Board adopts lease-leaseback selection criteria for Hermosa Valley modernization

The Hermosa Beach City School District board voted to approve a resolution establishing standardized selection criteria and a competitive solicitation process for lease-leaseback procurement of the Hermosa Valley modernization project.

Alan Rising, the consultant who briefed the board on construction delivery methods, told trustees that lease-leaseback is authorized under Education Code 17406 and can be run as an "open book" procurement with early contractor engagement. "Lease leaseback is one of those alternative delivery methods," Rising said, describing a process in which a district leases property to a builder who constructs the facility and the district then leases it back for a prescribed period.

Board members pressed staff and the consultant about legal risk and past court challenges. President Cole said the prospect of litigation was a practical concern: "We just can't afford that," she said, referencing earlier district experience with litigation costs. Rising and other board members pointed to AB 23 16 and other statutory requirements that now require transparent solicitation and selection criteria; Rising said his recommendation and the documents before the board follow those requirements closely.

The resolution the board approved establishes a 1,000-point evaluation scale with price weighted as the largest single element (250 points) and additional points assigned for firm qualifications, key personnel, local participation/community benefits, and proposal quality. Staff will publish the RFP, form an evaluation panel, and return to the board with the recommended lease-leaseback agreement after the competitive process is complete.

The motion passed on a voice vote. The board did not record a roll-call tally in the transcript for the motion.