Facilities Construction
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Local Changes (2)
This update to the CV (Facilities Construction) Local Policy significantly restructures the policy by reorganizing construction delivery methods and contracting authority into tiered thresholds (over/under $2,000,000 and over/under $500,000), introducing new Board approval form templates for delivery methods and contracts, revising change order approval requirements by contract size, splitting final payment provisions by contract tier, removing the standalone Project Administration section, and adding a new Implementation section with a December 31, 2026 deadline for required forms.
Added
- The Superintendent shall ensure that the Board receives timely, accurate, and ongoing information about construction contracts and is provided with information to make approvals required by Texas law.
- Construction Delivery Methods (section heading)
- Contracts Over $2,000,000 (subsection heading)
- a recommendation for the best value determination for the Board to consider, and approve, for all construction delivery methods for projects that are anticipated to exceed $2,000,000, prior to advertising the project delivery/contract award method.
- To assist the Board with approval of the construction delivery methods, the Superintendent shall prepare a standard approval form template for Board adoption that includes proposed key construction delivery method information, including an anticipated timeline of events.
- Once the construction delivery method template is adopted by the Board; the Superintendent shall provide the Board with the completed form for each construction project delivery method under this section.
- Contracts Under $2,000,000 (subsection heading)
- The Superintendent shall determine the construction delivery method in the best value determination of the District or in accordance with Texas law for contracts under $2,000,000.
- Contracting Authority Over $500,000 (revised subsection heading — 'Approval' removed)
- To assist the Board with approval of the construction contracts, the Superintendent shall prepare a standard approval form template for Board adoption that includes key construction contract information.
- Once the construction contract approval form template is adopted by the Board, the Superintendent shall provide the Board with the completed form for each construction contract under this section.
- Contracting Authority Under $500,000 (revised subsection heading — 'Approval' removed)
- Construction contracts and construction related materials or services under $500,000
- Board pPolicy
- CH(LOCAL) and CH(LEGAL)
- Board Approved Contracts Over $500,000 (subsection heading under Change Orders)
- Change orders on all Board-approved construction contracts over $100,000 shall require Board approval.
- The Superintendent shall prepare a change order recommendation form template for Board approval.
- Once the Board approves the change order form, the Superintendent shall provide the Board with the completed form, including accurate status, scope, cost, and schedule impacts of any Board approved construction contract change order under this section.
- District Approved Contracts Under $500,000 (subsection heading under Change Orders)
- On District approved construction contracts, change orders shall not require Board approval. The District shall inform the Board of all change orders, or combined change orders, over $100,000 using the template for Board Approved Contracts.
- Board Approved Contracts Over $500,000 (subsection heading under Final Payment)
- For Board approved construction contracts, the District shall not make final payments for construction until the work has been substantially completed and accepted by the Board.
- District Approved Contracts Under $500,000 (subsection heading under Final Payment)
- For District approved construction contracts, the District shall not make final payments for construction until the work has been substantially completed and accepted by the District the work.
- Implementation (section heading)
- The District shall adopt procedures to implement this Board Policy. The District shall present required forms for Board adoption no later than December 31, 2026.
Removed
- The construction manager-at-risk project delivery method shall be deemed the project delivery/contract award method providing the best value to the District for construction projects valued at or above $100,000. If another method is deemed to provide the best value to the District for a particular construction project,
- or designee
- determine, and
- the contract the project delivery/contract award method
- For construction projects valued below $100,000, the Superintendent shall determine the project delivery/contract award method that provides the best value to the District.
- also
- resulting
- Lesser expenditures for construction
- Approval (from 'Approval Contracting Authority Over $500,000')
- Approval (from 'Approval Contracting Authority Under $500,000')
- Change orders permitted by law shall be approved prior to any changes being made in the approved plans or the actual construction of the facility.
- Changorders valued at or above $100,000
- However, if the Superintendent determines that such prior approval unreasonably delays construction, the Superintendent is authorized to approve the change orders, and the Board at the earliest opportunity shall ratify the change orders.
- Change orders permitted by law valued less than $100,000 shall be approved by the Superintendent prior to any changes being made in the approved plans or the actual construction of the facility.
- Project Administration (section heading)
- All construction projects shall be administered by the Superintendent or designee.
- The Superintendent shall keep the Board informed concerning construction projects and also shall provide information to the general public.
- or the supervision of construction for projects valued at $100,000 or more,
- the Board accepted
- the work. For all projects valued at less than $100,000, final payments for construction or the supervision of construction shall not be made until the work has been completed and the Superintendent or designee has accepted the work.
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- Delivery Method Approval: For construction projects over $2,000,000, the updated policy requires the Board to approve the recommended construction delivery method before the district advertises the project. State law (TEC §44.031) requires school boards to use a best-value selection process and limits what can be delegated, but the $2,000,000 threshold and the pre-advertising approval step are decisions the district made on its own.
- Superintendent Delegation for Smaller Projects: For construction projects under $2,000,000, the Superintendent may choose the delivery method, and for contracts under $500,000, the Superintendent may approve the contract directly. State law (19 TAC §61.1040(d)) allows school districts to delegate these decisions, but the specific dollar amounts are thresholds the district set itself.
- Removal of CM-at-Risk Presumption: The previous policy assumed that a construction manager-at-risk arrangement was the best choice for projects at or above $100,000. The updated policy removes that assumption, which is consistent with state law (TEC §44.031 and TGC §2269.251) that requires districts to evaluate best value case by case rather than defaulting to any one method.
- Change Order Approval Structure: The updated policy creates two tracks for approving change orders based on the size of the original contract. For contracts over $500,000, Board approval is required for change orders over $100,000; for smaller contracts, the Superintendent handles change orders and informs the Board when they exceed $100,000. These thresholds and procedures are not required by state law — they are rules the district established on its own.
- Implementation Deadline: The policy includes a new section requiring the district to develop procedures and bring required approval forms to the Board for adoption no later than December 31, 2026. This deadline and the form adoption process are entirely district-created requirements with no corresponding state law mandate.
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This update to the CV (Facilities Construction) Local Policy significantly restructures construction contract and change order authority by introducing tiered approval thresholds, requiring the Superintendent to submit standardized form templates for Board adoption, clarifying Board vs. Superintendent approval roles for contracts over/under $500,000 and $2,000,000, and adding new sections on implementation deadlines and delegation of authority. The update also removes outdated language tying the construction manager-at-risk method to a $100,000 threshold, consolidates final payment provisions, and eliminates the prior emergency change order override provision for the Superintendent.
Added
- The Superintendent shall ensure that the Board receives timely, accurate, and ongoing information about construction contracts and is provided with information to make approvals required by Texas law.
- Contracts Over $2,000,000 (section heading)
- for all construction delivery methods for projects that are anticipated to exceed $2,000,000, prior to advertising the project delivery/contract award method.
- [See CH(LOCAL), CH(LEGAL), CV series generally and CBB(LEGAL) for requirements if federal funds are involved.]
- To assist the Board with approval of the construction delivery methods, the Superintendent shall prepare a standard approval form template for Board adoption that includes key construction delivery method information, including a proposed timeline of events. Once the construction delivery method template is adopted by the Board, the Superintendent shall provide the Board with the completed form for each construction delivery method under this section.
- Contracts Under $2,000,000 (section heading)
- The Superintendent shall determine the construction delivery method in the best value determination of the District or in accordance with Texas law for contracts under $2,000,000.
- Contracting Authority Over $500,000 (section heading revision — 'Contracting' added)
- To assist the Board with approval of the construction contracts, the Superintendent shall prepare a standard approval form template for Board adoption that includes key construction contract information. Once the construction contract template is adopted by the Board, the Superintendent shall provide the Board with the completed form for each construction contract under this section.
- Contracting Authority Under $500,000 (section heading revision — 'Contracting' added)
- Construction contracts and construction related materials or services under $500,000
- Board pPolicy. [See also CH(LOCAL) and CH(LEGAL) and CBB(LEGAL)]
- Change orders on all Board-approved construction contracts over $100,000 shall require Board approval.
- The Superintendent shall prepare a change order recommendation form template for Board approval. Once the Board approves the change order form, the Superintendent shall provide the Board with the completed form, including accurate status, scope, cost, and schedule impacts of any Board approved construction contract change order under this section.
- On District approved construction contracts, change orders shall not require Board approval. The District shall inform the Board of all change orders, or combined change orders, over $100,000.
- For Board approved construction contracts, the District shall not make final payments for construction until the work has been substantially completed and accepted by the Board.
- For District approved construction contracts,
- substantially
- by the District
- Implementation (section heading)
- The District shall adopt procedures to implement this Board Policy. The District shall present required forms for Board adoption no later than December 31, 2026.
Removed
- The construction manager-at-risk project delivery method shall be deemed the project delivery/contract award method providing the best value to the District for construction projects valued at or above $100,000. If another method is deemed to provide the best value to the District for a particular construction project,
- or designee
- determine,
- prior to advertising the contract the project delivery/contract award method.
- Approval (section heading word — struck in 'Contracting Authority Over $500,000')
- also
- resulting
- Lesser expenditures for construction
- Approval (section heading word — struck in 'Contracting Authority Under $500,000')
- Change orders permitted by law shall be approved prior to any changes being made in the approved plans or the actual construction of the facility.
- Changorders valued at or above $100,000
- However, if the Superintendent determines that such prior approval unreasonably delays construction, the Superintendent is authorized to approve the change orders, and the Board at the earliest opportunity shall ratify the change orders.
- Change orders permitted by law valued less than $100,000 shall be approved by the Superintendent prior to any changes being made in the approved plans or the actual construction of the facility.
- Project Administration (entire section heading and body)
- All construction projects shall be administered by the Superintendent or designee.
- The Superintendent shall keep the Board informed concerning construction projects and also shall provide information to the general public.
- or the supervision of construction for projects valued at $100,000 or more,
- the Board
- the work. For all projects valued at less than $100,000, final payments for construction or the supervision of construction shall not be made until the work has been completed and the Superintendent or designee has accepted the work.
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- Tiered Approval Thresholds: The updated policy sets dollar-based rules for who must approve construction contracts — the full Board for contracts over $500,000, and the Superintendent for contracts under that amount. Texas Education Code §44.0312 allows school boards to delegate contracting authority, and the specific dollar cutoffs were chosen locally.
- Delivery Method Decisions: For construction projects expected to cost more than $2,000,000, the Board must approve how the project will be built before it is advertised. For projects under that amount, the Superintendent may make that call — an arrangement permitted under TEC §44.0312, with the $2,000,000 dividing line set locally.
- Change Order Authority: Under TEC §44.0411, the district may delegate approval of change orders of $25,000 or less. This policy sets a stricter local rule requiring Board approval for change orders over $100,000 on Board-approved contracts, while allowing the Superintendent to approve change orders on District-approved contracts without returning to the Board.
- Emergency Override Removed: A previous provision allowed the Superintendent to approve change orders without prior Board approval if waiting would unreasonably delay construction. That exception was not required by state law, and the updated policy removes it — also a local choice with no state law requiring its removal.
- Standardized Forms Added: The policy requires the Superintendent to prepare standard forms for approving construction delivery methods, contracts, and change orders, which the Board will then formally adopt. No state statute requires this step — it is a locally chosen way to keep the approval process consistent and documented.
- Best Value Presumption Removed: An earlier version of the policy treated the construction manager-at-risk method as the assumed best option for projects of $100,000 or more. That presumption has been removed, bringing the policy closer to the case-by-case best value review that TEC §44.031 describes, without assuming any one method is preferred.
Legacy analysis, generated before statute text was checked against a verified source library. Citations in this section have not been machine-verified.
AI-generated assessment. Verify citations independently before relying on this analysis.