Schools’ summer work was under budget

The summer project to refurbish the campuses of the Sonoma Valley Unified School District came in almost $1.1 million under budget.

At Tuesday’s school board meeting, Tenaya Dale, the project manager with Counterpoint Construction Services, told the board that the work was projected to cost $5.75 million, but came in at $4.66 million – $1,094,536 under budget. The district used some of the money it got back from the state as part of the solar project – money that had to be used for maintenance.

She said the $1.1 million will be rolled over to help pay for the next round of upgrades including window coverings district-wide, the replacement of the El Verano irrigation system and well, and getting new monument signs at all campuses. “We’d like to get the signs standardized,” she said.

Among the big-ticket items, Dunbar’s kitchen remodel, which was projected at $495,000, came in at $442,517; three portable classrooms projected at $1.35 million actually cost $674,683; and the two modular buildings at the Sonoma Charter School estimated at $1.44 million came in at $1.2 million.

Dale said the Dunbar kitchen project, which took the longest to complete, was finished in mid-September.

The deferred maintenance, which included new roofs, paving, new flooring as well as painting, gutters and downspouts and other miscellaneous work at all 10 campuses, was expected to cost $2.46 million but came in at $2.31 million.

Dale mentioned that the new roofs at Flowery and Dunbar are white, energy efficient roofs.

Boardmember Nicole Ducarroz said it was “amazing” that the project came in almost $1.1 million under budget.

School Superintendent Louann Carlomagno said the district’s facilities cabinet is looking at the master plans for all the schools. “But I found out that we’re the only other district in the county that has a facilities cabinet,” she said. “The Santa Rosa City Schools is the only other district to have a facilities committee.”

John Bartolome, the district’s chief business officer, said the district is setting priorities for next summer’s projects and other future projects. And he reminded the board that there is still about $25 million in bond money left from the $40 million Measure H bond that district voters passed in 2010.

In other business, the board received a report on the dual-immersion program from Patty O’Driscoll, who is a member of the Dual Immersion Task Force.

In June, the board approved the Dual Immersion Master Plan that is consistent with the dual-immersion program’s original goals and priorities.

O’Driscoll had a PowerPoint that went into the background of the program as well as data the district has generated and the next steps in assessment, data collection and analysis.

The board also proclaimed the week of Oct. 20-24 as National School Bus Safety Week with the theme, “At My Stop, You Stop!” And, as a part of that week set Wednesday, Oct. 22, as the day to recognize the district’s bus drivers.

In other action, the board:

Honored Isabella Brophy and Dominic Girish as Prestwood Elementary School’s students of the year.

Held a public hearing, with no public present, on the sufficiency of textbooks and instructional materials.

Approved two administrative regulations.

Had a first reading on a whole slew (49 to be precise) of administrative regulations.

The board will hold a special meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 28, to discuss facilities.

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