Payments Held in School Bid Violation

Three contractors that are owed almost $95,000 by the Compton Unified School District cannot be paid because the district violated public bidding laws, county education officials said.

The Los Angeles County Office of Education, which must approve all bills paid by school districts, has concluded after a six-month review that the district should have solicited bids when it decided to renovate part of its administrative offices.

The Compton school official who approved the work was warned that the district should solicit bids, according to a report ordered by the county. But the official, Associate Supt. James H. Turner, reportedly replied: “I have a way around that.”

Turner did not return several calls for comment.

Acting Supt. Elisa L. Sanchez insists that the district acted properly. The school district’s attorney, Melanie E. Lomax, contends that the renovation work was an emergency--which allowed the district to waive bidding requirements--because there was asbestos in the building walls. The attorney says the work, which began in December, 1988, might have been delayed as much as two months if district officials had solicited bids.

“The central dispute,” Lomax said, “is that there are three vendors who performed a service for the district and they have not been paid.”

However, county officials disputed the district’s explanation. The county found no evidence that the district paid a contractor to remove or seal asbestos, officials said. And district employees told The Times that the area under renovation was not sealed off and that construction went on around them as they worked at their desks. The employees asked not to be identified.

County school officials notified Compton district officials in a Jan. 23 letter that the payments would not be allowed to the three contractors on the renovation project, which involved tearing out walls and ceiling tiles, installing new lighting and completing duct work for the heating and air-conditioning system on a wing of the administration building at 604 S. Tamarind Ave.

The state Education Code requires that districts solicit bids for work in excess of $15,000 and equipment exceeding $21,000.

Sanders Engineering of La Habra, for example, did $48,894 worth of work on the renovation project, but four different payment orders--each under the $15,000 limit--were issued to the firm. Three of the orders were written on the same day, according to the county report.

Carrier Air Conditioning Corp., located in the City of Industry, supplied five air-conditioning units worth a total of $30,885, which is over the $21,000 limit for equipment. But the district split the amount it owed Carrier into two payment orders. One was for $15,975, another for $14,910.

A payment of $14,913 also has been withheld from Construction Dynamics of Palmdale. Some payments were made to contractors on the $163,000 renovation job before the county began raising questions.

Bruce N. Zentil, county school financial services director, said the county is not accusing Compton officials of bid-splitting, which could be a criminal violation. “Bid-splitting gets into intention, and that’s more difficult to handle,” Zentil said. “We are formally disapproving payments due to failure to advertise and bid.”

Zentil added, however, that “it is difficult to accept that this is all oversight and omission when you have three (payment orders) issued on the same day.” The county first spotted the split payment orders in May or June, Zentil said, and sought an explanation. The county oversees all payments for school districts and actually writes their checks, although the money comes from the school districts’ accounts.

The county asked that the district’s auditor review the contracts. When officials received no report last fall, they renewed their request in a letter to then-Supt. Ted D. Kimbrough. County officials received a report in December, the same month that Kimbrough left to become superintendent of Chicago public schools.

Zentil said his office is being sued by two of the contractors on the Compton project in an effort to obtain their money. The two contractors also are suing the Compton district. Zentil said he and the county legal staff believe the courts will uphold the county because Compton school officials failed to comply with bidding laws.

Compton school board President Mary B. Henry was out of the country last week and could not be contacted for comment. Board member Sam Littleton said he did not want to comment. Board member Kelvin D. Filer said the board will discuss the situation.

Board member John Steward said the county’s action was an “indictment” of the school board. “From the outset, I felt that the project was handled improperly,” Steward said. “It should have gone to bid.” Steward said he complained early on about the project.

Steward said disciplinary action should be taken against employees responsible for hiring the contractors. Acting Supt. Sanchez said, however, that she will not recommend that disciplinary action be taken against Turner.

The district auditor’s report said that the renovation was discussed at a November, 1988, meeting attended by Gene Parks, the district’s business services manager at the time; William Howell, district architect; Craig Jackson, president of Sanders Engineering, and Turner, who was purchasing director and now is an associate superintendent.

Parks said he and Howell told Turner that the district should solicit bids, according to the report. Parks said Turner responded: “I have a way around that.”

Howell did not return calls to his office. Jackson declined to comment.

Sanchez dismissed Parks’ statement, saying he was a “disgruntled” former employee whose job was eliminated by the district.

But Parks said in an interview last week that he made his statement to the auditor before the district eliminated his job. The auditor, Parks said, came to his office last June when the county first noticed the series of vouchers for the contractors.

“I didn’t go and solicit him,” Parks said. Parks’ last day of work in the district was July 26. He said he was told in June that he might lose his job.

Parks said he had told Kimbrough previously that he believed bid-splitting was occurring on the project, according to the auditor’s report.