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STATE OF LOUISIANA <br /> '`!'pE i.oujs.�- DEPARTMENT OF STATE CIVIL SERVICE <br /> 44 r\. LOUISIANA BOARD OF ETHICS <br /> P.0.BOX 4368 <br /> s , BATON ROUGE,LA 70821 <br /> ... ` -p) / (225)219-5600 <br /> y..'„°1O.m°'.. FAX:(225)381-7271 <br /> 1-800-842-6630 <br /> www.ethics.state.la.us <br /> May 23, 2013 <br /> Ms. Leslie Ellison <br /> Vice President, Orleans Parish School Board <br /> 3520 General De Gaulle Drive <br /> New Orleans, LA 70114 <br /> RE: Board Docket No.2013-476 <br /> Dear Ms. Ellison: <br /> The Louisiana Board of Ethics at its May 17,2013,Board meeting considered your advisory opinion request <br /> regarding whether Ellison Builders. L.L.C.(Ellison Builders)a company owned by your brother,may enter <br /> into subcontract with companies who were awarded contracts with the Orleans Parish School Board(OPSB) <br /> and/or the Recovery School District (RSD), while you serve as a member of the Orleans Parish School <br /> Board. Your brother owns the general commercial construction company, Ellison Builders. The company <br /> may be hired as a subcontractor to perform work on the following school construction projects in Orleans <br /> Parish: I.) The Phyllis Wheatley new school construction ("the Wheatley Project") and 2.) The Eleanor <br /> McCain High School new gymnasium ("the McCain Project"). The Wheatley Project was bid out and <br /> awarded to Gibbs Construction, L.L.C.,by the RSD. The McCain Project was bid out and awarded to Ellis <br /> Construction, Inc., by the OPSB. <br /> To the best of your knowledge and belief you state that the Gibbs contract for the Wheatley Project is <br /> supervised by RSD administrators in conjunction with the RSD's project manager,Jacobs-CSRS. Likewise, <br /> the McCain Project is supervised by OPSB administrators in conjunction with the OPSB's project manager, <br /> Jacobs-CSRS. The OPSB and the RSD issue payment to their general contractors for work performed,while <br /> each general contractor is responsible for paying its subcontractors. Neither the RSD nor the OPSB pays <br /> subcontractors directly. <br /> For the Board's review, you would like to point out that Ellison Builders is a certified Disadvantaged <br /> Business Enterprise(DBE). Both the OPSB and the RSD have instituted DBE programs that require general <br /> contractors to put forth a good faith effort to retain qualified DBE's as subcontractor's on their projects. <br /> Pursuant to these DBE programs,both the OPSB and the RSD monitor the general contractors'compliance <br /> with the established DBE goal. Failure to establish a good-faith effort to comply with the established goal <br /> may be cause for termination of the general contract. Also, both the OPSB and the RSD may refer general <br /> contractors to a list of DBE's that are certified by public bodies or agencies external to the OPSB and the <br /> RSD(e.g.the City of New Orleans or the Louisiana Unified Certification Program)in order to assist general <br /> contractors in their efforts to meet their DBE goals. <br /> Finally, it should be noted that while the OPSB is the elected school board for the entire Parish of Orleans, <br /> it does not have any jurisdiction whatsoever over the RSD or any RSD contracts. The RSD is an <br /> intermediate educational unit which falls under the jurisdiction of the Louisiana Department of Education. <br /> In light of the foregoing, you request the Board's advice on the following: <br /> 1.) Is your brother's company, Ellison Builders, L.L.C., precluded from entering into <br /> subcontracts with general contractors hired by the OPSB or the RSD, pursuant to R.S. <br /> AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER <br />