Board approves expanded design contract for Rancho Bernardo chiller project after lengthy debate

The Poway Unified School District Board on Oct. 9 approved a revised design agreement to advance the long-running Rancho Bernardo chiller replacement project and add design work for Bernardo Heights Middle School.

District facilities director Eric Dill told trustees the board previously paused a full chiller replacement after initial construction estimates exceeded $20 million. Staff recommended scaling the project, separating middle-school rooftop replacements from the high-school chiller work, and engaging MA Engineers (via Mosher Drew Architects) to complete schematic design, DSA submittals and construction documents for the revised scope. Staff cited estimated annual general-fund utility savings of about $600,000 and reminded the board the district previously lost instructional days due to chiller failure.

Trustees pressed staff for more procurement detail and questioned the $1.77 million in added professional services (about $1.3 million for MA Engineers and roughly $146,000 for Mosher Drew design modifications). Trustee Chang recommended approving the $146,000 modification while pausing the larger scope to allow additional competitive vetting; other trustees argued continuing with the architect and recommended engineer would preserve schedule and leverage months of prior work. Staff said the team had vetted MA Engineers after adding the middle-school scope and that starting over would risk both cost escalation and months of lost schedule.

After extended discussion, the board voted to approve the contract modification and proceed with the schematic and design work. The motion passed 5–1.

What happens next: staff said they will proceed with design, finalize construction documents and return to the board with updated cost estimates and funding recommendations when construction documents are complete. Any construction spending would require separate board authorization.