Wichita Falls ISD board approves McNeil Elementary renovation after debate over scoring of bids

The Wichita Falls Independent School District Board of Trustees voted 4-1 to award construction services for the McNeil Elementary School renovation to Cunningham Clark Construction, following a lengthy discussion about the bid-scoring process and past contractor performance.

The recommendation, presented by the district’s financial services staff, asked the board to approve awarding the project to Cunningham Clark Construction in the amount stated in the agenda packet. Dr. Donnie Lee, superintendent of schools, recommended the award during the meeting. The board approved the contract after discussion and a roll-call vote that resulted in a 4-1 tally.

Trustees questioned why the awarded company was not the lowest bid and raised concerns about how the district records and communicates contractor performance. “We had a low bid that had the highest score, [but] was missing some pieces of the bid,” the district’s financial presenter told the board. The presenter said the top-rated bid exceeded $10 million, while the Cunningham Clark bid ranked third by score and was under the $10 million threshold called out in the procurement materials.

Several trustees pressed staff on whether the district informs vendors that score poorly about specific deficiencies and whether the district follows up to help contractors improve. One trustee said the district should be “more direct and not waste people’s time if they’re going to be an automatic 5 in the process,” using the scoring rubric as a reference to recurring low scores for some vendors. Staff said the scoring included a rubric that considered past work and reputation, and that owner-architect-contractor (OAC) meetings and minutes record on-going project issues for two years following construction.

Board members also described past conversations with contractors about deficiencies on large projects such as Legacy and Memorial high schools. Staff said OAC minutes and communications exist and that past performance is taken into consideration when scoring future bids.

Action and vote: The board passed the motion to award the McNeil Elementary renovation contract (motion text in the meeting record) by a 4-1 vote. The remediation of procedural concerns about vendor feedback and scoring was discussed but no formal direction to change the scoring or vendor-notification process was recorded in the meeting minutes.

Background and funding: The financial services presentation identified the recommended expenditure as funded with maintenance tax note funds expected to be available later in the year. The presenter also reminded the board that district policy requires board approval for construction and purchases over $100,000.

What trustees said matters: Trustees who raised questions asked staff to clarify the scoring rubric, how past performance was documented in scoring, and whether the district engages with underperforming contractors to improve future delivery. Staff pointed to OAC meeting minutes and to the rubric’s use of past-project results as part of the evaluation.

Next steps: The district will proceed with contracting Cunningham Clark Construction for the McNeil work according to the approved recommendation. No further board action was recorded at the meeting on changing the scoring process or issuing corrective notices to vendors.