Board schedules interviews to pick representative for $100M‑plus school building project

The New York City School District Board of Education agreed to interview five applicants to serve as the district’s representative during an upcoming school building project, scheduling special sessions in early February to meet finalists in person.

Board members said the role will act as the district’s on‑the‑ground representative during design and construction phases tied to state funds. “They would be our representative during the project,” a board member said. Several trustees emphasized that firms should have experience with large school projects rather than only hospital or commercial work. “It’s critical … that schools is one of their primary arms because it's such a different thing when some of these are doing $2 to $5 million bills. We're talking over a $100 million bill,” one board member said.

The board agreed to invite all five candidates for face‑to‑face interviews and proposed meeting dates in early February. Members discussed holding interviews over two evenings if needed and settled on February 5–6 starting at 4:30 p.m. to accommodate multiple firms. A board member said the district needs the representative in place before March because the next design and procurement phases will begin then: “We need to have it done before March … probably sometime in February,” the board member said.

Board members discussed scoring and sequencing the interviews and noted a preference for having the actual people who would work on the project attend interviews, not only firm executives. Trustees also asked the member leading the procurement to consult colleagues in other districts for reference checks and interview questions.

No formal selection was made at the meeting; the board set interview dates and directed staff to contact applicants and arrange the sessions.