Frequently Asked Questions

California K-12 public school districts may require contractors to submit a standardized questionnaire and financial statements to determine if they're qualified to bid. Contractors must declare, under penalty of perjury, which submitted information is true. Submitted questionnaires and financial statements are not public records and shall not be open to the public.

Public Contract Code 20111.5 enables districts to require contractors to be pre-qualified prior to accepting bids.

Public Contract Code 20111.6 requires California K-12 public school districts to pre-qualify contractor, and mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) subcontractors before bids can be accepted when projects are funded in part by State bonds. Pre-Qualification applies to the following licenses:

• General Contractors (A and B)

• Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing subcontractors (C-4, C-7, C-10, C-16, C-20, C-34, C-36, C-38, C-42, C-43, and C-46)

For projects up to $200,000: Interested contractors must apply through CUPCCAA (California Uniform Public Construction Cost Accounting Act) for pre-qualification to bid on projects up to $200,000. OUSD Facilities Planning and Management Division regularly builds upon and maintains a list of all CUPCAA entries.

For contracts greater than $1,000,000: OUSD Facilities Planning and Management Division uses a standardized Pre-Qualification Questionnaire for larger projects. The Pre-Qualification Questionnaire satisfies the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) and AB 1565 requirements.

The pre-qualification process is open year-round. Pre-qualification questionnaires are located on the District website to download (see below). Pre-qualification questionnaires should be submitted to La Juana Lewis at LaJuana.Lewis@ousd.org

The CUPCCAA application can be found HERE and Pre-qualification questionnaires can be found HERE on the OUSD Facilities Planning and Management Division website. Interested contractors may also contact La Juana Lewis via email or by phone at (510) 535-2731 and/or Juanita Hunter via email or by phone at (510) 535-7044.

Interested contractors must provide two (2) years of financials and contact information (names, emails, and phone numbers) of three (3) references in addition to completing the questionnaire.

The District’s standardized questionnaire is based on Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) guidelines for rating bidders. Each district has adopted and applied a uniform system of rating bidders based on the completed questionnaire and financial statements.

Pre-qualified dollar bid limits are based upon an evaluation of your (1) aggregate bonding capacity, (2) financial stability, (3) value of previous public education projects, and (4) questionnaire score.

A letter will be sent, via email, notifying bidders of their status. Once pre-qualified, bidders’ company name will be added to the district's public pre-qualified bidders list.

STEP 1: To be a Sub

• Gain public works experience on two (2) non-OUSD construction projects OR
• Bid and complete two (2) OUSD CUPCCAA projects OR
• Bid and complete two (2) projects with a pre-qualified general contractor (GC)
• Each with a value of at least $50,000 and within the past 10 years
• Complete a sub-pre-qualification questionnaire.

STEP 2: To be a Prime

• Bid on two (2) California K-12 public school district construction projects OR
• Bid and complete a CUPCCAA project
• Each with a value of at least $200,000, and within the past seven (7) years
• Complete a prime pre-qualification questionnaire.

Per Section 20111.6 of the Public Contract Code, questionnaires and financial statements shall not be public records and shall not be open to public inspection. However, names of bidders applying for pre-qualification status shall be public record subject to disclosure under Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 6250) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code.

Pre-qualification status expires after one year. Contractors receive an email notification to renew prior to the expiration date of their initial application.

Bidders may contact La Juana Lewis via email or by phone at (510) 535-2731 and/or Juanita Hunter via email or by phone at (510) 535-7044.