Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the School Facilities Modular Classrooms topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Bowling Green modular "villas" finished in 93 days; county, school officials say cost exceeded appropriation and division absorbed difference
Summary
Caroline County Public Schools officials said modular classroom "villas" at Bowling Green Elementary were delivered, inspected and occupied in 93 calendar days, but that the final price tag—about $1.093 million—exceeded the $994,607 appropriated reversion funds and the division covered the difference.
Caroline County Public Schools told the school board on Sept. 8 that modular learning cottages at Bowling Green Elementary were delivered, installed and occupied in a 93-calendar-day timeline, and that the division used county reversion funds plus additional division funds to complete the project.
Chris Caldwell, who presented the final update, said the modular units were ordered in early June, delivered July 30, and received certificates of occupancy on Aug. 26; teachers moved in Aug. 28 and students began using the units after Labor Day. "This project goes into the books as being completed in 93 calendar days from funding to move in," Caldwell said.
Funding and cost: Caldwell reported the division received $994,607 in county reversion funds and later reported a final project price tag of approximately $1,093,000. Board members and staff clarified that the $994,607 was the appropriation amount and that the division covered the remaining cost to complete the work. At the meeting, board members and staff described the final accounting as under the original estimate of $1.1 million but over the appropriated amount, and said the division absorbed the difference so the project could proceed.
Remaining work and site notes: Caldwell said final skirting installation still required eight pieces of metal and should be completed within about two weeks of the report. He also listed final safety and technology installations, foundation inspections, fencing and skirting as part of the August finishing work.
Community comment and context: During citizen comment, Lisa Stevens, a Mattaponi District resident and grandmother of a child in the villas, praised the new units as "amazing and wonderful" but urged the board and county supervisors not to accept modular classrooms as a long-term solution. Stevens said the division had worked previously to remove trailers from campuses and asked the board to continue pursuing permanent school facilities, particularly for Lewis and Clark and Bowling Green.
Board reaction and timeline lessons: Board members repeatedly praised staff for accelerating the timeline and named collaboration among division staff, contractors, the county planning department, utilities and the vendor as critical to the rapid schedule. Caldwell advised that a comfortable timeline for similar modular installations remains about 11 months in typical practice, but that expedited approaches can compress the schedule if staffing and approvals align.
Ending: Board members and staff framed the villas as a present-space solution rather than a permanent replacement for a permanent elementary school, and said they will continue coordination with the Board of Supervisors on longer-term facilities planning.
