Is Lolo School Circumventing Competition?

Lolo, Montana, is a community of 4,000 residents situated just south of Missoula, at the northern edge of the Bitterroot Mountain Range.  There, the local school board has created quite a stir by awarding a guaranteed maximum price design-build contract for construction of its new school building, without competitive bidding. 

The Missoulian, the daily newspaper just up the road, casts a skeptical eye:  

Is this the direction Montana wants to proceed when bidding public construction jobs? Will all of our public construction projects start picking whatever proposals they want without putting them out for bid? Is this opening a pathway for circumventing competition by not allowing other capable contractors (who are very interested) to bid on the new Lolo School?

Lolo School violated open bidding laws when building the lunch room in the ’90s.

The Lolo School District #7 is building its new school using GMP Design-Build contract without competitive bidding.  Project savings, if any, are returned to the Owner (the school, not taxpayers) as per Montana Code Annotated §§7-5-4302 & 18-1-102. M.C.A. § 7-5-4302 provides the requirement for public works projects above $80,0000 to have open bidding and the process for advertising the project, and § 18-1-102 requires that public works projects go to the lowest responsible bidder regardless of residency although Montana residents are given preference.

Will this decision lead to similar public construction projects being performed without competitive bidding? Is this kind of project delivery method more beneficial for public construction projects? Click the link below for more information and feel free discuss the potential ramifications of Lolo's decision.

Is Lolo School Circumventing Competition?