The Chatham School District Board on a unanimous voice vote approved a $273,043.72 change order to the Chatham Elementary School (CES) parking project after contractors found that portions of the lot lacked any rock subgrade.

District facilities director Mike Dobbs told the board crews had planned to mill two inches of asphalt and repave, but “as we got our milling machines on there we discovered that there was no sub grade whatsoever underneath it” and some machines began to sink. Dobbs said core samples had been taken in other areas and appeared acceptable, but not at the center of the lot where the problem arose.

The district presented four repair options and recommended option 2: asphalt the east lot as originally planned, retain the west-lot scope, and add replacement of a sidewalk on the west lot. Dobbs said the overage being requested on top of the original contract is $273,043.72. “Our recommendation as a district is option number 2,” he said.

Board members pressed for information about long-term costs and procurement safeguards. One board member asked whether concrete would be a longer-lasting choice; an architect on the project, Ben Dockery, summarized the tradeoffs, saying concrete is “less maintenance” and will “hold up better over time,” while asphalt will need earlier milling and repaving. Dobbs said the east lot is now used for parent pickup and teacher parking and will not be used as a bus lane, which influenced the recommendation toward asphalt.

Board members also raised concerns about the bidding and soil-sampling process after several observed that similar hidden conditions had appeared in prior parking projects. The board discussed whether more frequent or denser core sampling could reduce future change orders. Dobbs said the district’s core samples had been taken on the south edge and at other locations, not necessarily in the center of the troubled area, and conceded additional sampling could have detected the issue.

Finance and funding context: the board and staff said the district will use fund 60 (county 1¢ sales tax proceeds) to cover most construction projects; the facilities director noted that when projects exceed budget forecasts the district may later amend the budget and defer other projects. The district also referenced a recent insurance report that flagged a separate parking lot as a hazard, which supported that earlier project’s inclusion in bond or reserve funding.

The board approved the change order after discussion and a second. The motion passed with all members voting yes.

The district will proceed with the recommended asphalt repair and sidewalk replacement while staff and the architect consider how to adjust sampling and bidding practices to reduce similar surprises in future projects.