District reports progress on renovations but flags $5 million Lake Wylie shortfall

District staff gave a multi-part capital projects update, saying several renovation projects from the $17,000,000 authorization in 2022 have been completed or are nearing completion and that the work represents a "huge win" for the district. The package included a fitness center, track widening, new tennis courts, a commons renovation and front-entrance/traffic-loop work; site-work estimates remain the last outstanding expense to finalize.

"That is a huge, a huge win success story for the district to do all of those projects," a staff presenter said while summarizing the renovations. Staff also reported the fine-arts addition at the 9th-grade campus is budgeted at about $5,100,000 and is roughly 75% through construction; furniture and technology procurement remain to be completed.

Turning to Lake Wylie High School, staff reported the contract and alternates plus site work have created a budget delta and that the district is "tracking about a $5,000,000 shortfall on this project," with athletics and landscaping still to be contracted. The board and staff discussed value-engineering and change requests (AV, sound systems and other scopes) as options to mitigate the overage.

Staff described a plan to bid athletics and landscaping separately (mid-April bid opening) to secure competitive pricing and to allow time for plantings to establish. Board members asked clarifying questions about scope and whether the construction contingency and allowances could be redeployed; staff said some allowances remain and will be used to mitigate overages where possible.