Aurora West USD 129 outlines summer capital projects, cites stormwater, moisture-barrier and scheduling constraints

Associate Superintendent Angie Smith told the Aurora West USD 129 Board of Education on March 17 that the district plans an extensive slate of summer capital projects and has changed procurement methods this transition year while its in-house capital projects manager is retired.

The update covered planned roofing and seal-coating bids, cooperative-purchase (co-op) procurement for products such as gym flooring and bleachers, job-order contracting for bundled work (including solar and track excavation), renovation work at Herget Elementary and West High, and a donor-funded financial empowerment center that will be installed and paid for by a credit-union partner.

"Job order contracting has been pre bid. It's a national contract, and then each state signs on to it sort of like the GSA contract," said Director Pat Schiller, summarizing why the district chose that procurement route for complex, multi-component projects. Schiller said the job-order contracts allow the district to see detailed line-item costing and to negotiate, which district staff said is useful while the construction market and bidder pool are contracting.

Smith said the…