Berkeley County board approves guaranteed maximum prices for Berkeley High and Goose Creek construction projects and several procurement awards
Loading...
Summary
The Berkeley County Board of Education unanimously approved guaranteed maximum prices (GMPs) for classroom additions at Berkeley High and Goose Creek High, awarded district procurement contracts for maintenance supplies, and approved related committee recommendations, all by voice votes.
The Berkeley County Board of Education on March 30 approved guaranteed maximum prices for major classroom additions at Berkeley High School and Goose Creek High School and moved several procurement items recommended by the capital planning committee.
District capital staff presented detailed scopes, schedules and cost breakdowns for both projects. Dr. Whitley, the district official who led the presentation, said the projects will demolish aging wings, add modern classroom space and use temporary modular buildings as swing space during construction. "Both buildings have served generations of students," Dr. Whitley said, adding that pending approvals staff planned to begin moving modular units in June and anticipate project completion in December 2027.
For Berkeley High, the administration recommended approval of a construction GMP of $22,949,575 to HG Rentals Company, plus a modular-setup supplemental proposal of $707,675 and listed soft and design costs that brought the district’s total project estimate to $28,936,450. For Goose Creek High, the recommended construction GMP to H.G. Reynolds Company was $22,004,809 with a supplemental modular-setup GMP of $546,041 and a total project estimate of $27,875,850.
Chair Wofford commended the capital team and contractors for extensive planning. "This has been a long, long time coming," Chair Wofford said. "The space has been well thought out. The safety has been thought through, and every dollar has been spent extremely wisely." The board approved both GMP recommendations as presented.
The capital planning committee also recommended — and the board approved — two procurement awards reported by capital procurement specialist Robin McNeal: IFB 76125-26 for water heaters and boilers (award to Thermal Resource Sales; estimated first-year expenditure $175,000) and IFB 76425-26 for industrial chemicals (award to Certified Laboratories; estimated first-year expenditure $75,000). "A total of two bids were received (for the heaters); one was deemed nonresponsive," Robin McNeal said, describing the procurement review process.
Other committee recommendations accepted by the board included first reading of spring 2026 textbook adoptions for advanced placement computer science courses, approval of out-of-state travel as presented by the finance committee, and continued use of penny sales tax funds for construction oversight and modernization work.
The projects’ approved GMPs include stated contingencies and supplemental modular-setup proposals; the administration told the board that design and some inspection expenditures were previously approved. The board voted on committee recommendations by voice vote, with recorded "ayes" indicating approval.
Next steps: pending local approvals and required state reviews (including Office of School Facilities approvals for modular units), staff said site work and modular installations are scheduled to start this summer. The administration said actual schedules could shift depending on state approvals and certificate-of-occupancy timing.
