Bethel Park school construction nears roof-deck stage as managers detail change-order oversight and soil costs

Construction managers told the Bethel Park School District facilities committee that the new elementary school is moving into roof-deck installation and upper-floor slab pours, while change-order review and unforeseen soil conditions are the main cost drivers.

At the facilities committee meeting, a construction representative summarized progress: “All the steel is up, and they're in the process of detailing that steel and putting the roof deck on,” and said roughly 70% of the steel has been erected and about 90% of foundations are installed. The representative added the project is behind schedule and the team is preparing a recovery schedule to get back on time.

Cassie, a member of the district’s administrative/construction oversight team, described the firm’s role in enforcing the contract and vetting change orders. “We are the initial decision maker when it comes to disputes, and we've had to exercise that a few times already on your project,” she said. Cassie said the oversight team validates whether a request qualifies as a change order, looks for ways to minimize cost, and pursues credits when appropriate. She also told the board the firm does not profit from omissions found after bid: “When we miss something, we do not charge a fee for those.”

Steve Massaro, president of Massaro Construction Management Services and Massaro Corporation, said the team reviews potential change orders and rejects or returns items that do not meet the contractor’s justification. He said the project has produced about 80 RFIs so far and that the Massaro team uses its estimating database to test contractor prices for reasonableness. “If anyone of the prime contractors…their change orders, if they're not broken down correctly, or even if they are, we review them,” Massaro said. He added the team regularly pushes back on inflated requests and works to negotiate or eliminate unwarranted costs.

Committee members asked for specifics about recent soil-related costs. District staff and the contractor discussed a change order described as an undercut of the bus loop that removed approximately 1,550 cubic yards of unsuitable material; the line-item amount discussed in the meeting was $178,593. District staff said the undercut is billed as a volume multiplied by the contract unit cost, and that the removal was witnessed and documented by multiple parties on-site. A committee member noted roughly $1 million remained in contingency out of a $3.2 million contingency pool, and asked whether soil removals were finished; staff replied they could not guarantee no further soil-related change orders would arise.

On safety and schedule, the construction representative noted nearly 300 days without a recordable OSHA incident and described continuing work: completing remaining foundations and underground plumbing and electrical work, continuing block work that may take roughly 50–60 days, ongoing fireproofing, and interior and exterior wall framing in classroom Wing E.

Committee members pressed for more detail on time-sensitive materials and procurement. The panel noted aluminum cladding had been released and was reportedly located in the United States, and asked for a procurement update the following week because material delays can affect schedule-critical items. Massaro and the oversight team said they meet regularly—two-week formal reviews plus weekly/site-level checks—to triage potential change orders and minimize schedule impacts.

The committee did not take a formal vote on individual change orders at the meeting. Staff said the change orders discussed would be included in the consent agenda at the board meeting next week for formal approval, and that backup documentation for specific change orders is available on request.

Why it matters: the new elementary school is the district’s major capital expenditure; soil-condition costs and change orders affect the project budget and timeline and may require future tradeoffs in the capital plan.

Next steps: staff will present a recovery schedule and more detailed backup for the significant change orders at upcoming meetings; the listed change orders are slated for inclusion on the board consent agenda at the next regular meeting.