Revere school building committee votes to cut construction budget by $10 million

The Revere City School Building Committee voted to reduce the proposed construction budget for the new high school by $10,000,000 and directed that energy rebates and credits tied to the project be placed into the high school stabilization account to offset future debt service.

The motion to cut $10 million passed in a roll call vote during the committee’s June meeting; committee staff and the project team were instructed to develop a value‑engineering list showing how the reduction could be achieved and to present it at the committee’s next meeting.

Committee members said the cut is intended to reduce future debt service for the city while preserving the project’s educational scope. Mayor Keith told the committee that the vote is meant to set a firm expectation for designers and bidders: “I believe that we can get that $10,000,000 voted without affecting the overall educational part of the high school,” he said.

Brian (project representative) and the construction team said they would produce a list of value‑engineering options and circulate it before the next meeting. Brian said the team already carries a VE (value engineering) listing through design development and believes the $10 million target is achievable without fundamentally altering the building’s program.

Committee members asked for more detail before locking in changes. Dr. Kelly and others said they preferred to see the VE options before committing to specific reductions; the committee nonetheless voted to set the reduced construction target now so the team can proceed with design and bidding under the new constraint.

Finance staff explained how the reduction will be reflected in project accounting: the $10 million reduction will be taken from the construction line and set aside in the project’s hard contingency (reserved and not intended for routine spending), which the team said strengthens the city’s fiscal cushion while signaling to bidders that the committee expects disciplined pricing.

The committee also approved a separate motion to direct any energy rebates or credits realized from the project into the high school stabilization account for future debt service on the project. The motion passed on a separate roll call vote.

The committee’s next steps: left the target construction number $10 million lower and asked the design and construction manager teams to circulate detailed VE options prior to the next meeting and to present a 60% estimating update on July 16.

Votes at a glance: the motion to reduce construction budget by $10,000,000 passed on roll call (approx. 8 yes, 4 no); the motion to allocate energy rebates to the high school stabilization account passed on roll call (unanimous among those voting).

The committee will review and vote on the specific VE recommendations at its next meeting.