Cleveland Heights-University Heights Board of Education meeting highlights 9-30-2014

SEPTEMBER 30, 2014

• Gilbane Building Company
• Modular classrooms
• School bus relocation
• Cost estimate for schematic design
• Audience remarks
  
  

All board members were present.

Gilbane Building Company

The board approved Gilbane Building Company to be the construction manager at risk for the enabling projects. These projects consist of preparing Wiley Middle School to be used as a temporary high school while Heights High is under construction.

Modular classrooms

The board approved leasing new modular classrooms from Satellite Shelters. The district will save $700,000 in capital costs and it can extend the lease if needed. The bid amount is $3.6 million.

School bus relocation

The board approved a contract for relocating school buses to a site on Mayfield Road.

Cost estimate for schematic design

The current estimate of the high school schematic design is 4.4 percent over budget. However, Steve Zannoni, the project management consultant, reassured the board that this overage is normal during this phase of the design and that the project will be brought within budget during the design development phase.

The following process is used to align the estimate to the budget:

• Move the design development phase to allow determination of more design details, which will allow the estimate to be based on specific costs, not assumptions.
• Reduce the need in the contingency with more design details.
• Identify alternatives.
• Further analyze key building systems.
  
  

A final schematic design package including a budget will be presented to the board for approval at the regular board meeting on Oct. 7.

Audience remarks

Ten people from the audience presented their recommendations. They covered air exchange in modular units, handicap and teacher parking, high school library instruction area, and career tech education. Some sustainability issues were also presented.

Questions will be answered on the [district’s] website.

LWV Observer: Adele Cohn.

These meeting summaries are abstracted from LWV observers’ written reports. The summaries have been edited and prepared by Anne McFarland, Charlene Morse and Maryann Barnes. To receive e-mail postings of full reports, send an e-mail to mbarnes9515@gmail.com or join through Google groups using “lwv-chuh observer reports” as a search phrase.

These reports contain member observation and selected highlights of public meetings and are not official statements of the Heights Chapter of the League of Women Voters of Greater Cleveland. This disclaimer must accompany any redistribution of these reports.