Board approves abatement and demolition as Flint high school design is reworked after $25M jump in cost

The Flint School District Board of Education voted to approve abatement and demolition to move forward on the district’s new high school project after staff told trustees that updated pricing had raised the project estimate from about $135 million to roughly $160 million.

Superintendent Jones asked the board to authorize abatement and demolition so district contractors can proceed while design work continues. The superintendent told the board the district has been working “almost weekly” with preconstruction partner Clark and designer Stantech to identify value-engineering options to bring the project back in line with the approved budget.

Stantech’s Val presented floor plans that retain core scholar spaces while changing some adjacencies to reduce cost. The presentation showed three-court gym configurations, a 400-seat auditorium, consolidated district administration on one level, flexible classrooms with folding partitions, and separate secured vestibules for athletics and the main entrance. Presenters said the kitchen and servery layout and classroom and lab counts were not being reduced and that some aesthetic elements — including the exterior “cube” treatment — were being revised toward a limestone-facing option.

Trustees pressed staff for detailed line-item explanations of how the project grew by roughly $25 million and asked for documentation showing which items were trimmed or revised to lower costs. One trustee asked for a “line by line” account of the overrun and how it was dialed back; staff said they would provide those details and additional renderings for a future public presentation.

During discussion of the abatement and demolition procurement, trustees raised questions about local contractor participation. Staff noted there were 13 demolition bidders and that several bidders proposed teaming arrangements; under state procurement rules the district recommended the lowest responsive bidder after interviews of the four lowest proposals.

A motion to approve action item 21.3 (approval of abatement and demolition) was moved, seconded and approved by roll call. The roll call as recorded in the meeting transcript lists the voting trustees and their recorded responses; the meeting audio records six affirmative votes and one member absent.

What happens next: staff said they will continue value-engineering work, prepare a more detailed presentation that includes line-item changes and renderings, and bring further materials back to the board and public before major construction milestones.