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Board confirms committee rosters, narrows facilities committee role to support $49.5 million capital project
Summary
The board assigned members and chairs to standing and ad hoc committees and discussed a proposed Facilities Committee charge focused on assisting administration, the architect and construction manager with the $49,500,000 capital project; formal approval of the revised language was deferred to the next meeting.
The board chair reopened the meeting and ran through members' committee preferences, saying the assignments were made so each trustee received at least a first choice. The board then took up a proposal to continue a Facilities Committee with a reframed charge focused on supporting the district architect and construction manager as the district implements its capital project.
The chair reviewed the Facilities Committee’s origin and argued the committee was formed to review the five-year building condition survey and to help shape the bond proposal that voters approved. "That committee worked really hard together with a large number of community involvement," she said, noting the bond voters approved and the committee's role in stewarding that effort.
The proposed resolution would continue the Facilities Committee with a composition of three board trustees, the superintendent, the assistant superintendent for business, the director of operations and maintenance, and up to six community members, with outside consultants such as the architect and construction manager permitted to attend when needed. The committee’s stated purpose in the proposed language is to "assist the district architect and construction manager to ensure a successful completion of the capital project, to ensure the least possible disruption of students and staff, to partner with the PTOs and SEPTA to communicate and coordinate with the school community and to provide feedback if the need arises." The chair read the bond amount as $49,500,000 as part of that background.
Trustees pressed for clarity on the committee’s scope. One asked whether the group should have fiduciary oversight or authority over bidding and contract awards; administration responded that contract and procurement decisions would be led by administration and the district’s owner’s representative, and that the committee would serve as a sounding board and provide feedback, with material items brought to the full board as needed. Administration said quarterly reporting to the board and occasional on-site walkabouts were anticipated so the full board and community could see progress and provide input.
Board members agreed to refine the resolution language and return a revised version for formal approval at the next meeting rather than vote on it that night. In the meantime, members said the administration could convene the subgroup if urgent issues arise. The board did not take a formal vote on the Facilities Committee charge at this meeting.
The chair asked that the parent council liaison and other community channels help publicize updates as project photos and reports become available; administration said it expects to begin posting construction photos to the district website in August.
The board will consider the revised Facilities Committee resolution at its next meeting.
