School Facilities and Finance Matters

Contract Review
BB&K attorneys regularly negotiate, draft and approve as to form, numerous kinds of public contracts including construction contracts, general conditions, purchasing contracts, architect, and other professional services agreements. We are experienced in all aspects of the procurement process including public bidding and quote processes as well as advertising requirements, drafting bidding and purchasing procedures, resolving bid protests, drafting bid documents, awarding contracts, and the competitive process required for professional services agreements. BB&K is intimately familiar with the Public Contracts Code, Labor Code, Government Code, Public Resources Code, Education Code, Business and Professions Code, and all administrative regulations and case law pertaining to schools district bids and public contracting.

School Construction
BB&K attorneys frequently deal with construction and public contract issues and have a particularly high level of expertise in this area. We regularly advise and assist school districts in processing documents with the State Allocation Board, the Office of Public School Construction, and the Office of the State Architect. Our services include preparation and review of architect agreements, contract specifications and required bidding documents as well as the negotiation and drafting of personnel services and construction management contracts. We assist our clients regarding disputes related to day to day construction issues, such as prevailing wage compliance, change orders, payment requests, stop notices, federal and state laws relating to access for the disabled, CAL/OSHA, payment bonds for uncompleted schools, bankruptcy filings of general contractors and subcontractors, as well as tax liens and other claims made by the Internal Revenue Service, and disagreements between subcontractors. We also assist school districts with the selection of competent professional consultants and construction contractors.

Acquisition of Real Property
BB&K attorneys provide complete transactional support for land acquisition and other real estate transactions. We advise school districts on the leasing and acquisition of real property, compliance with the State School Building Lease-Purchase Program, the Naylor Act, the Field Act, public-private joint ventures for asset management and surplus property issues. Our attorneys also work closely with the public finance department in the areas of land banking and lease-leaseholder arrangements. We have regularly handled eminent domain litigation (link to ED page) and disputed property acquisition matters on behalf of many of our school district and public agency clients. We have established close ties and good working relationships with a number of expert appraisers who regularly assist school districts on these matters.

School Financing and Bonds
BB&K is a nationally recognized bond counsel. Our attorneys are experts in the areas of general obligation bonds, tax and revenue anticipation notes, establishing lines of credit, agency bonds, benefit assessment bonds, certificate of participation lease financing, sale/leaseback and lease/leaseback, non-profit corporation (Section 501(c) (3)) financing, refunding, and advance refunding bond issues. Our attorneys are familiar with traditional and innovative financing techniques including the formation of Mello-Roos Community Facilities Districts (CFD), annexation to existing CFDs and compliance with Proposition 13 and Proposition 218. We also advise school districts as to the use of CFDs as mitigation measures for new development, as well as compliance with newly enacted SB 50.

Developer Fees
BB&K attorneys regularly assist school districts in all aspects of school fee legislation including the Leroy F. Greene School Facilities Act of 1998 and the mitigation process under Senate Bill 50 (SB 50). We provide general advice and assistance in establishing and implementing policies regarding full mitigation for school facilities impacts including drafting the necessary resolutions, legal notices and documents required by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) as well as reviewing fee justification studies and the newly required SB 50 Needs Analysis for legal sufficiency. In addition, we assist school districts with implementation of the State Allocation Board's biennial increase of statutory school fees. We provide our school district clients with sample annual and five year developer fee reports and assist them in regard to compliance with the various developer fee reporting requirements.