Nederland ISD trustees approve high school change order, move $300,000 to contingency

The Nederland Independent School District Board of Trustees approved a change order for the Nederland High School construction project at a special meeting on Sept. 25, 2024 in the district's board room. Trustee Tonya Mitchell moved to accept the change order; the motion notes the scope is revised and the overall contract amount is reduced. "$300,000 of the savings from the reduction shall be moved to owner's contingency for the project, and delegate authority to the Superintendent to negotiate with the Construction Manager the remainder of the savings, authority to sign any change order or amendment memorializing same, and authority to determine use of same on District construction projects," the motion states.

The motion was seconded by Trustee Roya Scott and approved unanimously, with Trustees Jerry Albanese, Suzanne Isom, Tonya Mitchell, Micah Mosley and Roya Scott recorded as voting yea (5-0). The minutes do not specify the dollar amount of the total contract reduction beyond the directive to allocate $300,000 to the owner's contingency. The board's action also delegates to Superintendent Dr. Stuart Kieschnick authority to negotiate remaining savings with the Construction Manager and to sign any resulting documents on behalf of the district.

The special meeting opened at 5:30 p.m.; the board had met in closed session earlier and reconvened in open session at 6:24 p.m. The meeting adjourned at 6:26 p.m. The minutes record no discussion on the motion prior to the vote. Next steps described in the motion assign the superintendent responsibility for negotiating and determining use of the remaining savings on district construction projects.