Agenda - 02-25-2025; 6-a - Project Management Options for School Construction

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2 Under State Statute, the school districts are responsible for school construction, and as such are responsible for management, design, and construction oversight. Under the current model, the districts hire either staff or a firm to provide program or project management, both for the annual maintenance of existing facilities and for new construction. The school districts make all contracts, decisions and payments regarding school construction and then bill the County for reimbursement. The districts do not construct new facilities very frequently. The most recent new school was the major renovation of Chapel Hill High School from the 2016 bond. In addition, both districts had issues spending down their maintenance funding during the Covid-19 Pandemic. The County encouraged both districts to expand their project management staff and fund them through the Supplemental Deferred Maintenance funds. The County has identified these existing balances as resources to implement the Woolpert recommendations and will work with the Districts to create a plan that is consistent with the principles of the Woolpert recommendations using those existing balances. Unspent Capital Funds New Funding Available Maintenance Chapel Hill-Carrboro City $ $ Schools 6,609,365.29 16,224,511.00 $ 22,833,876.29 Orange County Schools 27,510,418.97 16,060,560.00 $ 43,570,978.97 Total 34,119,784.26 32,285,071.00 $ 66,404,855.26 Either district can also agree to allow the County to assume project management, contracting, and oversight responsibilities through an Interlocal Agreement (ILA). That could allow the County to provide additional control over the selection of the architect, project delivery method, processing change orders and ultimate project delivery. The County could not compel the districts to enter into these agreements, other than withholding bond funding. Therefore, the County would likely need to work collaboratively with the districts to codify any responsibility sharing and reporting tasks. The Board can discuss how it wishes to proceed on these options and direct staff on how to engage with the school districts on this conversation. There are no decision points for this meeting for the Board. However, funds for design on school construction are planned to be authorized on July 1, 2025 as part of the Capital Investment Plan. FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no immediate financial impact with this discussion. The proposed Bond Plan included setting aside $1 million each year for Project Management from the Pay-Go Funds, starting in Fiscal Year 2025-26. ALIGNMENT WITH STRATEGIC PLAN: This item supports: • GOAL 5: PUBLIC EDUCATION/LEARNING COMMUNITY OBJECTIVE 4. Improve learning environments by investing in facilities over a 10-year period that address repair, renovation, and educational adequacy needs. OBJECTIVE 5. Invest in and implement a plan that supports schools operational and facility funding needs.