Dublin School Board Inches Toward Final Vote On Facilities Plan

Dublin CA

25 October, 2021

3:04 PM

Description

DUBLIN, CA — After long hours of workshops, public hearings and intense debate, Dublin school board members were slated to review Tuesday night a draft of what's expected to be the final facilities master plan. The plan would chart a course for the Dublin Unified School District to implement an aggressive program to modernize and expand its deteriorating schools and construct a new high school in an era of growing enrollment. The 399-page plan is a historical outline of the processes involved in winnowing down an expensive wish list of construction projects to five priority jobs and projections of how much they are expected to cost. It also includes a compendium of district schools and what work they require. The plan was prepared by LPA Design Studios of San Jose under a $400,000 contract awarded last February. LPA was contracted to provide the "most accurate Facilities Master Plan Update" less than a month after former school superintendent Daniel Moirao revealed the district had an estimated shortfall of at least $184 million in funds required to complete projects in a 2020 proposed implementation plan. Since then LPA has analyzed nearly two dozen projects that have been proposed, are underway or have been completed, and examined budgets, construction schedules and cost estimates for each one. LPA has provided periodic updates to the board, which had been considering a buffet of options. Last month the board approved a facilities implementation plan that added five new projects to three that were already underway: Frederiksen and Murray elementary schools and the first phase of the new Emerald High School. The additional projects included modernization of Dublin Elementary, a new school at Dublin Crossings and a trimmed-down second phase of construction at Emerald High. The total cost: $651.2 million, plus $15 million to manage the work. During that meeting Chris Funk, the district's new superintendent, cautioned the board, telling them "the reality is we are short-funded on all our projects and that's why we're having this conversation tonight. We'll need a future funding source to complete all the projects." Board members are scheduled to vote on the final master plan at their Nov. 9 meeting. Also on the agenda Tuesday night is a proposed resolution permitting the district to avoid the normally cumbersome competitive bidding process for construction projects by implementing a "lease-leaseback" method of awarding contracts authorized under a section of the state's Education Code. Contracts awarded in this manner will no longer be allowed after next July 1. In lease-leaseback arrangements, a school district leases its property to a contractor, which completes the construction project and returns the property and completed project to the district. Instead of competitive bidding, the process utilizes competitive solicitation, which permits the award of contracts through an evaluation process where districts can simply issue requests for proposals from a pre-qualified pool of contractors. Those contractors' responses are graded on a point system and the district hands out contracts on a "best value" basis that's determined by the school board. Details of the evaluation process are included in the resolution. District officials believe the lease-leaseback process will be more cost-effective and, if approved, is expected to be utilized on several district projects, including Phase II of the new Emerald High School. Bids for work on Emerald's Phase I are scheduled to be opened Nov. 9. The board's open meeting begins at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday. View the agenda. More from Patch: Why DUSD Is Struggling To Pay For School ProjectsDUSD Sells $116M In Bonds To Move Forward With New High SchoolDUSD Reports At Least $184M Shortfall On School Facility ProjectsState OKs Dublin Schools Plan To Sell Bonds, Raise Debt LimitDublin Elementary Parents To Rally For School Improvements