Middle school construction ahead of schedule; district weighing moving summer school into new building

Waunakee Community School District facility committee members were told March 6 that construction on the district's new middle school is proceeding ahead of schedule and that staff have begun discussing the possibility of holding summer school 2026 in the new building if the board approves doing work before a referendum.

The timeline update came as staff reviewed the monthly contingency tracker. District staff said the earlier-than-expected schedule could create an "occupancy date" that would let contractors perform work inside the existing middle school while students are not present, but emphasized that any in-building work before a referendum would be contingent on a future board decision.

The committee reviewed one contingency item near the bottom of the tracker: audio-visual (AV) scope and associated budget. The AV work described in the meeting includes building-wide displays and gymnasium screens similar to recent installations at Heritage and the high school. District staff said the contractor's current AV quote exceeds the amount allocated in the construction budget and proposed pulling the AV scope out of the general contractor's Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) so the district could procure it separately.

Rick Franz, the district’s IT director, told the committee the district has previously managed AV procurements by seeking multiple quotes and believes that approach could reduce cost. Staff said the district knows the line-item amount included in the GMP that could be removed; what is not known is whether competitive bids would come in lower than the contractor’s current proposal. Staff estimated it could take one to two months to finalize the decision and complete a separate bidding process if the board approves the change.

Committee members were also briefed on recent contractor-identified credits and value-engineering opportunities. Staff described a regular process in which the contractor and the design team (identified in meeting materials as EUA) evaluate potential savings and then present vetted suggestions to district administrators; Dr. Brown was listed as the decision-maker who approves whether a proposed credit proceeds.

No formal board decision on the AV procurement or early occupancy was taken at the March 6 committee meeting. Staff said they would continue discussions with the construction team and return with specifics if and when a recommendation for the board appears.

The meeting included routine project-management details such as furniture logistics and the district’s list of subcomponent purchases (for example, appliances acquired through a University of Wisconsin contract to obtain pricing). Staff asked committee members to expect follow-up reports and to contact project leads with questions before the next meeting.