| Beaumont Enterprise 06/03/2007 |
| A cheaper, smaller BISD bond proposal? |
| By: BETH GALLASPY , The Enterprise |
| BEAUMONT - After nearly three inactive months, a Beaumont school bond committee soon will get back to work with hopes of presenting a less expensive package of school building improvements to voters than had been considered before, a committee co-chairman said last week. A new study by consultant Parsons 3DI keeps the potential price tag for repairs and new construction at about $443.9 million, where it was in early March when the Community Bond Advisory Committee last met. However, committee co-chairman Dr. David Teuscher sees a hopeful sign in updated information on building conditions that indicate some are not as dilapidated as consultants earlier reported. "It probably means we're not going to have to spend nearly as much money as we thought we'd need," Teuscher said. For example, a February report from Houston-based 3DI estimated that repairing Amelia Elementary would take about 90 percent of the replacement cost. The May report puts the ratio, or facility condition index, at 67 percent. Also, the committee had been planning for growth in student populations and newer demographic information shows no growth in the next five years, Teuscher said. "It sounds like we're going to have to build a lot less, a lot cheaper and a lot smaller," he said. The committee, co-chaired by Paul Brown, decided in early March not to push for a May bond election because of unanswered questions and a short timeline to garner community support. Many committee members argued for a May election at that March 6 meeting, but acquiesced to the new goal of a November vote. One reason for the three-month break in meetings was the wait for additional data provided in the new 3DI report, Teuscher said. He said he still wants one more thing, results of an engineering study on South Park Middle School, before meetings begin again. The South Park engineering study, which would help determine whether rehabilitation or rebuilding makes more sense, is due to be completed by Civil Structural and Forensic Engineering Solutions of Houston early next week. Several former students of the school, which began as South Park High School, have gathered hundreds of signatures in a petition drive to keep the existing structure. Once all the information is in, Teuscher said he expects work to begin later this month to develop a final plan and start presenting it to voters. The school board, which appointed committee members, must call an election by early September to present a bond proposal to voters in November. Cost-cutting opportunities still exist. Johnnie Jordan, 3DI project manager, noted that construction cost estimates include getting rid of all portable buildings and replacing them with permanent structures. However, all portable buildings are not fully used now, so building to replace all of them might not be necessary, Jordan said. "The numbers have always been somewhat dynamic," Jordan said. Along with $314.9 million in actual construction costs, the current estimates tack on another $129 million for inflation, high regional construction costs, project management and similar "soft" costs. Teuscher said the committee might consider breaking the proposal into "some kind of cafeteria plan and allow the voters to make some choices of what they do and don't want to support." bgallaspy@beaumontenterprise.com (409) 880-0726 |