RFQ # 2015-16-011 REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS (RFQ) For BOND UNDERWRITING SERVICES RFQ Release Date: SOQ Due Date: Friday, May 27 th Friday, June 10 th Page 1 of 9
Redwood City School District Request for Qualifications to Provide Bond Underwriting Services RFQ No. 2015-16- 011 PURPOSE AND SCOPE OF THE REQUEST The Redwood City School District ( District or RCSD ) is requesting Statements of Qualifications ( SOQ ) from qualified bond underwriting firms who are experienced in providing California educational entities with bond underwriting services related to the issuance of general obligation bonds, refunding long- term debt and other municipal financing options. SOQs should be submitted in accordance with the terms and conditions contained in the RFQ document. The objective of the District is to select a qualified bond underwriting firm with diverse experience specific to California school district financings. OVERVIEW OF THE DISTRICT The Redwood City School District is a pre K- 8 District comprised of 16 schools, six (6) K- 5 elementary schools, eight (8) K- 8 schools, and two (2) middle schools. RCSD serves more than 9,000 students from Redwood City, portions of San Carlos, Menlo Park, Atherton, Woodside, and incorporated areas near Redwood City. The mission of Redwood City School District is to educate every child for success in the 21st century. Redwood City School District has successfully passed three bond elections: June 1997 for $44,000,000, Measure B in March 2002 for $22,000,000 and Measure T in November 2015 for $193,000,000. The District has completed the June 1997 and 2002 Measure B authorizations, respectively and is currently planning the issuance of Series A bonds from Measure T in the amount of approximately $60,000,000. The District s financial advisor is KNN Public Finance and bond and disclosure counsel is Dannis Woliver Kelley. GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS Submittal of the SOQ should be reviewed for accuracy before submission to the District since the SOQ may not be modified after submission to the District. The District will not be responsible for errors or omissions in any SOQ. The District reserves the right to reject any and all SOQs, or to waive any irregularities, or informalities in the SOQs. Signatures The SOQ must include the signature of an authorized officer of the bond underwriting firm submitting the statement. The name and title of the person shall be included following the signature. Contacts In order to control information disseminated regarding this request for SOQ, bond underwriting firms interested in submitting an SOQ are directed NOT to make personal contact with members of the Board of Trustees and District Administration, with the exception of the individual listed below: Wael Saleh, CPA, MBA Chief Business Official Redwood City School District 750 Bradford Street Page 2 of 9
Redwood City, CA 94063-1727 RFQ Questions All questions should be submitted by email to wsaleh@rcsdk8.net no later than 3pm on Thursday, June 2 nd. Joint Proposals Joint proposals may not be submitted. Interviews This District may conduct interviews of selected firms. California Public Records Act All material submitted in response to this solicitation will become the property of Redwood City School District and will not be returned. In addition, all materials submitted are considered a public record by RCSD and subject to disclosure pursuant to the California Public Records Act (Government Code 6250 et sq.). Should RCSD receive a request for any proposals submitted in response to this RFQ, the bidder submitting the requested proposal will be contacted prior to disclosure of the proposal to determine what portions, if any, of the proposal may be confidential. RCSD reserves the right, consistent with the California Public Records Act, to make the final determination whether a proposal, or any portion of its content, is confidential and not subject to disclosure. It is the desire of the District to select a firm that can meet or exceed the requirements set forth by the District and can provide the highest quality of bond underwriting services at a competitive fee. Page 3 of 9
SCOPE OF SERVICES Firms wishing to be considered for selection by the Governing Board must agree to meet the District s requirements and provide any/all services listed below at the specific request of the District, including but not limited to, the following: 1. Provide the District with assistance on financing techniques and options on matters pertaining to the issuance and sale of securities including general obligation bonds and other municipal financing options available to California educational entities. 2. Provide the District with available financing options by conducting studies and analyses to determine the most appropriate and cost- effective financing methods, terms, security provisions and repayment structures. 3. Provide bond financing schedules and sizing analyses to the District. 4. Work cooperatively and coordinate with the District s municipal advisor, bond and disclosure counsel in connection with the issuance of bonds. 5. Assist disclosure counsel with the preparation of preliminary and final official statements to provide the market with timely and accurate information about the District and its bond issues. 6. Provide transparency and guidance during the pricing process including indicative and proposed scales, proposed call features, proposed underwriting spreads and other pricing- related matters. 7. Assist District officials in preparing materials for presentation to national credit rating services regarding the District s financial condition and debt structures. 8. Have representatives present at Governing Board and other Districts meetings, when requested or notified, on matters concerning financing techniques and bond issues. 9. Prepare other analyses that may be utilized by the District for its financings. 10. Perform such other functions normally contemplated to be within the scope of a fully qualified bond underwriter. SUBMISSION OF STATEMENT OF QUALIFICATIONS The SOQ must be received by the District no later than 3pm on Friday, June 10 th. Once submitted, responses become the property of the District. No corrected or resubmitted proposals will be accepted after the deadline. Late proposals will not be accepted and will be returned unopened. Submit one (1) unbound original and four (4) bound copies of your SOQ by regular/express delivery, and one CD to the following address: Wael Saleh, CPA, MBA Chief Business Official Redwood City School District 750 Bradford Street Redwood City, CA 94063-1727 Page 4 of 9
Minimum Qualifications 1. Five (5) or more years of experience performing the type work required in this request. This experience shall include experience with California public agencies preferably education agencies. Experience must be within the last three (3) years. 2. Sufficient resources and financial stability to complete the work. 3. Familiarity of, and compliance with, all local, state and federal laws and regulations pertaining to such work. 4. Highly qualified staff with education, experience and knowledge of the disciplines and fields required by this work. This includes excellent interpersonal and communication skills. 5. The firm must maintain adequate professional liability insurance coverage with either a securities transaction rider of coverage without exclusion for securities transactions. Provide as an appendix evidence of professional liability coverage for the firm and its bankers including coverage amounts. The evidence of coverage should indicate whether securities transactions are covered. CONTENTS FOR STATEMENT OF QUALIFICATIONS The SOQ shall be limited to ten (10) pages excluding 2 page maximum cover letter, attachments and appendices) using 12- point font. Responders shall read each item carefully and answer each of the following items accurately to ensure compliance with District requirements. Failure to provide all requested information or deviation from the required format may result in disqualification. A. Organizational Structure Describe the organizational structure of your firm as it relates to municipal investment banking and the underwriting and sales of municipal bonds. Describe your firm s presence and activity in the State of California including office locations, employees, and commitment to California municipal finance. Please include summaries of your firm s investment banking services including underwriting, trading, sales and distribution capabilities. B. Professional Team Identify the individual who will be the firm s senior representative for daily management of a bond transaction. Discuss availability of that person and summary of qualifications. Identify the individuals that would be working on a bond transaction. Include investment banking, quantitative analysis, support staff and underwriting. Please note their location and describe each of their roles. C. Approach Please describe your approach to issuing the initial series of bonds from the District s 2015 Measure T authorization. Include details on recommended structure to account for current market conditions, interest rate environment and ability to effectively issue subsequent series of bonds while managing tax rate commitments. D. Key Considerations Please discuss any issues with the issuance of California general obligation bonds. Are there any special credit factors the District could be facing? Page 5 of 9
E. Capital Position State your firm s capital position (Total Capital, Equity Capital, Net Capital and Excess Capital) as of December 31, 2015. Describe recent examples where your firm has utilized capital to underwrite unsold bonds. F. Distinguishing Characteristics Please describe what distinguishes your firm from other bond underwriting firms and how said services will benefit the District financially. Summarize any other points you would like the District to consider in its evaluation of your proposal. G. Recent School District Transactions Briefly describe your firm s underwriting experience in connection with California K- 12 general obligation bonds. Please select two (2) to four (4) recent short term and/or long term, fixed rate and/or adjustable rate competitive sale or negotiated transactions since January 1, 2015 for which your firm s professionals were involved. List the following information regarding each transaction: sale date, issue size, maturity amounts, scale and optional call features, underwriting spread, credit rating, credit enhancement (if any), and any other relevant information. H. Fees Include your proposed underwriter s spread, specifying management fee, takedown and itemized expenses assuming an initial issuance of $60,000,000. Please include who would be your underwriter s counsel and fee. If more than one manager, please provide recommended syndicate rules and policies. I. Agreement The bond underwriting firm approved by the Governing Board to serve as the District s underwriter will be required to enter into an agreement with terms and conditions of said agreement to be acceptable to both parties. Please confirm in your SOQ your firm s willingness to enter into an agreement acceptable to the District. J. References Please provide the names and contact information for at least five (5) school districts your firm has served as underwriter during the past three (3) years. K. Legal Issues Please respond to each of the following questions: i. Is there now pending any legal action alleging violations of the law in connection with an offering of municipal securities in a California transaction against the firm or any employee of the firm? Please describe each such pending action. ii. Have there been any settlements or judgments involving such actions within the last five (5) years? Please describe each such settlement or judgment, including the nature of the action and the amount of recovery. iii. Are there pending legal or disciplinary matters involving such actions against the firm by any State or Federal regulatory agency? I f yes, describe. Include information about any criminal indictments or convictions against the firm or its attorneys where the Page 6 of 9
charges involved municipal securities in the United States. Also include information about any material pending legal action, settlement, or judgment involving a claim of fraud, whether civil or criminal. EVALUATION OF STATEMENT OF QUALIFICATIONS Each SOQ will be evaluated based on the following criteria (not listed in the order of importance): A. Demonstrated understanding and responsiveness of the request for qualifications. B. Qualifications and experience of firm and personnel named in the SOQ. C. Strength of Capital Position and demonstrated commitment to underwrite when needed D. References E. Proposed fees F. The District reserves the right to: i. Request an interview with and/or additional information from any firm prior to its selection. ii. Select the firm (or firms) that, in the District s judgment, will best meet the District s needs. Fees are an important factor, but will not be the sole factor in making the selection. iii. The District reserves the right to negotiate any price or provision whenever, in the sole opinion of the District, such action shall serve its best interests and those of the taxpaying public. The firms are encouraged to submit their best prices in their SOQ, and the District intends to negotiate only with the firm(s) whose SOQ most closely meets the District s requirements at the lowest estimated cost. The Contract, if any is awarded, will go to the firm whose SOQ best meets the District s requirements. iv. Reject any and all SOQ or to waive any non- statutory informality. The Governing Board further reserves the right to make the contract award deemed by the administration to be in the best interest of the District. The Governing Board s decision to accept or reject the contract shall be final. COMPLETION OF STATEMENT OF QUALIFICATIONS The SOQ shall be completed in all respects as required by the instructions herein. The SOQ may be rejected if it is conditional or incomplete, or if it contains alterations of form or other irregularities of any kind. The SOQ will be rejected if, in the opinion of the District, the information contained therein was intended to erroneously and fallaciously mislead the District in the evaluation of the proposal. WITHDRAWAL OF STATEMENT OF QUALIFICATIONS The SOQ may be withdrawn by the firm submitting the SOQ at any time prior to the closing date and time for receipt of SOQs. A request to withdraw a SOQ must be in writing and received by the District prior to the scheduled due date of SOQ. SOQs not withdrawn must remain open for a period of sixty (60) days Page 7 of 9
following the last day to submit SOQs. No amendment, addendum or modification will be accepted after the SOQ has been submitted to the District. If a change to a SOQ that has been submitted is desired, the submitted SOQ must be withdrawn and the replacement SOQ submitted to the District prior to the scheduled due date of SOQs. INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR STATUS It is expressly understood that the firm named in any contract entered into by the District is acting as an independent contractor and not as an agent or employee of the District. COST OF PREPARATION OF STATEMENT OF QUALIFICATIONS The sole responsibility for compliance with the requirements of this SOQ lies with each firm submitting a response. Each firm is solely responsible for costs in preparing a response to this SOQ and other activities associated with this SOQ. CONFIDENTIAL AND PROPRIETARY INFORMATION All materials submitted relative to this RFQ will be kept confidential until such time an award is made or the RFQ is cancelled. At such time, all materials submitted must be made available to the public. If any part of any SOQ is proprietary or confidential, the firm must so identify and so state. However, any information that must be used by the District to aid in SOQ selection must be available to the public. The District reserves the right to retain all SOQs submitted and to utilize data and/or suggestions included in the SOQ, regardless of whether SOQ is selected by the District. Page 8 of 9
CERTIFICATION OF REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS I certify that I have read the attached Request for Qualifications. I further certify that I have submitted one (1) unbound original, four (4) bound copies of the firm s Statement of Qualifications (SOQ) and a CD in response to this request and that I am authorized to bind the firm to the SOQ submitted. Signature Date Typed or Printed Name Telephone Title Fax Company Federal Tax I.D. Number Address If the Proposer is a corporation, please provide the corporate seal here. Page 9 of 9