Special review of AAA high school CMAR finds no disqualifying noncompliance but urges clearer disclosure and RFQ language

RSM presented a special, expedited review of the construction manager at risk (CMAR) procurement for the AAA high school and reported no instances of noncompliance that would invalidate the procurement. "We did not identify any instances of noncompliance that would negate or invalidate the procurement process," RSM said.

The review flagged three main areas for improvement. First, RSM recommended mandatory conflict‑of‑interest disclosures by selection‑committee members before they participate; procedures exist for proposers but not consistently for evaluators. Second, RSM noted ambiguity in RFQ language where purchasing requested preliminary cost estimates; state procurement guidance (transcribed citations: "2 87 and 2 55") generally discourages using cost estimates before short‑listing, and RSM recommended clarifying RFQ language so cost estimates are not used as scoring criteria. Third, RSM detected minor scoring calculation errors in the selection committee's vendor evaluations; the firm said the error rate was less than 1% and would not have changed the award result but recommended verification steps for future procurements.

Board members asked how the district will prevent scoring mistakes going forward. RSM and staff said the selection process has verification steps and that they will simplify scoring to reduce human error; RSM also noted that the district's verification process previously caught at least one evaluator error. "Better checks are needed for sure," a committee member said during Q&A.

RSM also performed targeted procedures and found no evidence of conflicts in this specific procurement. The audit committee noted the review was done quickly due to the time‑sensitive nature of the construction schedule and thanked RSM for an expedited report. The district said it will update procedures and RFQ language to reduce ambiguity in future CMAR procurements.