The Upper Dublin School District finance committee reviewed proposals for a furniture refresh for the district’s four elementary schools and recommended that the district place a purchase order for the combined four‑school option with H & H Interiors.

Finance staff said an RFP was issued to two dealers (NextGen Furniture and H & H Interiors) and both returned proposals based on CoStars contract pricing with voluntary discounts. The district evaluated two procurement options: separate purchases per school (option 1) or a single combined purchase for all four schools (option 2). H & H offered the lowest pricing for both approaches, and the combined option produced the largest economies of scale — roughly $72,000 lower than pricing the individual schools separately, administration said.

Funding: Andy Lekman reminded the committee the $1,400,000 allocation for this work was set aside as committed fund balance from a prior federal reimbursement tied to the Inflation Reduction Act. ‘‘We set the funds aside as a committed fund balance,’’ Lekman said. The H & H combined proposal was described in the meeting as approximately $1,380,000 after the voluntary discount, which fits within the $1.4 million budgeted amount.

Warranty and product life: District staff said the manufacturer Corbett distributes furniture made by KI and that the product is highly rated; installers (H & H) will return within the first year to address issues. A presenter estimated about 30 years of useful life for the selected configuration.

Board reaction and next steps: Some members urged caution about ordering furniture while school designs are still in development so colors and styles can be coordinated; others noted that the new Jarrettown building would not be occupied for several years and that purchasing now preserves savings and provides usable furniture in the interim. Committee member Jeff said the cost savings and several years of useful life weighed in favor of proceeding.

Administration recommended moving the procurement as a legislative agenda item; the committee indicated assent and will forward the recommendation to the full board for formal approval and purchase order execution.