From the archive: The Bee’s 2012 report on Fresno Unified’s lease/leaseback contracts
Six months after passage of a $280 million bond measure in 2010, Fresno Unified School District changed the way many of its construction contracts were awarded.
The traditional practice of choosing the lowest bid was placed on the back burner. Moved to the front was a method called lease/leaseback that let the district simply pick the contractor it wanted.
One of two classroom buildings is shown under construction at Fresno High School in October 2012 – one of seven major Harris Construction projects in Fresno Unified in that era. CRAIG KOHLRUSS Fresno Bee file
Not unexpectedly, the dramatic switch has fans and critics.
Fresno Unified Superintendent Michael Hanson says that lease/leaseback has helped the district make good on its Measure Q promise of upgrading schools, stimulating the hard-struck Valley construction industry, hiring local workers and helping revive the city’s urban core.
But Ken Grey, co-owner of Selma-based BVI Construction Inc., sees things differently. He says the manner in which the school district devised the new system opened the door to influence-peddling.
“The district seems to have re-established the good old boys club,” said Grey, who is the mayor of Selma. “Contractors are making political contributions and they’re expecting payback in the form of being awarded contracts. I don’t think that’s a healthy thing for the public.”
Of this there is no doubt: Harris Construction Co. Inc., owned by Richard Spencer of Fresno, has received the lion’s share of Fresno Unified’s business since the method was changed in May 2011. Since then, Harris has received seven contracts totaling about $78 million. These contracts include building the new Rutherford B. Gaston Sr. Middle School and making major renovations at Fresno High School.
During the same time frame, five other projects totaling $51 million were awarded to five separate contractors using the new award system.
Flavoring the debate about lease/leaseback – particularly among Valley contractors – is the fact that Spencer, a longtime contributor to political campaigns at the local, state and federal levels, gave $25,000 to the Measure Q campaign. Harris Construction pitched in $5,000 more. These contributions made Spencer and his company the biggest donor to a campaign that raised about $259,000.
Now, with the upcoming school board election seen by some people as a referendum on Hanson’s performance, Spencer, his family members and employees of his companies contributed nearly $10,000 to the campaigns of three candidates supportive of the superintendent, according to elections records through Sept. 30.
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The lease/leaseback method isn’t new. Originally it was intended as a way for cash-poorFrom the archive: The Bee’s 2012 report on Fresno Unified’s lease/leaseback contracts | Fresno Bee:
