Board approves emergency change order for Casablanca Elementary after unforeseen water‑line, storm‑drain work

The Riverside Unified School District board on Jan. 15 approved an emergency change order to reconcile contract costs on the Casablanca Elementary School construction project.

Assistant Superintendent Williams told the board heavy rains in 2024 delayed the project by about 60 days and two unforeseen utility issues arose: a water line on Lincoln Avenue had been deeper than city‑provided documents indicated and had to be rerouted, and a storm‑drain installation in an adjacent street was required though it was not in the contractor’s scope. Williams said stopping the work midstream would have delayed water service and the school opening.

Because these items took the contractor’s changes beyond the 10% contract threshold, staff sought adoption of an emergency resolution under the applicable procurement provisions to approve Change Order No. 4. Williams said the work was evaluated for reasonableness and that other contractors previously returned unused funds to the district; he added that the overall Casablanca project finished under budget despite the change order.

Trustee Kinnear moved to adopt Resolution 25 26‑32 and Trustee Tweed seconded; the motion carried on the board vote. Staff said final reconciliation and closeout steps were ongoing and that the emergency resolution allowed final payments to proceed without additional competitive bidding.

The board did not identify any safety consequences from the utility work; Williams framed the action as final reconciliation of contract costs tied to unforeseen site conditions.