Opinion ID: 1873949
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Necessary and Implied Power

Text: In response to the respondents' attack upon the Board's action which is founded on the theory that the School Board lacks the power to require the inclusion of a prevailing wage provision in its public works contracts, the Board contends it is validly exerting powers necessarily and implicitly granted to it by the state legislature. The Louisiana Constitution provides for the creation of school boards and the laws affecting them by the state legislature. [9] By statute, the legislature has vested the school boards of this state with general control and management of the public schools in their district. La.R.S. 17:81, which expressly enunciates the general powers of school boards, provides as follows: A. Each city and parish school board shall determine the number of schools to be opened, the location of school houses, the number of teachers to be employed, and select such teachers from nominations made by the city or parish superintendent, provided that a majority of the full membership of the board may elect teachers without the endorsement of the superintendent. The boards shall have authority to employ teachers by the month or by the year, and to fix their salaries; provided that there shall be no discrimination as to sex in the fixing thereof and provided further, that it is not the purpose of this Section to require or direct the reduction of any salary, or salary schedule, presently in force. The boards shall see that the provisions of the state school law are complied with. B. Each school board may permit school buildings to be used outside of regular school hours for academic purposes including but not limited to tutoring and study hall. The board shall adopt rules and regulations governing the terms and conditions, including fees if any, under which such buildings shall be used. C. Each city or parish school board is authorized to make such rules and regulations for its own government, not inconsistent with law or with the regulations of the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, as it may deem proper. D. (1) The regular meetings of each city and parish school board shall be held at least once each month on such day as each board shall select. Additional regular meetings may be held as each board designates. Special meetings may be held as boards determine or as occasion may require. (2) However, if a city or parish school board fails to hold a public meeting at least once during a calendar month, registered voters of the district may petition the board to hold a public meeting. Within five calendar days of receipt of such a petition by the president of the board or, if he is unavailable, by any other board member containing the names of at least one hundred registered voters of the district, the board shall hold a public meeting. The members of a city or parish school board that fails to meet as required by this Paragraph shall not be entitled to compensation or per diem for that month. E. Each city or parish school board shall exercise proper vigilance in securing for the schools of the district all funds destined for the support of the schools, including the state funds apportioned thereto, and all other funds. F. The secretary of each city and parish school board shall keep a record of all transactions and proceedings of the board. G. City and parish school boards may receive land by purchase or donation for the purpose of erecting school houses; provide for and secure the erection of same, construct such outbuildings and enclosures as shall be conducive to the protection of property, and make repairs and provide for the necessary furniture, equipment and apparatus. H. City and parish school boards have the power to recover for any damage that may be done to the property in their charge; they may change the location of a school house, sell or dispose of the old site, or of any site which for any reason can no longer be used or which is unused and unnecessary or unsuitable as such, and use the proceeds thereof for procuring a new one. Provided that the Orleans Parish School Board shall have authority to prescribe the rules and regulations to govern the building, equipping and repairing of school houses, and the dates of the meetings of that board. I. The provisions of this Section shall not affect the provisions of R.S. 17:461 through 463 relative to the Orleans Parish School Board. La.R.S. 17:81 (emphasis added). In addition to the above quoted powers expressly granted by the legislature, a school board possesses additional implied powers which are necessary to implement its policies and fulfill its duties. St. John the Baptist Parish Ass'n of Educators v. Brown, 465 So.2d 674 (La.1985). It is the applicants' contention that the School Board is validly exerting powers necessarily and implicitly granted to it by the state legislature. Specifically, they contend the School Board's authority to require the inclusion of prevailing wage provisions in its public works contracts is necessary and incidental to its authority under La.R.S. 17:81(G) to erect school buildings. On several occasions, Louisiana courts have recognized various implied powers of school boards. For example, in Louisiana Teachers' Ass'n v. Orleans Parish School Bd., 303 So.2d 564 (La.App. 4th Cir.1974), writ denied, 305 So.2d 541 (La.1975), the court held that incidental to their statutory duties to hire teachers and fix teacher salaries, school boards have the power and authority to collectively bargain with an agent selected by the employees. [10] Similarly, the appellate courts of this state have found school boards empowered to enter into contracts to provide garbage disposal services for the school [11] and to determine whether a school teacher is entitled to sabbatical. [12] In comparison, the Louisiana Supreme Court recently determined a school board has no necessary or implied power to call a referendum election. [13] Although the courts of this state have recognized various prerogatives of school boards which are necessary and incidental to the powers expressly bestowed upon them by La.R.S. 17:81, the question of a school board's implicit authority to act becomes more complicated when, as in the present case, the school board's action implicates another legislative statute. Pursuant to Louisiana's Public Bid Law, the legislature has specifically prescribed the conditions upon which it will permit public work to be done on its behalf or on behalf of its political subdivisions. As a political subdivision, the general powers granted to a school board under La.R.S. 17:81 are subject to and limited by the requirements of the Public Bid Law. Consequently, a school board has no authority to take any action which is inconsistent with the Public Bid Law. [14] Louisiana's Public Bid Law provides in pertinent part as follows: All public work exceeding the contract limit as defined herein, including labor, materials, and all purchases of materials or supplies exceeding the sum of ten thousand dollars to be paid out of public funds, to be done by a public entity shall be advertised and let by contract to the lowest responsible bidder who had bid according to the contract, plans, and specifications as advertised, and no such public work shall be done and no such purchase shall be made except as provided in this Part. La.R.S. 38:2212(A)(1)(a). As stated previously, the purpose of the Public Bid Law is to secure free and unrestricted competition among bidders, to eliminate fraud and favoritism, and to avoid undue or excessive costs. [15] The School Board's argument that it has the implied power to fix wage rates for the construction workers employed on its public works projects pursuant to its expressly granted power to construct and erect school buildings under La.R.S. 17:81(G) ignores the Public Bid Law. When the Public Bid Law is taken into consideration, it becomes apparent the power delegated to the School Board to construct school buildings does not necessarily imply the power of the School Board to insure quality labor by establishing a prevailing wage rate on its construction projects. The Public Bid Law requires all public construction contracts of major importance be let to the lowest responsible bidder. The term lowest responsible bidder does not constrain the public authority to accept the lowest monetary bid. Haughton Elevator Div. v. State Division of Administration, 367 So.2d 1161 (La.1979). Rather, the Public Bid Law vests the public entity contracting the work with wide discretion to determine bidder responsibility. Id. In determining bidder responsibility, the public entity may look to financial ability, skill, integrity, business judgment, experience, reputation, quality of previous work on contracts, and other similar factors bearing on the bidder's ability to successfully perform the contract. Housing Authority of the City of Opelousas, Louisiana v. Pittman Construction Co., Inc., 264 F.2d 695, 698 (5th Cir.1959). See also Cooper & Horton, Competitive Bid Requirements For School District Contracts, 46 Tex.B.J. 1154, 1155 (1983) (The criteria for determining bidder responsibility includes such things as experience, skill, ability, business judgment, financial capacity, integrity, honesty, possession of necessary facilities or equipment, previous performance, reputation, promptness and any other factors which could reasonably be asserted as being relevant to successful performance.). By enacting the Public Bid Law, the legislature has developed a rather complex and unique procedure by which public entities are to award public works contracts. Central to this process is the legislature's desire that all prospective bidders be given an opportunity to bid on a given project. In choosing the term lowest responsible bidder, the legislature sought to further the goals of the Public Bid Law (insuring competitive bidding and protecting the taxpaying citizen from increased costs resulting from fraud and favoritism) while at the same time expressly providing public entities with a mechanism to insure the skill and quality of the workers employed on the project. The School Board's resolution, which requires, as a prerequisite to bidding, the payment of prevailing wages on public works projects is, in effect, an unnecessary prior restraint imposed on the prospective bidders which disturbs the careful balance achieved by the legislature. Such a restriction hampers the bidding process as contemplated by the legislature and as such is inconsistent with the letter and spirit of the Public Bid Law. We recognize the School Board has a legitimate interest in insuring quality workmanship on its construction projects. However, in allowing public entities to award contracts to the lowest responsible bidder rather than simply to the lowest bidder the legislature has created a system by which the School Board may refuse to accept bids from bidders who are thought to be irresponsible or incapable of performing the work as desired. The procedure detailed by the legislature in the Public Bid Law provides the School Board with a method by which it can adequately protect its interest in insuring skilled and qualified labor are employed on its work projects. Consequently, the School Board's action in insisting that a prevailing wage rate be made a condition of its public works contracts is not necessary to achieve its goal of insuring qualified labor on its construction projects. In addition, the practice adopted by the School Board in requiring that all bidders pay prevailing wage rates is known as a prequalification of bidders. [16] By prequalifying bidders, the School Board has made a determination of a contractor's competency and responsibility to satisfactorily complete a given construction project before he submits a bid. Because this process restricts full and free competition among prospective bidders, it is generally disfavored. Jackson, Prequalification and Qualification: Discouragement of New Competitors, 19 Pub.Cont.L.J. 702, 703 (1990). Although not intending to do so, the Board has discouraged and prevented the competitive bidding process which is required by statute under Louisiana law. Simply, a contractor who does not pay his labor the prevailing wage, or is unwilling to do so for various reasons, is disqualified from bidding. The School Board argues it has the power to pre-determine who shall bid on its construction projects pursuant to its wide discretion to determine bidder responsibility. We are not persuaded by the Board's argument. There is no legal authority requiring or allowing a responsibility determination to be a precondition to bidding on public contracts. Absent statutory law authorizing the prequalification of bidders, we refuse to allow a public entity to engage in a process which eliminates certain bidders from competing before the bidding process even begins.