School building renewal projects would be limited to $1 million job orders unless an emergency

Individual job orders for construction under a job-order contract would be capped at $1,000,000 for building renewal grant projects that are not emergencies. This applies to construction projects paid for from the building renewal grant fund, the school districts that apply, and the contractors who bid on them. Before approving a project, division staff may review costs and scope with bidders and must check that the work has not been artificially split into pieces to fit the cap. The division may buy construction services by any method allowed in state procurement law, including construction-manager-at-risk, design-build, design-bid-build, and job-order contracting.

On a school district's request, the division must decide within five business days whether a building renewal grant project is an emergency. This applies to school districts that request an emergency decision for a project submitted for building renewal grant money. A project is an emergency if the district shows a serious need for materials, services, construction, or expenses beyond its adopted budget that seriously threatens its operations, property, or public health, welfare, or safety. The rule does not allow grant money for a project that does not serve an academic purpose. The division must decide no later than five business days after it receives the request.