Wednesday, May 18, 2011

School Board Revises Plans to Meet Project Budget; Discusses Project Timeline

Ever since the Quaker Valley Board of Directors rejected all bids on April 12, 2011 for the middle school renovation project due to costs, architects, board members, and school administrators have reviewed every line item in the scope and detail of the project to determine what could be eliminated or modified.

Jack Norris, school board president and David Pusateri, board facilities committee chair, Dr. Joseph Clapper, Superintendent, and Dr. Joseph Marrone, Director of Administrative Services have met numerous times with the project manager, architects, and HVAC and structural engineers. The objectives have been clear — to find viable changes to the scope of the project, design, infrastructure, materials and plan that will reduce costs without impacting the educational program of Quaker Valley Middle School. “We have been working to make changes to fit the economics of the project,” Mr. Norris said.

Earlier this month, the school board met to review the recommendations of Mr. Norris and Mr. Pusateri with the architects, engineers and project manager present to answer any questions the board might have. Mr. Norris presided over the meeting and along with Mr. Pusateri led the group through each item, line-by-line, explaining each proposed change and the rationale behind each consideration.

At the end of the meeting the board reviewed the projected timeline of the redesign and subsequent rebidding of the project.  The architects agreed to try to complete the redesign within a month; new bid documents would be prepared and the bidding would be reopened. The district expects to receive new bids in early to mid-July and if the bids come in within budget, the project could commence shortly thereafter.

All board members expressed concerned as to how the delay could impact the schedule relating to moving students back to the middle school for the 2012-13 school year. Based on the many meetings and conversations with the architects, project manager and others, it was discussed that although extending the project to the following year was a possibility, it is clearly not the desired choice of the board and administration.

Based on his experience in commercial real estate and construction, Mr. Norris assured the board that they really could not know how the timeline would be affected until the bids were in and contractors selected. He explained that the schedule will be part of the discussion with the contractors who are finally selected; the contractor will be made aware that the district desires that the project be substantially completed prior to the beginning of the 2012-13 school year.

The school board agreed that they didn’t want to delay the move of the students back to the middle school but they also did not want to jeopardize the quality or efficiency of construction by trying to rush the deadline or propose unrealistic construction constraints. The safety of students and staff must also be a top priority.

In the end, there is a genuine commitment to choose a plan that will ensure the timely and successful completion of a renovation project while protecting the safety and well being of Quaker Valley students and staff.

A blog entry will be posted when the board has more details about the project, the timeline and its impact on the 2012-13 school year.

Read more: Timeline on Quaker Valley middle school renovations unchanged