The Wilkes County Board of Education affirms the State’s commitment to encourage the participation of minority-owned and female-owned businesses in the school system’s construction contracts.
After notice and public hearing, the Board of Education has adopted the following verifiable percentage goals for participation in the school district’s contracts by historically underutilized businesses:
- Projects in which the cost exceeds $100,000 and the Board of Education has received state appropriations or grants for the project:
Ten percent participation by minority-owned and female-owned businesses in the total value of work for each building project involving erection, construction, alteration, or repair.
- Projects in which the cost exceeds $500,000 (i.e. for which formal bidding is required):
Ten percent participation by minority-owned and female-owned businesses in the total value of work for each building project involving erection, construction, alteration, or repair.
- Projects in which the costs are at least $5,000 but do not exceed $500,000 (i.e. for which informal bidding is required):
Except as otherwise required for projects in subsection 1 above, the Board of Education will solicit participation by minority business enterprises and maintain a record of contractors solicited and efforts to recruit minority participation. The Board of Education also will comply with any reporting and documentation requirements of the Department of Administration.
The Board of Education has adopted the following guidelines to ensure that the school system will make good faith efforts to reach diverse contractors and to encourage participation in the school system’s construction contracts by such contractors. The school system will:
- make information about the school system’s formal and informal bidding process readily available;
- develop and implement a minority business participation outreach plan to identify minority businesses that can perform building projects and to implement outreach efforts to encourage minority business participation in such projects;
- advertise for bids in media that reach minority businesses and provide notice to minority businesses as provided in G.S. 143-128.2;
- ensure access to building documents needed for making bids on projects;
- encourage businesses experiencing difficulty in meeting the bonding, licensing, and bid deposits required by state law in larger construction projects to utilize resources and assistance offered by local, state, and federal agencies; and,
- attend the scheduled pre-bid conference.
All bidders on major school construction and renovation projects who intend to subcontract any part of the project must provide affidavits indicating that a good faith effort has been made in preparing the bid to meet the Board of Education of education’s verifiable goal for participation by minority-owned and female-owned businesses.
The failure to make a good faith effort to meet the Board of Education’s goal may result in the bid being considered non-responsive and being rejected.
The superintendent will establish administrative procedures to verify qualified businesses and good faith efforts by bidders.
Legal References: G.S.143-128.2 and G.S. 143-128.3.
Cross References:
Adopted: January 9, 2006
Revised: February 4, 2019