New high school nears completion as design, construction and contingency work continue

The Central School Building Committee met and received a construction and design update on the district’s new high school, with staff reporting visible exterior progress, interior finish selections and continued coordination on contingency work.

Erica, a staff member reporting for the project team, said the building’s exterior and interior are moving toward completion: “If you haven't had a chance to drive by, I'd strongly recommend it. Really scary to see the shape of the building with, window glazing going in, bridal walls, windows, really starting to come together nicely.” The team has selected “Commodore blue and positive red” as full colors for the high school, and is finalizing color elevations and 3-D perspectives so building users can visualize finishes and graphics in context.

The nut of the update was construction progress and coordination: multiple trades are on site and several major systems are underway. Erica reported that one elevator shaft is complete and the second is under way; a sub-slab radon mitigation system has been installed; curtain wall (exterior glazing) is now in place; stair assemblies are installed; fire alarm, plumbing and electrical rough-ins are ongoing. She summarized contingency and change-order tracking, noting the project is “tracking a balance of construction 80%” inclusive of change orders both approved and under review.

The committee also heard workforce and equity-related project reporting. Dersick (project partner) presented the monthly apprenticeship report from Building Futures and cited the apprenticeship participation metric: “Project to date achieved 14.92%. Our goal for the project is 15.” The report showed the figure has moved up from prior months, and contractor-specific hours and trades are being tracked by the program.

On procurement and testing, staff said some allowances and the construction contingency are being used for mechanical revisions, Verizon relocation and third-party envelope testing. The project team decided to engage an alternate (contractor-provided) testing resource rather than the originally identified third-party agent for some envelope field testing. Staff noted an invoice and reimbursement request dated Nov. 18 related to change activity; the transcript references an invoice/reimbursement request figure of “6,500,000.0” in that discussion.

Separately, the committee received an update on the track-and-field replacement. Staff said the design team proposed an impervious membrane solution that has been approved by the referenced reviewer (transcript: “Bridal”) and that the design team may proceed with the proposed infiltration mitigation. The retaining-wall area remains under review and the team is pursuing responses from naturalists and vendors for that element.

Committee members asked clarifying questions about financial line items and reporting artifacts; one member noted a discrepancy in a table line item (a figure shown as “45,000” vs. “40,000”) and staff acknowledged it may be an error to be clarified after an anticipated site visit.

Why it matters: the updates cover project schedule, safety systems and budget contingencies for a major district capital project. Finish choices, contractor coordination and contingency spending shape both near-term work and long-term maintenance costs, and apprenticeship participation ties the project to local workforce and equity goals.

The committee did not take a separate formal vote on these construction updates during the meeting; staff said they will circulate additional documentation and a more detailed solar/renewables analysis for the committee’s review at a later date.