provider, including Disabled Veterans Business Enterprise requirements and all other elements of the Public Contract Code. It can also consult the "School Facility Program Handbook (PDF)" — especially the section on "Selecting Professional Services" in Chapter 3: Project Development Activities — and the "School Facility Program Regulations (PDF)", prepared by the Office of Public School Construction (OPSC).
When your district eventually applies for funding from the State, it will be required to certify that it used such a competitive process to select professional design and other services. If it cannot do so, or if the State Allocation Board (SAB) determines that the competitive process was not used, the entire project will be ineligible for State funding, and any grant already made will be illegal and may be recalled.
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