California Code, Public Contract Code - PCC § 20116

It shall be unlawful to split or separate into smaller work orders or projects any work, project, service, or purchase for the purpose of evading the provisions of this article requiring contracting after competitive bidding.

The district shall maintain job orders or similar records indicating the total cost expended on each project in accordance with the procedures established in the most recent edition of the California School Accounting Manual for a period of not less than three years after completion of the project.

Informal bidding may be used on work, projects, services, or purchases that cost up to the limits set forth in this article. For the purpose of securing informal bids, the board shall publish annually in a newspaper of general circulation published in the district, or if there is no such newspaper, then in some newspaper in general circulation in the county, a notice inviting contractors to register to be notified of future informal bidding projects. All contractors included on the informal bidding list shall be given notice of all informal bid projects in any manner as the district deems appropriate.