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School Committee approves two Gale Associates design amendments for school security project
Summary
The committee voted to approve two design amendments from Gale Associates totaling $45,750 (a $16,300 geotechnical investigation and a $29,450 security‑design amendment) for the district's multi‑school security upgrades funded by a town borrowing.
The Easton School Committee voted Feb. 13 to approve two design amendments from Gale Associates related to a multi‑school security upgrade project. The municipal building committee had reviewed and recommended the amendments in executive session; committee members who had attended that executive session reported being satisfied with the material.
What was approved: John Cutler of Gale Associates (the owner's project manager for the security project) described two amendments: - Designer Amendment No. X — $16,300: Cost of a geotechnical investigation at one school (RO) tied to a schematic design option that expands an existing vestibule and requires a curtain wall with structural anchoring; testing confirmed soils were as expected and suitable to support the design. - Designer Amendment No. Y — $29,450: Design work to adjust security systems at Blanche Ames School to align it with the security upgrades planned for the other three schools; Cutler said he could not provide substantive technical details in public and that the municipal building committee had reviewed the matter in executive session because of security sensitivities.
Funding and process: Cutler and administrators said the work is funded through a town borrowing the town has provided to the district and is not an operating budget item. The municipal building committee recommended the amendments after an executive session review and the School Committee approved them by roll call vote.
Vote record: The motion to approve the two proposed design amendments was moved by Nancy DeLuca and seconded by Lauren Loomis. A roll call vote recorded unanimous support (roll call names recorded in the meeting transcript). Copas (project lead) was asked to forward the signed materials for execution.
Ending: Committee members emphasized balancing transparency with the need to protect security‑sensitive details and thanked municipal building committee members and the project team for reviewing the items in executive session before bringing them to the school committee for public approval.
