Business Services & School Facilities

Acquiring, maintaining and operating school facilities involves challenges at every stage. From siting, bidding and procurement to construction, asset management and ongoing operational issues. It takes a team to manage it all, and a skilled one to do it effectively.
 
Best Best & Krieger LLP has just such a team. Our education practice attorneys have decades of experience advising public and private schools, school districts, colleges and universities on all of these matters and many others. We are familiar with the different types of issues that arise and have the experience to guide our clients through each challenge — providing practical, timely and cost-effective counsel.
 
Drawing on the experience of attorneys in our highly regarded environmental, real estate, construction, telecommunications, litigation and other practices, our attorneys navigate clients through the complex web of laws and regulations. These include land use, zoning and environmental restrictions, compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act, California Department of Education and Department of Toxic Substances Control oversight, and legal requirements that apply to school site acquisition, construction, expansion, modernization and adaption to new technologies.
 
We advise at every stage of facilities planning and development through post-completion operational issues, resolving disputes in and out of court and assisting clients with:
 
Business Services, Facilities Planning & Procurement

• Public contracts
• Preparation of bidding documents and construction contract issues
• Environmental compliance – CEQA, DTSC and stormwater permitting
• Procurement of professional design and other consultants
• Coordination with state agencies such as the State Allocation Board, the Office of Public School Construction and the Division of the State Architect

Labor/Employment/Professional Services and Vendor/Supplier Agreements

• Facilities Construction Support
• Change orders and construction claims
• Liquidated damages, delay and time impact analysis
• Stop notice claims
• Proper project close-out procedures
• Bid protests and subcontractor disputes
• Prevailing wage/labor law issues

Purchase and Sale of Real Property

• Surplus property procedures, 7-11 Committee and Naylor Act
• Real property acquisition
• Eminent domain proceedings
• Exchange of property 

Use of School Facilities

• Lease and license agreements
• Joint-use agreements with public and private entities
• Civic Center Act and community use policies
• Other asset management and post-development issues
• Joint occupancy

Sustainability and Green Building

• Procurement under California Government Code section 4217.10, et seq.
• Alternative contract structures, such as power purchase agreements, design-build contracts, energy services agreements and performance-based contracts
• Validation and enforcement of performance guarantees and LEED points

Energy Procurement Issues

• Sustainable communities program contracts
• Utility contracts and leases
• Utility rate cases before the California Public Utilities Commission 

Telecommunications

• Broadband, Wi-Fi procurement
• Public, educational and government access channels
• Internet connections
• E-Rate funding