A legal analysis requested by Leon County Schools Superintendent Rocky Hanna concluded that the district’s procurement process for a major construction management contract complied with Florida law and district policy, clearing the way for the School Board to approve the recommended award to Rippee Construction, Inc.
The analysis also addressed a meeting attended by two school members and the implications related to the Florida Sunshine law.
The memorandum, dated May 19 and authored by attorney Louise Wilhite-St Laurent, analyzed RFQ 113-2026, the solicitation for construction manager services related to the new construction, renovation, demolition and site work project at Raa Middle School.
According to the memo, the district issued the request for qualifications on Feb. 12 through its public procurement portal. Seven firms submitted responses that were deemed responsive and advanced to the scoring process.
The memo acknowledged that district staff initially calculated interview scores using only five committee members instead of six, but noted that the corrected calculation did not change the final vendor rankings.
The legal analysis states that vendors had multiple opportunities under Florida law to protest the solicitation, the short-list selection process and the final recommended award, but no protests were filed within the required 72-hour windows. The memo argues that the failure to file timely protests waived the vendors’ rights to later challenge the process.
The attorney ultimately concluded that the superintendent’s recommendation to award the contract to Rippee Construction is “legally sound” and can be approved by the School Board “without significant subsequent legal risk.”
The memorandum also addressed questions surrounding an April 29 information meeting attended by two School Board members and representatives from construction firms. The meeting raised concerns about whether the gathering violated Florida’s Sunshine Law or the district’s Cone of Silence policy governing procurement communications.
The two school members attending the meeting were Daryl Jones and Marcus Nicolas.
Wilhite-St Laurent concluded that no Sunshine Law violation occurred because no official action was taken or intended during the meeting. The memo further stated there was no substantive discussion of the RFQ itself and therefore no Cone of Silence violation.
The item is scheduled to be addressed at the May 26 Leon County School Board meeting.
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