Board authorizes GMP for new elementary school; staff flag $3M cost pressure and site logistics
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Summary
The board approved authorization for a guaranteed maximum price (GMP) package totaling $56,430,261 for a new elementary school. Staff said soft costs are excluded, estimated roughly $3 million in cost pressure from tariffs and subcontractor rates, and described immediate site logistics including tree removal before bat season and a campus fiber connectivity issue.
District staff presented design-development materials and asked the board to authorize guaranteed maximum price (GMP) packages that will move the new elementary school toward construction.
Superintendent Sawyers and project staff said construction manager Resili submitted an aggregate GMP cap of $56,430,261 covering GMP 1.1 (early site work and utilities) and GMP 1.2 (building construction). Staff emphasized the GMP number excludes soft costs such as owner contingencies and architecture/CM fees. They told the board they are seeing approximately $3,000,000 of upward pressure relative to the levy chart estimates because of higher trade and material costs (structural steel, copper) and subcontractor pricing.
Staff described schedule and site dependencies: the construction window is expected to be about 20 months once work begins and staff anticipated shovels to be in the ground by February–March. Tree marking and removal must occur ahead of bat season to avoid mandated seasonal protections that would otherwise require netting or additional mitigation and could delay site work. Staff also described a campus fiber-routing issue: the existing fiber ring does not run along the full service drive route, and the district is weighing a full build-out (district-owned fiber) versus a series of municipal "jumps," which risks signal degradation. Technology director Daniel said the district is exploring e-rate reimbursement as a potential funding source for fiber infrastructure.
Board members asked how to cover a roughly $3 million budget delta. The treasurer outlined options including transfers from the permanent improvement fund, using general-fund balances to move to temporary improvements, or rescinding and reallocating other funds; staff said they did not plan a new levy request to taxpayers. Legal review steps and finalized construction schedule were slated to return to the board at the Jan. 26 meeting.
The board voted to approve the superintendent's personnel and business items that included authorization to proceed with DD and the GMP process. Roll-call votes recorded affirmative responses from the members present.
"That is the aggregate cap that Resili has come back with," Superintendent Sawyers said when presenting the GMP figure. Staff said additional contingency and bid results may alter final costs, and that further legal and procurement steps remain.