Scrutiny of Bidders Ordered

A Los Angeles school board member Tuesday ordered up a report on companies bidding to finish the Belmont Learning Complex, saying he wanted to ensure that the district reviewed the firms thoroughly for potential conflicts of interest.

Board member Jose Huizar also asked for information on any potential conflicts among seven outside experts hired to evaluate the Belmont proposals.

Three development teams, each composed of several companies, are competing to finish the high school near downtown.

“I want this to be a fair, clean, transparent process,” Huizar said.

Supt. Roy Romer said he was confident that none of the companies or evaluators had any conflicts that would disqualify them from involvement in the Belmont project. He must report back to Huizar by Friday.

Still, the request came as some district officials voiced concerns over one of the bidders, Eastridge Cos. The officials wanted to know whether Eastridge, a district contractor, gained access to confidential information that could aid its proposal. Eastridge executives work with district real estate officials, finding and buying sites for new schools.

Concern centered on one Eastridge executive, Jeff Baize, who worked on new school sites in the San Fernando Valley.

Baize could not be reached for comment. But Susan Eastridge, the company’s chief executive officer, said Baize gave up his district real estate duties before he launched the company’s Belmont proposal, to guard against potential conflicts.

Eastridge said she also contacted the district to get clearance for her company to submit a Belmont proposal. Officials reviewed the company’s relationship with the district and concluded that Baize was not privy to information that would give the company an edge on Belmont.

“There was nothing in the work they did that presented a conflict of interest in their bidding,” said Anne Valenzuela-Smith, who oversees the Belmont bids for the district.