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Board pulls facilities items after trustees raise questions about change orders and missing documentation
Summary
Trustees removed two facilities items from the consent agenda and asked administration for documentation after identifying nearly $400,000 in project overages, including a $52,000 change order for a roof material switch and increases for the Bayville Intermediate turf project.
Trustee Lauren (Board of Education) objected to several facilities change orders included in the consent agenda, saying the board had received a package late and had not been provided contract bids or line‑by‑line documentation for recent scope changes that together added “almost $400,000” in overages to approved projects.
Lauren noted the approved 2024‑25 transfer to capital included $900,000 for a slate roof, and that a change order for a synthetic roofing material of $52,000 would put that job about $159,000 over the originally approved slate budget. She asked for the contracts and bids; administration said some increased costs stemmed from additional scope and post‑removal damage discovered during work. Lauren said she had emailed for information weeks earlier and received no response.
Board President and facilities committee chair George (name only given in meeting) confirmed he had not been notified in advance. After discussion, the board took a motion to pull items f and g under the facilities consent agenda (the roof and the Bayville Intermediate field items) so administration can provide detailed documentation. The motion passed unanimously.
Separately, trustees also pulled the BOCES agreements from the consent agenda for further review after questions about year‑to‑year increases in certain line items (for example, a career/CTE line rising from roughly $376,000 to more than $600,000 year‑to‑year and a one‑time $100,000 fee associated with a Building Local Capacity (BLC) offering). Administration said some budget increases reflected expanded scope and use of BOCES consultative services that intend to generate aid but trustees asked for line‑by‑line justification and copies of bids and contracts. The board voted to remove the BOCES item for further review as well.
Administration committed to returning with the detailed change orders, scopes, bids and contracts for the pulled items. No contracts were approved at this meeting for those pulled items.
