Alief Independent School District staff on Tuesday summarized the district's procurement and construction solicitation process and outlined steps to improve vendor access and transparency, including an upcoming vendor fair and the publication of award tabulations on the district website.

Deputy Superintendent Charles Woods introduced the report and turned the presentation to Joseph Vialba, director of procurement and distribution, who described the district's preferred contracting methods, evaluation criteria and recent changes intended to streamline scoring and reduce unnecessary committee meetings.

Why this matters: Trustees and business groups frequently ask how to do business with the district. Purchasing officials said clearer published criteria, online evaluation tools and in-person vendor support will help smaller firms and first-time vendors compete for work on district projects.

Key points from the presentation
- Dominant method: Over the last five years the district issued 43 of 48 construction solicitations as Competitive Sealed Proposals (CSPs), the procurement team said. CSPs allow the district to read responses publicly, score submissions, and negotiate best value rather than awarding only on lowest price.
- Evaluation criteria: Vialba presented a standard template that lists the statutory criteria from Texas Government Code (including price, proposer experience and reputation, safety, performance schedule and other factors) and a methodology for scoring each item; staff said the weights can be adjusted depending on project scope.
- Committee practice and online scoring: Purchasing is implementing an evaluation module in the bidding portal so committee members can score proposals remotely and independently; administrators said that should reduce the need for large in-person evaluation meetings and maintain confidentiality through nondisclosure statements for panelists.
- Transparency and vendor support: The district will post award tabulations and recommendations on its purchasing web page after board approval and will hold a vendor fair designed to register vendors, explain solicitation requirements, and walk new vendors through the registration and submission process.

Trustee discussion and follow-up directions
- Trustees asked how the district prevents conflicts or undue influence when architects or engineers sit on evaluation committees. Deputy Superintendent Charles Woods explained that licensed design professionals are valuable because their professional license and errors-and-omissions insurance make them accountable for design documents; he said committee members must disclose conflicts and that the district can reject improper conduct. Purchasing said committee members will sign nondisclosure/conflict forms and that purchasing staff will moderate the committee.
- Trustees also asked about how past performance with Alief ISD influences scoring and how the district brings new firms into the vendor pool. Purchasing said the scoring methodology will give full points by default for past performance unless the district has documented negative performance on file; the district has also used pooled qualification processes for architects/engineers to expand the pool of firms that can be assigned projects.

Clarifying details
- Statutory references: presenters cited Texas Government Code section 22.69 (construction procurement procedures) and Chapter 44 (general procurement) when describing allowable criteria and methods.
- Posting and timelines: responses to CSP openings will be evaluated within 45 days of the public opening, staff said; awarded solicitations will be published after board approval.

Ending
District procurement leaders said they will move forward with online scoring and a vendor fair, and will post award summaries after board approval to help vendors understand results and improve future submissions.