There are three variables when building a new facility: time, money and quality, Chris McIntyre, CFO/treasurer for Warren County Schools, said.
During a clinic session – “Construction – How to get what you want and not break the bank” -- at KSBA’s Annual Conference in Louisville, McIntyre said a school district can control two of those variables, but not all three.
“Do you have a short timeline and need good quality? You're going to pay. If you don't want to pay for it and you’ve got a short timeline, you're going to get poor quality,” he said. “So usually the two variables I like to control are the money and the quality. I want best use of funds and I want quality construction. But tell me up front, ‘I can't get this project done in 15 months; there's no way.’ Be honest with me because if it's not done in 15 months, we're going to have a different conversation about your tenure of staying in Warren County and doing business with us.”
Chris McIntyre, CFO/treasurer for Warren County Schools, talks to Woodford
County board member Debby Edelen at the KSBA Annual Conference.
During McIntyre’s 13 years with Warren County Schools, the district has built a new high school, a new middle school and six new elementary schools.
“How do you get all that done without breaking the bank?” McIntyre asked.
When starting a new project, a district hires an architect, an engineer and either a construction manager or a general contractor. About 20 to 25 district staff members are also involved with construction projects.
The district is building a new elementary school that is set to open in August. McIntyre said the new Jennings Creek Elementary had a construction cost of $17.2 million or $191 per square foot. But when factoring in other costs, including fees for the architect/engineer ($913,868), construction manager ($543,980), fiscal agent ($83,000), bond discount ($430,100), equipment/furnishings ($210,000), contingencies ($862,973), and other costs ($155,000), the 90,000-square foot school cost $232 per square foot. “And that doesn’t count putting a computer in any classroom,” he said.
When looking at renovations, he said it’s important to take care of several issues at one time rather than have contractors in and out of the building one at a time. “Every time you mobilize a contractor, it’ll cost you a lot of money to mobilize.”
He said, for example, a roof replacement project might be a good time to see if any other infrastructure in the building needs replaced.
McIntyre said one option for districts is to combine several repairs or upgrades into a guaranteed energy savings project. The Kentucky Department of Education allows the district to issue a request for proposal for an engineering service to evaluate energy, water and gas consumption to see if it can make efficiencies. He said this allows a district to bundle needs that would otherwise be cost prohibitive, but to use the guaranteed energy savings project, at least 50 percent of the project’s cost has to be paid by generated savings.