Board adopts an emergency no-bid request covering Oak Ridge Elementary's generator rental

Meeting: Special meeting, District Board Room, 13461 Ramona Avenue, Chino 2. Closed session from 4:30 p.m.; open session reconvened at 5:00 p.m. 1 and adjourned at 5:07 p.m. 1
Present: President Sonja Shaw, John Cervantes, Andrew Cruz, Jon Monroe and James Na 1.

The archive holds no recording or transcript of this meeting, so this page rests on the agenda and the minutes.

The decision

The board adopted Resolution 2024/2025-43, an emergency request to the San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools for authorization to award a contract without bidding and advertising for repairs at Oak Ridge Elementary School 1. It was the only action item on the agenda 2. James Na moved the resolution and John Cervantes seconded it 1. The minutes record no discussion of the item 1.

As printed in the agenda, the resolution declares that an emergency condition existed at Oak Ridge Elementary and allows the administration to ask the county superintendent for relief from bidding requirements 3. It also allows the superintendent or his designee to sign the related documents 4.

Why it was needed

The staff report says that from January 8 through January 23, 2025, an unprecedented wind storm led Southern California Edison to shut off power to Oak Ridge Elementary again and again for public safety; over that fifteen-day period the school lost power for the entire school day nine times 3. To keep classes going, the district rented and installed an emergency backup generator without advertising for or inviting bids 3. The county form attached to the item describes the work as the delivery, set-up and rental of 700 kW diesel-powered generators 4. The staff report lists the fiscal impact as $236,800.00 from the General Fund 3.

The staff report rests the request on Public Contract Code 20113, which relieves a board from bidding requirements when emergency work is needed to keep existing classes running or to avoid danger to life or property 3. The resolution's first recital cites the same section number but calls it California Education Code Section 20113 3, while the county form cites the Public Contract Code 4.

The January outages

The Champion reported on January 11, 2025 that Edison's shutoffs that week covered neighborhoods including the Oak Ridge area, that Chino Hills High School and Oak Ridge Elementary were both included, and that a district spokesperson said generators had been delivered to Chino Hills High to power key services 5.

At the board's January 16 regular meeting, the minutes record that Jon Monroe spoke about power outages and asked for a report on how the district can operate safely on campus without power and prepare better in future, and that Superintendent Enfield spoke about inconsistent notifications from Edison and the decision to keep schools open 7.

The Daily Bulletin reported on January 24, 2025 that families at Chino Hills High and Oak Ridge Elementary could send their children to campus or keep them home with an excused absence; a district spokesperson told the paper that generators powered the library, front office, multipurpose room, gym and restrooms on campuses 6. The paper quoted President Shaw describing what the district faced as "a new reality, with no prior notice" and reported that the district was looking for funding for larger generators 6. Those remarks were reported before this meeting and were not made at it.

The board has used this emergency route before: the minutes of its June 6, 2024 regular meeting record a similar no-bid emergency request to the county superintendent for structural repairs at Cal Aero Preserve Academy K-8 8.

Closed session

The agenda listed three closed-session matters: anticipated litigation (one possible case, with Margaret A. Chidester & Associates); labor negotiations with A.C.T. and CSEA, with Grace Park, Sandra Chen, Joseph Durkin and Jaime Ortega as the district's representatives; and a public employee discipline, dismissal or release matter 2. The minutes say the board met in closed session from 4:30 p.m. to 4:57 p.m. and took no action that required public disclosure 1.

The rest of the record

• Public comment: none on the closed-session items 1 and none on agenda items; there were no changes or deletions to the agenda 1.
• Pledge of Allegiance: led by Board Clerk Andrew Cruz 1.
• Administrators present: Superintendent Norm Enfield; Deputy Superintendent Grace Park; Associate Superintendent Sandra H. Chen; and Assistant Superintendents Tracy Freed, Luke Hackney and Gregory J. Stachura 1.
• Adjournment: President Shaw adjourned the meeting at 5:07 p.m.; the minutes were recorded by Patricia Kaylor, Administrative Secretary 1.

This page is produced by a community accountability archive and is not affiliated with or published by Chino Valley Unified School District. It summarizes the district's own agenda and minutes for this meeting, plus outside reporting where noted.