Board approves architecture agreement, discusses PQ amendment and bond timing for Taylor High School renovation

The Taylor School District board on Wednesday approved entering a modified AIA owner‑architect agreement with The Collaborative to begin architecture work on the planned Taylor High School renovation, and held an extended discussion of the state PQ (project qualification) process and how bond timing could affect the project.

Superintendent Michael Wager explained the recommendation and said the architect's fee would be approximately 6% of the district's estimated construction cost. "Ultimately, their fee that is included in here is based at 6% of what we're estimating the cost of work would be," Wager said, noting the work would be paid from bond funds.

Wager outlined the need to submit an amended PQ application to the state treasury to add West and Hoover campuses to the PQ. He said the treasury review typically takes about two months and that the district must assign preliminary dollar amounts to each site for the PQ application. "We have to get a amended PQ application into the state treasury department. They take about a two month process to review what changes would be in there," he said.

Board members discussed timing and risk. One member warned that pending federal legislative action could affect municipal tax‑exempt status for bonds, which would compress the timeline for selling tax‑exempt bonds. "If they strip tax exemption as early as September, you would have to sell the bonds in the next couple of months," a board member said, urging the district to keep timing options open.

The board voted 5–1 to approve the agreement with The Collaborative (the one dissenting vote was recorded in the meeting minutes). Board members also discussed forming a committee of the whole to refine allocations and to bring a recommended utilization plan to a future meeting; Wager said administrators and his finance team recommended postponing any bond sale until spring to avoid arbitrage concerns and to allow time for planning.

What happens next: the superintendent recommended a pre‑meeting committee to develop PQ allocation proposals and to return recommendations to the full board prior to submitting materials to the treasury. The board heard that even with treasury cooperation, the amended PQ and any subsequent bond sale will require careful scheduling and legal review before funds are issued.