School Construction Report
Goal 2008: WCPSS is committed to academic excellence. By 2008, 95 percent of students in grades 3 through 12 will be at or above grade level as measured by the State of North Carolina End-of-Grade or Course tests, and all student groups will demonstrate high growth.
June 9, 2006
BOARD APPROVES RESOLUTION REQUESTING FUNDS FOR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM
At its June 6 meeting, the Board of Education approved a resolution requesting
funds for the Capital Improvement Program, which will build new schools
to accommodate growing enrollment; renovate existing school buildings; provide
life-cycle replacements system-wide; and replace aging technology, furniture
and equipment. The resolution formally requests that the Wake County Commissioners
provide a bond order that upon approval of the voters will finance a portion
of the Capital Improvement Program for the calendar years 2007-09. The proposed
Capital Improvement Program for calendar years 2007-09 will provide funds
in the amount of $1,055,874,837, if approved by the Wake County Board of
Commissioners and the voters.
BOARD DISCUSSES POSSIBLE YEAR-ROUND DESIGNATION CRITERIA
At its Committee of the Whole meeting June 6, the Board of Education began
discussing possible criteria for designating schools to the multi-track
year-round calendar. The new capital improvement program for 2007-2009 includes
converting enough elementary schools to the multi-track year-round calendar
to accommodate an additional 3,000 students, with the understanding that
WCPSS will make every effort to accommodate families that can't make year-round
work where seats are available.
Chuck Dulaney, assistant superintendent for Growth and Planning, presented a list of criteria for board members to consider. As homework, he asked them to put the criteria in rank order of importance. Dulaney and his staff will then compile a possible weighting system based on the feedback. On June 13, the board will continue their discussion of criteria and look at a timeline and work plan.
The possible criteria include:
A. Does the school community want to convert to the 45/15 calendar (as indicated
through the process approved by the Board of Education)?
B. Would conversion of this school enable the Board of Education to remove
a cap on enrollment or return spot nodes to the base assignment area of
the school?
C. Does the school have sufficient projected membership to organize at least
one class at each grade level on each track?
D. How much capacity (space for new students) will be gained through conversion
of a school? Does the capacity gain provide space for special needs students?
Can the capacity gain be optimized through adjustment of mobile/modular
classrooms?
E. Is the student population growing in the base area of the school? Will
the capacity gained through conversion be utilized without reassignment
or movement of mobile classrooms?
F. How many students residing in the base area of the school currently attend
year-round schools through the application process? If those students return
to their base school after conversion, how much capacity gain is created
in the existing optional year-round school?
G. Does the school facility have obstacles to the movement of materials
on carts between classrooms? If so, can those obstacles be addressed through
minor facilities modifications such as construction or reconfiguration of
ramps or sidewalks?
H. Is there a traditional calendar school that could be made available to
parents who can't make the year-round calendar work for their family?
I. Will conversion to a year-round calendar require reassignment of some
of the school's base area because of the large number of students that might
return from existing year-round schools? If so, how much reassignment is
required?
J. Does the school have a year-round middle school feeder option or can
such an option be created? How much reassignment would be associated with
creation of a middle school feeder option?
K. Will conversion of this school and any necessary related student reassignment
have a negative impact on the district's efforts to maintain healthy school
assignments?
L. Will conversion of this school have a negative impact on the school's
ability to accommodate transfer students?
After gathering community input on the criteria, staff will present to the Board of Education in August a list of schools that could be converted. The board would be asked to approve the list by or before September to give schools time to be ready to open in July 2007.
The school board also began discussing parameters for schools requesting conversion to a single- or multi-track year-round calendar.
COMMISSIONERS AND BOARD CREATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE
An advisory committee has been created and a consultant hired to advise
the Wake County commissioners and school board on school construction.
The Wake Board of Education approved the slate of candidates for the Citizens' Facilities Advisory Committee at its meeting Tuesday. The County Commissioners approved the same slate at their meeting Monday.
The committee will include Fred Akins, retired Deputy Secretary for the Department of Transportation; Sepi Asefnia, an engineer at Sepi Engineering; Glenn Blackley, retired Facilities Manager for Wake County; Justus Everett, engineer and former President of ABE Utilities; Roddy Jones, contractor and chairman of Davidson and Jones Hotel Corporation; Russell Killen, attorney at Parker, Poe, Adams and Bernstein; John Mabe, attorney at Maupin, Taylor; Billie Redmond in real estate with Trademark Properties; Jim Smith, architect; Terry Stoops, policy analyst at the John Locke Foundation; Eddie Truelove, contractor and past member of the State Building Commission and Past President of the Association of Building Contractors; and Rob Weaver, banker and Senior Vice President and Marketing Manager of Bank of America.
The advisory committee will review projections for enrollment, review data for school construction costs and life-cycle costs, evaluate opportunities to reduce costs of new school construction and report back to the board, commission and public. It includes members with experience in corporate leadership, construction, financial management or public administration who live in the community.
DeJong and Associates of Dublin, Ohio has been hired as a consultant to advise the Wake County commissioners and school board on school construction. The consultant will offer advice to the board and commissioners for the school construction program.
CHECK OUT THE GROWTHCAST AND GROWTH RESOURCE CENTER
The weekly Growthcast and Growth Resource Center have the most current information
on the WCPSS Capital Improvement Plan and the school system's efforts to
meet the needs of the dramatically increasing number of students coming
to Wake County. GrowthCast #6 focuses on Long Range Planning. The Growth
Resource Center provides additional information on long range planning efforts
including new schools opening between 2006 and 2013 and maps of those schools.
You can find all of this at http://www.wcpss.net/growth/
BOARD APPROVES DESIGN PHASE CHANGE ORDER NO. 01 FOR E-17
At its June 6 meeting, the Board of Education approved Design Phase Change
Order No. 01 to Small Kane Architects, P.A. in the amount of $177,760 for
additional design services required to reconfigure the one-story prototype
to a two-story arrangement with classroom wings wrapped around a courtyard.
This will reduce the overall building footprint and enable the elementary
school on Leesville Road to be fitted on the limited size site. This will
also include reduced classroom sizes (by 50 SF) and corridor widths, per
revised WCPSS space standards. The total proposed project budget is $21,717,499,
of which $1,558,291 is currently available from the PLAN 2004 School Building
Program. The remainder of the funds will come from the next building program.
BOARD APPROVES CHANGE ORDER NO. CM-01 FOR EAST MILLBROOK MIDDLE
At its June 6 meeting, the Board of Education approved Change Order No.
CM-01 to Barnhill Contracting Company for their Construction Management
at Risk contract for the renovation and addition at East Millbrook Middle.
This change order, in the amount of $1,060,291, is to establish a guaranteed
maximum price (GMP) for Phase I, summer site work packages. The bid packages
not yet bid will be part of the next building program. The total proposed
budget is $30,824,735 of which $3,470,802 is currently available from the
PLAN 2004 and $109,089 from PLAN 2000 Start-Up. The remainder of the funds,
for the total project, will come from the next building program.
BOARD APPROVES CHANGE ORDER NO. CM-03 FOR EAST GARNER ELEMENTARY
At its June 6 meeting, the Board of Education approved Change Order No.
CM-03 to Barnhill Contracting Co. for 5000 cubic yards of mass rock to be
removed. This change order, in the amount of $194,063 is for 5000 cubic
yards at a unit price of $37.50 per cubic yard, and fee of 3.5%. The total
budget is $18,971,892, of which $18,961,892 is currently available from
the PLAN 2004 School Building Program and $10,000 is available from contributed
funds from Wake County Parks & Recreation.
BOARD APPROVES CHANGE ORDER NO. GC-02 FOR EAST WAKE HIGH
At its June 6 meeting, the Board of Education approved Change Order No.
GC-02 for the joint venture of Heery International, Inc. and D.H. Griffin
Construction, LLC, and their Construction Management at Risk contract for
construction of East Wake High additions and renovations. This change order,
in the amount of $12,338,543, is to establish a guaranteed maximum price
(GMP) for the last work packages needed to accomplish the construction of
this project. The total of all GMP's is $ 12,434,968. The final GMP includes
the construction of a new Performing Arts building and Football Stadium
improvements. The Link Building renovations, new 2-story classroom addition
and new softball field were in the original scope of this project, but will
now be included in the next building program. Funding is available from
the project budget of $20,223,278 of which $19,144,106 is currently available
from the PLAN 2004 School Building Program and $1,079,172 is from the Plan
2000 School Building Program Start-up.
BOARD APPROVES LEASE AGREEMENTS FOR MODULAR CLASSROOM UNITS AT EAST
MILLBROOK MIDDLE
At its meeting 6 meeting, the Board of Education approved a lease agreement
for modular classroom units for East Millbrook Middle School. In accordance
with the Master Lease Agreement approved by the Board on March 7, 2006,
Vanguard Modular Building Systems will provide three eight classroom modular
complexes and three multi purpose modular complexes for East Millbrook Middle.
This is for swing space required for the renovation project at East Millbrook
Middle. The lease agreements total $209,270. The total proposed budget is
$30,824,735 of which $3,470,802 is currently available from the PLAN 2004
and $108,089 from PLAN 2000 Start-Up. The remainder of the funds for the
total project will come from the next building program.
BOARD AWARDS CONTRACT FOR MODULAR AT WAKEFIELD MIDDLE
At its June 6 meeting, the Board of Education awarded a single-prime contract
to C. Blake Lewis Construction in the amount of $189,614 for the site set-up
of one six-classroom modular complex for Wakefield Middle. Funding is available
in the project budget of $4,635,000 for the leasing and set-up of one hundred
and three (103) mobile/modular classroom units, which are part of the $5,385,000
Crowding Solution Budget for 2006.
BOARD AWARDS CONTRACT FOR MODULAR AT HIGHCROFT DRIVE ELEMENTARY
At its May 16 meeting, the Board of Education awarded a single-prime contract
to Beau Chene Company in the amount of $126,800 for the site set-up of one
six-classroom modular complex for Highcroft Drive Elementary. Funding is
available in the project budget of $4,635,000 for the leasing and set-up
of one hundred and three (103) mobile/modular classroom units, which are
part of the $5,385,000 Crowding Solution budget for 2006.
BOARD AWARDS CONTRACT FOR MODULAR AT WAKEFIELD HIGH
At its May 16 meeting, the Board of Education awarded a single-prime contract
to C. Blake Lewis Construction in the amount of $193,908.39 for the site
set-up of one eight-classroom modular complex for Wakefield High. Funding
is available in the project budget of $4,635,000 for the leasing and set-up
of one hundred and three (103) mobile/modular classroom units, which are
part of the $5,385,000 Crowding Solution budget for 2006.
BOARD APPROVES CHANGE ORDER NO. 1 FOR RELOCATION OF WCPSS MOBILE UNITS/PACKAGE
B-3
At its May 16 meeting, the Board of Education approved Change Order No.
1 to C. Blake Lewis Construction in the amount of $484,200 is for the relocation
of (15) mobile classroom units and (1) toilet facility to various schools
to shift capacity at various campuses. Funding is available from the PLAN
2004 Mobile Relocation Budget.
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The School Construction Report is published electronically every other week for everyone interested in the Wake County Public School System. Is what you read in this edition helpful? What information would you like to see in future editions? Contact me by calling 850-1829 or e-mailing bposton@wcpss.net.
Bill Poston
Wake County Public School System
Communications Department
3600 Wake Forest Road
Raleigh, North Carolina 27611
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