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FJUHSD outlines $145 million first phase, favors hybrid delivery for Measure I/L projects
Summary
District staff said they will use a mix of hard-bid and lease-leaseback methods for five upcoming projects — including Sonora science labs and a two-story Fullerton building — comprising roughly $145 million in initial work, and described contract steps, labor requirements and timelines for a 2026 start.
District officials on Tuesday detailed how they plan to deliver the next wave of construction funded by Measure I and Measure L, saying a hybrid of hard-bid and lease-leaseback contracting will be used for five projects that make up a first phase worth about $145 million.
Assistant Superintendent of Business Services Ruben Hernandez and Senior Director of Facilities Vince Madsen told the Fullerton Joint Union High School District board the district has narrowed delivery choices to design-bid-build (hard bid) and lease-leaseback for the initial projects. Madsen said the Sonora science labs will be done via hard bid while larger projects — a two-story building at Fullerton, Troy seismic modernization and combined track-and-field work at Sunny Hills, Sonora and Troy — are better suited to lease-leaseback.
"So we are literally gonna be starting all 5 of these projects at the same time," Madsen said, describing an accelerated rollout that aims for summer 2026 mobilization. He added that staggered completion dates will depend on each project’s scope.
District staff described the lease-leaseback process in stages: prequalification and a preliminary services agreement for preconstruction collaboration, solicitation of trade packages under public bidding rules, then a final guaranteed maximum price and lease-leaseback contract after state approval of drawings. Hernandez said the board previously adopted a resolution that established the criteria to prequalify and rank lease-leaseback contractors.
The board pressed staff on cost and labor protections. Trustee Chang asked whether material costs are locked after board approval; Madsen replied: "Once we have finalized that agreement and board has taken action, that price is it. If things change, we don't have to pay those escalations." He also noted the district builds a contingency escalation allowance into longer jobs.
Staff also called attention to new regulatory reporting and labor requirements for lease-leaseback work, including a goal that 60% of trade hours be performed by skilled journeypersons and prevailing-wage reporting to the Department of Industrial Relations.
Trustees raised practical concerns about staging and student displacement. Staff said portables will be leased by the district to house students, architects will design interim housing for state approval, and the construction team will coordinate power, data and site logistics with campuses.
Next steps: staff said they plan to bring prequalification actions and preliminary service agreements to the board in late winter/early spring to allow preconstruction collaboration, and then return with final price and contract actions (guaranteed maximum price) in the spring before work begins in 2026.
