LACCD PRESS RELEASE
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE LACCD Announces New Action to Consider Termination of Third Major Building Program Contractor |
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Los Angeles, November 9, 2011 – Continuing the Los Angeles Community College District’s drive to reform its $6 billion Building Program, District Chancellor Daniel LaVista today announced that the District has sent a letter to a major LACCD Building Program contractor instituting a procedure that, after a hearing to be held next month, could potentially terminate its contract with the District’s Building Program. The letter was sent to Turner Construction Company, which is serving as the College Program Manager and overseeing all Building Program construction activity at West Los Angeles College in Culver City, one of the nine LACCD colleges.
This is the third such letter sent in the past month. On October 17, 2011, the District sent similar letters to FTR International, Inc. and Gateway Science and Engineering, Inc. The letter to Turner has stated that Turner had permitted contractors to perform work at West Los Angeles College without (1) submitting written bids, (2) written contracts, (3) payment or performance bonds, (4) enrolling in the District’s OCIP insurance program and/or (5) providing certified payroll records or other proof of compliance with prevailing wage laws.
“By informing Turner of our intent to terminate its college program management contract, we are making it clear that no waste or mismanagement in our Building Program will be tolerated,” said LaVista. “If anyone thought that the letters to FTR and Gateway were our only dramatic actions to improve accountability, they were mistaken.”
“This Board is aggressively rooting out waste and mismanagement in our Building Program,” noted Miguel Santiago, president the LACCD Board of Trustees. “We will not tolerate shoddy work or underperforming firms at LACCD. Today’s actions are another step in our efforts to reform the building program. We are committed to taking whatever steps are necessary to protect the taxpayers of Los Angeles, including terminating multi-million dollar contracts.”
“As due process requires, each contractor should and will have an opportunity to explain its actions prior to a decision by the Board of Trustees,” said LaVista. “At the same time, at the direction of the Board, we will continue to reform the Building Program and take whatever steps are necessary to protect taxpayer dollars and deliver results.”
About the Los Angeles Community College District
The Los Angeles Community College District, the nation's largest community college district, serves one-quarter million students a year in more than 36 cities in Los Angeles County. The District covers nearly 900 square miles and has educated and trained the region's diverse workforce since 1969.
About the LACCD Building Program
LACCD’s Building Program is a 14-year, $6 billion program funded mostly by taxpayer-approved bonds, supplemented by additional funding from the state of California. With approximately $3 billion spent so far, the LACCD’s nine colleges are benefiting from brand new and renovated academic buildings, sports facilities, arts complexes, administrative buildings, child development centers, and parking structures. The Building Program has completed hundreds of separate projects, with hundreds more in the planning or construction stages.
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