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Published: March 06, 2008 11:46 pm

Estimating errors on modulars could stall elementary school expansion

By Kristen Grieco
Staff writer

School officials underestimated the amount of square footage needed in modular classrooms, an error that threatens to stall the expansion of the city's four elementary schools and delay or eliminate an extra classroom in East Gloucester.

City Council approved $3.45 million for the project in January, and the 14 classrooms were scheduled to be in place by Aug. 15 to give teachers time to move in before the beginning of this school year after Labor Day.

Now, however, East Gloucester's classroom will not be installed until at least Sept. 15, if at all, according to city Purchasing Agent Everett Brown.

As school officials began to review plans with a professional architect last month, they realized they had underestimated the amount of square footage needed, because they had not taked into account the corridors and restrooms necessary for the buildings to meet the construction code.

The costs are still hazy, impossible for officials to estimate because of the city's closed bidding process. They will not be able to open and examine bids on the project until March 28, and are basing estimates on previous modular projects and bids.

Bidding begins next week, but at a School Committee meeting Wednesday night, Superintendent Christopher Farmer pegged the additional costs at between $417,591 and $794,281.

School Committee Chairman Greg Verga said he was not ready to begin lobbying the city for extra money. Instead, the schools are trying to reduce costs by engaging in creative bidding that allows contractors to work with used materials at a discount. But the first round of bids leaves out East Gloucester, and if there's no money left over, the extra classroom there could be lost.

"I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it comes in - for the whole thing - within budget," Verga said.

Work at Beeman, Plum Cove and Veterans' Memorial elementary schools will go out to bidMarch 14, and if there is at least $300,000 left over in the $3.45 million budget when the contract is awarded, a second bidding process will begin for East Gloucester. If there is not sufficient savings, the East Gloucester project could be left on the table, according to Brown.

The East Gloucester addition would be built conventionally. Enclosing the space between the schools two wings was chosen as a cheaper alternative to a 14th modular classroom.

If additional money is needed, however, the request could get tied up in weeks of political wrangling and delay an already-tight construction schedule. The district was planning to appoint a contractor April 2 and begin construction April 14.

Council approval for more money can take a month at best and six weeks or more realistically, according to Ward 1 Councilor Jason Grow, whose constituency is East Gloucester and who has children at East Gloucester Elementary School.

But first, Mayor Carolyn Kirk, who has a child who attends East Gloucester, must request the money from City Council, something she was not considering as of yesterday.

"I have asked the superintendent and the chairman (of the School Committee) to get the project to come in within the budget," Kirk said.

Grow said the council's hands are tied until the mayor comes forward with a budget request, but expressed disappointment at the potential loss of East Gloucester's classroom .

"It's frustrating, because I would prefer they asked for what they needed when they came to us," said Grow, who chairs the council's Budget and Finance Committee. "I don't want to see this project three-quarters finished."

Verga agreed, and said finishing the 14 classrooms is the School Committee's priority.

"Wait and see is probably the best approach, because there's really not much more we can do at this point," Verga said.

At the meeting Wednesday, Farmer said he took responsibility for the incorrect budget, which he arrived at by using information from similar projects across the state as provided by the Massachusetts School Building Association. However, he said, the process in Gloucester does not allow for hiring an architect until after City Council has approved a bond to pay for the project.

"We kind of have to put the cart before the horse," Farmer said. By the city's rules, a budget needs to be approved by the council before an expert can weigh in on the real costs.

The modulars will give the elementary schools space to have the city's 300 fifth-graders move back into the neighborhood schools and allow the School Committee to close Fuller School, where the fifth grade is now taught. The committee plans to place six modulars at Beeman, five at Plum Cove and two at Veterans' Memorial.

The city took on a $3.45 million bond, or $400,000 in debt service per year, to pay for the project. It is part of a plan written by the previous School Committee to close Fuller School and redistribute those students among the other five. Originally, the committee planned to move the middle school to Fuller and close O'Maley Middle School.

The news of a potential shortfall on the modular budget comes on the heels of the new School Committee's recent reversal of the decision on which school to close.

On Feb. 27, the committee voted to leave the middle school where it is, effectively closing Fuller. The decision was met with mixed responses from those who spoke at public hearings.

"I think (the modular issue) will also do a lot to weigh on the confidence of the community on whether we can get anything right the first time," Grow said.

The city will have hard numbers with which to work when bids are opened March 28. The bidding process begins next week and construction is slated to begin April 14.

Kristen Grieco can be reached at kgrieco@gloucestertimes.com.