Sole Source Determination and Justification_Signed.pdf

SOLE-SOURCE DETERMINATION AND JUSTIFICATION

FOR SUPPLIES AND SERVICES

No. REQ-S-58100-00018014 Renew America’s Schools

To: Julia Alpernas, Director of Procurement and Designated Procurement Officer Department of Education

From: ODE, Procurement Specialist: Michelle Choate

Date: September 22, 2026

Re: Sole Source Determination pursuant to Oregon Revised Statute (ORS) 279B.075 and Oregon Administrative Rule (OAR) 125-247-0275

Part A

1. Authority to enter into a Sole Source Contract:

Pursuant to ORS 279B.075(2)(d), OAR 125-247-0275(2)(d), and OAR 125-246-0170, the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) finds that a Sole Source Contract with Community System Solutions (CSS) is necessary to ensure continuity of program management and federal grant administration services for Budget Period 2 of the U.S. Department of Energy Renew America’s Schools Cooperative Agreement, Award No. DE-SE0001447. The determination is based on CSS’s unique project-specific knowledge, established grant administration processes, and the operational disruption, delay, and potential federal compliance risks associated with moving these services to another contractor.

2. Estimated Total Value of Contract: $75,000

3. Subject of Contract: Grant Program Management Services for Budget Period 2 of the Renew America’s Schools Cooperative Agreement (Award No. DE-SE0001447).

4. Background: ODE is administering a $7.5 million award under the U.S. Department of Energy Renew America’s Schools Cooperative Agreement, supporting energy-efficiency improvements at 11 school facilities across seven participating school districts. ODE seeks to contract with CSS for Program Management Services during Budget Period 2, anticipated to run from October 1, 2026 through December 31, 2030, contingent upon DOE approval. The total estimated contract value for these services is $75,000.

CSS has supported the project since its inception and currently performs program management services and grant administration under ODE’s contract. During Budget Period 1, CSS provided these services under a contract valued at $10,000.00 and successfully supported proposal development, budget justification preparation, continuation application support, federal reporting, cost-share documentation, coordination with participating districts, and compliance activities required by the U.S. Department of Energy. Through this work, CSS has developed detailed knowledge of the project’s history, district-specific implementation activities, federal reporting obligations, continuation funding requirements, cost-share commitments, and compliance considerations. As a result, CSS possesses unique project-specific knowledge that would otherwise need to be recreated by a new contractor.

ODE is seeking a Sole Source procurement because continuity of these services is necessary to support uninterrupted implementation of the federal award. Procuring these services from CSS will allow ODE to leverage the knowledge and experience gained during Budget Period 1 while avoiding unnecessary duplication of effort, transition costs, implementation delays, and potential compliance risks associated with transferring project management responsibilities to a new contractor at a critical stage of project implementation.

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5. Findings A. Market Research Overall Finding.

ODE determined that while other firms may offer general federal grant management services, no other firm possesses the project-specific expertise, institutional knowledge, and established working relationships with ODE, DOE, and participating school districts developed through direct participation in the development, continuation application, implementation, and administration of this DOE cooperative agreement.

And

B. Findings of Fact pursuant to OAR 125-247-0275(2) must include, at a minimum, one of the following:

1. Pursuant to ORS 279B.075 (2)(d): CSS has supported the Renew America’s Schools project since proposal development and possesses unique project-specific knowledge that is not reasonably available from another contractor. This knowledge includes familiarity with the DOE cooperative agreement, continuation application requirements, cost-share commitments, federal reporting obligations, coordination among seven participating districts, district-specific project status, and outstanding compliance matters.

CSS met the minimum qualifications established for project management firms supporting participating districts under the award, including experience with Build America, Buy America compliance, Davis-Bacon labor compliance reporting, NEPA documentation, energy audit procurement oversight, federal construction procurement support, and continuation funding development. Six of the seven participating school districts independently selected CSS to provide project management services during implementation, resulting in CSS having direct knowledge of implementation activities occurring across the majority of participating districts.

Transitioning these responsibilities to another contractor would require substantial transfer of institutional knowledge. Such a transition would increase onboarding and knowledge-transfer costs, duplicate work already completed by CSS, delay implementation activities during Budget Period 2, disrupt support to participating districts, and increase the risk of noncompliance with federal grant requirements. These impacts constitute a significant cost of conversion within the meaning of OAR 125-247-0275(2)(d).

While other firms may possess general grant administration qualifications, CSS is the only contractor with direct experience supporting the development, continuation application, and administration of this specific federal award and established working relationships with ODE, DOE, and the majority of participating districts. Therefore, ODE finds that the required services are available from only one source for purposes of ORS 279B.075(2)(d).

Approved:

Julia Alpernas, NIGP-CPP, CPPB, OPBC Date Director of Procurement and Designated Procurement Officer Oregon Department of Education

9/22/2026