Barrington committee approves Left Field as OPM for multi-site school construction; dedicated staff raises contract by about $700,000

The Barrington School Committee voted unanimously to approve an owner's project manager (OPM) contract with Left Field for the district—s multi-site school construction program.

The committee moved to discuss and act on the OPM contract after a presentation that highlighted a contract change requiring a full-time, 100% dedicated Left Field team member assigned to the Barrington portfolio. The chair said that change adds roughly $700,000 to the project budget but provides continuous, institution-specific oversight across multiple sites and the project—s expected five-year span. The motion to approve the contract passed by voice vote with an aye tally recorded by the chair.

Superintendent-level staff framed the decision as an effort to protect institutional knowledge and identify efficiencies across several concurrent projects. Chris Spiegel, project executive for Left Field, told the committee Left Field is seeking a construction manager through a preconstruction RFQ to help the district with sequencing, cost-estimating, traffic logistics and other build-phase planning. "We had 37 people attend the pre-bid meeting today," Spiegel said, citing strong industry interest and describing the preconstruction scope as focused on logistics and preliminary cost documentation.

Spiegel and the district emphasized early public engagement, noting design changes are least costly during schematic design and that robust community outreach helps avoid surprises when construction begins. He described the multi-stage state reimbursement process and said a construction manager would help align design decisions to budget and reimbursement parameters.

Committee members asked about timing, the division of responsibilities among district administration, the design firm and Left Field, and the trade-offs behind committing to a full-time OPM resource. Left Field representatives said the firm will provide leadership and be accountable to the district while the design firm remains under direct contract with the district.

Next steps include a fuller school construction update at the committee—s next business meeting, when Left Field and the design firm will present more detailed plans and cost feedback.