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County, school officials review detailed cost breakdown for Withers Creek High School; FF&E estimate lowered
Summary
District staff and a construction advisor presented a phased site plan, updated scope and furniture-fixture-equipment (FF&E) estimates for the proposed Withers Creek campus; board discussed phasing, contingency and competition-field uses.
Mark Shinkarick and district staff updated the school board on the Withers Creek High School project, presenting a phased campus plan, line-item estimates and updated FF&E figures requested by the county after initial bids.
Shinkarick said the lowest construction bid earlier received and later rejected by the county was about $143 million; the consulting team produced a detailed phase map (phase 1a, 1b and phase 2) breaking out building shells, parking and athletic complexes. Phase 1 would include the core school and main parking; phase 1b would rough-in additional campus areas; phase 2 would include athletics (football/track stadium, baseball/softball fields, turf practice fields) and supporting structures.
Staff presented FF&E and startup estimates: approximately $3.7 million for classroom and office furniture (50 shared classrooms), about $500,000 for athletic equipment and uniforms, and a combined FF&E total reported in the update of roughly $7.46 million. The team recommended a contingency of approximately 5to 10% and noted additional start-up costs (custodial supplies, third-party testing, installation labor for technology and displays). The presenters emphasized that estimates are current-price snapshots and subject to inflation and labor-market fluctuations.
Board members asked whether a phased approach would raise long-term costs. Shinkarick and staff said phasing can be done but typically increases aggregate cost because later bids reflect higher labor and materials prices and because some economies of scale (for example, building multiple fields at once) are lost. The district also described the strategic aim to build a competition-quality facility to attract tournaments, which officials said can generate community economic activity.
No formal vote was taken. The board asked staff to continue providing updated cost information and clarified that the county commissioners will evaluate funding options and tradeoffs (phasing vs. full build).
