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School board authorizes up to $900,000 to remove and replace fire retardant at East Chapel Hill High
Summary
At a special-called meeting the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education authorized a not-to-exceed $900,000 contract to remove failing fire-retardant material and replace ceiling components in a section of East Chapel Hill High after staff said fire marshals will not allow occupancy until the work is completed.
The Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education at a special-called meeting on Wednesday authorized a not-to-exceed $900,000 contract to remove and replace deteriorated fire-retardant material in a section of East Chapel Hill High, district staff said the work is required before that portion of the school can be occupied.
District operations lead Dr. Stewart told the board that contractors discovered large amounts of original fire-retardant — applied when the school was built in 1996–97 — detaching from the roof deck. “You may not be aware, but we have 47 days until the start of the school year,” Dr. Stewart said, and added that “we have been told by the fire marshals that we cannot occupy the space if we do not remove the fire retardant that is currently there in that section and reapply it.”
The work described to the board would remove ceiling grids and tiles, clear and dispose of disturbed fire-retardant, install new fire-retardant and reinstall new ceilings in prioritized egress areas so students and staff can pass through hallways and key circulation zones when the building reopens. Dr. Stewart said phase 1 covers just over 24,000 square feet near the theater, library, Wildcat area and art classrooms.
Board members raised questions about the material choice, recurrence risk and budget impact. David Contreras, a district project staff member, said the district prefers mechanically fastened rigid boards as a more permanent solution despite higher cost, while spray-on retardant is cheaper initially but has a small risk of failure that would require reapplication. “We would prefer to spend the money to do the rigid, and only patch on the beams, with the spray on in those locations that that would be needed,” Contreras said. Project lead Chuck Williams added that rigid panels are less likely to detach in the long term.
Dr. Stewart and the district’s capital-improvements head, Al, told the board the $900,000 request is an addition to the previously approved roofing project budget and will come from the project account; any overage beyond that account would be covered from supplemental deferred-maintenance funds the district keeps in reserve. Al said the extra cost will likely reduce funds available for other projects and that he does not anticipate additional county funding to cover the overrun.
On procurement, Dr. Stewart said the district worked with legal counsel and had issued an RFP; counsel advised that two exceptions in policy/statute allow staff to select a general contractor and subcontract a specialist without bringing a contract back to the board or waiting an additional 10 days. Barb moved to authorize the not-to-exceed $900,000 contract and Meredith seconded; the board approved the authorization by voice vote.
The board’s authorization allows staff to select and enter contracts under the stated procurement exceptions; specific contract awards will be made by staff and reported to the board. Dr. Stewart said staff is working with East Chapel Hill High on contingency plans and will provide updates and a fuller cost estimate for subsequent phases after completing evaluation of this section.
The special meeting adjourned at 06:22.
