Middle school still tops SV priority list

Rebuilding Scotts Valley Middle School remains the top priority for the Scotts Valley Unified School District, according to a facilities committee of school officials, trustees and community members.
The Scotts Valley School Board met Tuesday, Jan. 19, to hear from the committee what projects the district needs to serve its students in the wake of a failed school bond attempt in 2008.
The list remains the same as before, but the committee has a new plan to fully educate the community and regain voters’ trust.
Measure Q was a $55 million bond measure that would have rebuilt the middle school, replaced leased portables and built multipurpose rooms at two elementary schools and a library at the high school.
After voters declined to endorse it, the facilities committee turned back to the drawing board to reexamine the district’s priorities and why the community was not behind the bond.
“We need to get community buy-in much deeper than we’ve had before,” Mike Shulman, school board president, said.
The committee concluded that a bond measure is still needed, but also set forth a step-by-step process to plan it and help ensure voters understand why a bond measure is necessary before it goes to a vote.
The plan includes discussions with the board, establishing the scope of the project and telling the community, designing the plan, refining costs and then using public forums, educational presentations and conversation to educate the public. A key element is educating teachers and staff about the project and hearing their input.
After this, the district will take on the bond campaign and then begin the construction process.
“This is by no means a six-month process,” chief business official Karen Jelcick said.
Gary Fish Redenbacher, a lawyer and registered contractor, spoke about the financial options to complete the work.
The committee suggested that the district tackle all four projects, with some buildings from scratch and others pre-engineered. Such a hybrid design is estimated to cost $45.9 million. A “stick-built” design, entirely constructed from the ground up, would cost $51.9 million, while a strictly pre-engineered design would run $44.4 million, according to the committee’s figures.
A bond for $43 million over 35 years would cost Scotts Valley School District homeowners $50 per $100,000 of assessed value. For a home assessed at $500,000, for example, the owner would pay $250 per year, Redenbacher said.
Redenbacher recommended that the district choose a “design-build” strategy that has a single contractor handle the design and construction work. The district would agree up front to pay a certain amount, and the builder must pay for the cost of any changes. Redenbacher said this would lower the district’s risk and avoid what happened during the construction of the high school, in which the low bidder tried to get the work done as quickly as possible.
Last fall, the district completed all repair work related to the original construction of the high school. The district had sued and won damages against dozens of contractors who worked on the original construction because of faulty design and construction.
The design-build process also allows the district to choose a reputable contractor rather than taking the lowest bid, he said.
At a glance
• Rebuild Scotts Valley Middle School
• Replace leased portables with classrooms at Brook Knoll and Vine Hill elementary schools
• Build multipurpose rooms at both elementary schools
• Build a library-new media center at Scotts Valley High School
• To view the facilities presentation from Jan. 19 board meeting, visit www.svusd.santacruz.k12.ca.us.