West Contra Costa Unified bond program: Lake Elementary opens, multiple school rebuilds advance amid DSA delays and known site challenges

The West Contra Costa Unified bond program reported a mix of ribbon‑cutting celebrations and construction challenges at the Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee meeting on April 15.

Ellen, the district’s bond program representative, said Lake Elementary School held a grand opening and that the site’s synthetic turf is now in use. At Shannon Elementary the cafeteria’s dining area and stage have reopened and hosted a spelling bee, though the kitchen still requires a second health inspection before full use.

The committee heard detailed updates on multi‑phase rebuilds at Steege and Kennedy and utility and electrical work at Richmond High. Steege’s Phase 1 is under construction and expected to continue through the summer; Phase 2 remains in Division of the State Architect (DSA) review and has been delayed in part by a recent statewide code change wave that created a backlog of submittals to DSA. Ellen said the district had outsourced third‑party reviews and is tracking DSA comments closely.

Members asked about unforeseen subsurface conditions. Ellen confirmed crews have encountered remnants of previous foundations, old rebar and buried tanks on some sites. “We did do pretty extensive testing before we got going,” she said, adding that contingency funding and soft‑cost allowances were included in project budgets and that additional soil testing and mitigation will occur as necessary. She said some of the condition risks were anticipated and therefore phased into early work so the program could absorb known uncertainties.

On procurement and bidding, Ellen described a robust bidding climate for recent summer projects and said the district is using progressive design‑build in places; she cautioned that later phases could see different market results and that the district will not award major contracts until it receives required DSA approvals. For Kennedy, the team is installing a utility corridor and storm drain infrastructure and planning short generator use during critical electrical tie‑over work.

Committee members raised questions about environmental review and archaeological monitoring. Ellen said the district is the lead agency on CEQA determinations for the projects, that most of the site projects qualified for a notice of exemption (filed with Contra Costa County), and that the district posts notices at sites for the 30‑day public comment period. She also noted that geotechnical testing and, where required, additional mitigation or testing (for contaminated soils, tank removal, or other findings) will be performed as part of permitting and construction.

Administration items: the committee adopted the 2026 meeting and site‑visit schedule with a friendly amendment striking December 21 from the calendar; the motion passed by voice vote and was recorded as unanimous. The panel also discussed producing a site‑visit checklist, capturing site footage (GoPro) and assembling photos for the CBOC annual report.

Next steps: district staff will continue to track DSA back‑check dates, complete remaining inspections (for Shannon), perform required soil and tank remediation tests where needed, and proceed with phased bidding and awards after obtaining DSA approvals.