After bond passage, Pelham board and bond steering committee map design and procurement steps

The Pelham Union Free School District Board of Education and its bond steering committee used the June 25 meeting to outline next steps after passage of two bond propositions and other district capital approvals.

Architects and the district's construction manager for feasibility studies were present at the committee meeting, according to the board's report. The committee discussed next steps for design and preconstruction work, schedules for geotechnical surveys and site assessments, and strategies for packaging construction work for bidding.

Committee members and district staff emphasized that the projects are currently in design and that the majority of the work ahead is in the design phase. "Everything was only 2% design," a board member noted at the meeting, underscoring that most scope and sequencing choices remain to be set during summer design work.

Officials said the district will coordinate timelines with financial advisors and bond counsel to align construction sequencing with the district's fiscal plan. The district has issued RFPs for bond counsel and financial advisor services and plans to advertise for construction management services in July; the administration said it will convene evaluation committees and return recommendations to the board.

The steering committee also discussed impacts of construction on ongoing facility use, noting that summer camps, evening recreation, and community programs use the schools outside standard school hours. The district said it will work to minimize disruptions and coordinate scheduling and staging to allow after-hours activities where possible.

Board members and district staff said the steering committee will reconvene in early September and aim for roughly monthly check-ins during active design and early procurement, with frequency adjusted to need. The district also signaled it will engage community volunteers and professionals from the steering committee in advisory roles during the planning period.

The board report noted that in parallel to the bond-stewardship work, the district is preparing procurement for several items tied to bond implementation, including construction-management services and financial-counsel arrangements. District staff said they expect to bring recommendations and contractual approvals back to the board as those processes conclude.

No formal procurement awards were made at the June 25 meeting, but the board approved related budget and reserve allocations in the meeting's finance section and discussed scheduling of summer preconstruction activities such as surveying and geotechnical testing.

Officials said that some construction will require cranes and temporary disruptions during summer 2025; the district plans to sequence work to avoid damaging other improvements (for example, scheduling roof or infrastructure work and the Prospect Hill outdoor classroom to avoid overlapping heavy-lift operations). The board and committee signaled that community communication and clear staging plans will be priorities for the coming months.