Corpus Christi ISD architects' infraction was no small matter

CORPUS CHRISTI It may be hard for taxpaying non-architects to understand how bad a thing an architect group and school officials did when they discussed fees before the architect group won the contract. Aren't cost savings in the taxpayers' best interest?

The answer: Yes, but.

Perhaps the easiest way to gauge the gravity of the offense is to consider that the Texas Board of Architectural Examiners is seeking six-month suspensions of the licenses for the four architects hired for the Adkins Middle School project, instead of mere fines.

Last August, those architects discussed cost savings that could occur if Corpus Christi Independent School District chose them. Which CCISD did.

The architects knew and school trustees should have known or should have been advised promptly by administrators and legal staff that architects are supposed to be chosen according to their qualifications and that contract negotiations, including the price, are supposed to come next.

The architects, who initially thought they only would incur fines, are fighting the proposed suspensions. A licensing board enforcer told the Caller-Times that the state agency would seek a penalty sufficient to deter the offense. That meant something stronger than a fine that other architects might be tempted to risk as a cost of doing business, offset handsomely by fat contracts. We commend the agency for seeking an effective, sufficient deterrent.

The school district also faces consequences, though they appear significantly lighter. The Texas Education Agency found that the CCISD violated state law and has ordered the district to submit a plan showing how it will manage its bidding process to prevent such problems.

"I believe our board was operating in such a way that they felt they were making the best decision for the district and the taxpayers," Superintendent Scott Elliff told Elaine Marsilio of the Caller-Times. To our dog ears, that sounds like: We only were trying to save you money. And again that's a noble pursuit that we taxpaying non-architects can understand and appreciate.

But the rules weren't made just for rules' sake and certainly they weren't made to be broken. Highly respected local architect David Richter, who was among the many who signed complaints to both the architectural board and the education agency, explained it in terms we non-architects can understand. Don't assume that the rules are set up to protect architects, he said.

"It's really supposed to protect the public and help them get the best quality in a fair and honest selection process. Because of that," Richter told Marsilio, "it's very important for the public interest to have a law that's upheld."

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Corpus Christi ISD architects' infraction was no small matter