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The Fredericksburg School Board at its meeting Monday evening agreed to cut $2.7 million from the estimated cost of the city’s new middle school.
The board had instructed design-build firm First Choice, LLC, to find ways to bring down the cost of the new school after a July estimate based on 35% of the design being complete came in at $77 million—$20 million more than City Council budgeted for the project.
Don Upperco, director of operations for Fredericksburg City Public Schools, presented the School Board with the results of recent “value engineering” carried out on the project by school division staff and First Choice.
Staff proposed cutting between $1.6 million and $1.9 million from the building cost by changing interior masonry walls to metal studs and drywall and only partially tiling bathroom floors; omitting some outdoor features, roof screens, hallway lockers and decorative railings; reducing the number of marker boards, classroom shelving, band storage, library shelving and lab storage; and moving certain budget items, such as cabling and intercoms, from building costs to a more flexible construction allowance.
Staff also proposed cutting $800,000 from the cost of site work by placing the school—which will be located in the Idlewild subdivision—back from the road and cutting an additional $985,130 by reducing the size of the school by some 6,000 square feet.
According to the presentation, the reduction in square footage will result in the loss of some space for career and technical education, tighter corridors and a slightly smaller gym, and fewer “extended learning areas” in hallways and above the library.
The School Board on Monday unanimously approved the presented budget cuts and an amended interim agreement with First Choice, which authorizes the firm to create design drawings for 65% of the project by Dec. 16.
The next steps are for City Council to approve a comprehensive agreement with First Choice, which will lock in the estimated cost of the new school.
City Manager Tim Baroody said the agreement is likely to be ready by City Council's Oct. 11 meeting.
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