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Consultant outlines pros and cons of school construction delivery methods
Summary
Alan Rising gave a technical briefing on delivery models — design-bid-build, multi-prime, design-build (including progressive design-build), and lease-leaseback — and explained bid limits, transparency tradeoffs, and typical contract forms used by school districts.
Alan Rising, a construction consultant, walked the board through the principal project delivery methods used by school districts and explained the legal and practical tradeoffs trustees should weigh when selecting an approach.
Rising reviewed standard bid thresholds used in school procurement: negotiated agreements may be used for some purchases up to $114,800, while many public projects require formal bidding when they exceed $15,000. He described design-bid-build ("hard bidding") as the traditional method that typically uses lowest-responsible-bid evaluation but can create adversarial relationships and heavy change-order risk. "There's no one perfect delivery method," Rising said, arguing that choice should depend on project needs, district expertise and transparency requirements.
He compared multi-prime (where the district contracts trade-by-trade) and design-build variants, noting design-build has a $1,000,000 statutory minimum for certain approaches, while progressive design-build is limited to projects over $5,000,000 and allows price development during design. Rising also explained the mechanics of lease-leaseback (referencing Education Code 17406), its open-book approach to subcontracting, and common fee/guaranteed‑maximum-price structures.
Trustees asked practical questions about contract management, coordination costs, insurance and liabilities when schools remain occupied during construction; Rising recommended early legal review and active construction management. The presentation set the context for the board's later approval of lease-leaseback selection criteria for Hermosa Valley.
