Burlington school officials report progress on ESSER and SAVE projects, shift $367,119 into SAVE contingency

Burlington Community School District staff told the school board Monday that the district is making steady progress closing out ESSER-funded construction work and has moved funds into the SAVE contingency to pay for project enhancements.

District staff said they transferred $367,119 from the ESSER project into the SAVE contingency and that an earlier $300,000 had already been moved to fund initial SAVE bid awards. “So we had 367,119 dollars that was transferred from the ESSER project into the SAVE contingency to help fund all of those different things we have going on,” said Will, a district staff member responsible for facilities reporting. Board members approved the monthly ESSER/SAVE status report and associated change orders.

Why it matters: The shift of contingency funds and the closeout work affect the district’s ability to complete both safety- and facility-related enhancements at Burlington High School and other sites. Staff said the transfers enabled additions that were not in the original SAVE scope, including lighting, roofing, and interior finishes.

District staff outlined the timeline and remaining work. Will said bid package 1 was closing out within about a month and that the mechanical package (bid package 2) was roughly two months from closeout. Tim, a district construction liaison, said the asbestos-related work and package 4 should be near closeout by late summer. “We should be very close to having all the final numbers on those,” Tim said.

Staff listed enhancements added to SAVE since the initial estimate: replacement of the tennis courts, replacement of the gym roof, new baseball field lights, replacement of non-LED interior and exterior high-school fixtures, painting doors and frames, replacement of site (perimeter) light poles, concrete and sidewalk repairs, and adjustments to bus and truck radiuses. Staff estimated the aggregate of recent enhancements to exceed $1 million and said the district will present a detailed reconciliation of transfers and enhancements at the next meeting.

Two change orders requiring board approval were presented as project enhancements tied to SAVE. The board approved a change order to replace site sidewalk light poles for $75,426 and another change order for painting structural and related surfaces for $62,484; these were approved as part of the monthly report motion. Will noted the district had added project enhancements earlier and that a full budget reconciliation would be presented at the next board meeting.

Board members praised the project management. “The pricing on the front end was extremely accurate,” a board member said, noting the relatively low contingency spend compared with the job’s complexity. Staff said the district expects to spend only about 2.7% of ESSER’s budget on contingency for a complex mechanical renovation, attributing the result to careful document preparation and active change management.

Staff also reported construction-phase details for the high school SAVE project. Phase 6 of 7 (first-floor library and classrooms) would finish this week, with phase 7 set to begin after spring break; the district anticipates heavy summer work on corridors and remaining second-floor areas. Staff said some vendor-delivered furnishings for the library are delayed and that the district will stage moves so learning is not interrupted.

What’s next: Staff will present a line-by-line reconciliation of transfers and project enhancements at the next regular board meeting and continue closeout work for multiple bid packages. The board approved the monthly ESSER/SAVE status report and the two change orders.

Ending: With the SAVE project approaching its final phases, district leaders said they will continue to present detailed budget reconciliations and final closeout materials to the board before full financial closeout.