Lake Oswego School Board OKs Forest Hills design contract, approves middle school change order and district lighting upgrades

The Lake Oswego School District Board of Directors on an evening meeting authorized several construction and procurement actions, including a not-to-exceed contract for design services for a replacement Forest Hills Elementary School, a change order for ongoing middle school work, and labor and materials contracts for a districtwide lighting retrofit.

Forest Hills design: The board voted to authorize the district clerk to execute a contract with Soderstrom Architects for design and construction administration services for the proposed replacement Forest Hills Elementary School in a not-to-exceed amount of $3,741,699. District staff told the board the design work is being done in advance of a November 2025 bond proposal so early work would position the district to begin demolition and construction more quickly if the bond is approved. "The design process includes educational specifications and master planning… schematic design, design development, construction documents, and construction administration," said Mr. Vandenberg, a district staff member presenting the item. He said the firm was selected after nine proposals were received and four firms were interviewed.

Robinson change order: The board approved Change Order No. 12 for Robinson Construction at Lake Oswego Middle School totaling $121,573, which district staff said covers steel structure clarifications, low-voltage devices and other miscellaneous additions from the recent billing cycle. The presenter said several of the change-order items stemmed from architectural supplemental instructions and field clarifications.

Lighting upgrades and materials: The board approved an award for labor work for lighting retrofits to Rose City Electric for projects at Lakeridge High School, Oak Creek Elementary, Palisades World Language School and Westridge Elementary; the district also authorized a purchase order for retrofit materials procured through the Omnia cooperative purchasing agreement. Mr. Vandenberg said Rose City Electric submitted the lowest labor bids for the individual sites and that the material purchase leverages previously competitively sourced pricing. He also said Energy Trust of Oregon incentives and other rebates could reduce net costs and that some incentives may expire after the summer, creating urgency for installation work this summer.

Voting: The motions for the design contract, the Robinson change order, the Rose City Electric labor award, and the materials purchase were moved and approved by the board during the meeting. Two board members were absent that night; the motions passed on roll call of the members present.

What happens next: Staff said the Forest Hills design contract contains pause/stop provisions that allow the district to halt work depending on the outcome of the bond measure in November. District staff said they expect to return to the board with schematic-level imagery and a fuller presentation in early fall, and that construction timing aims to follow completion of the Lake Oswego Bridal School project to compress the program schedule.