District takes first step to implement bond spending
By Marcus Clem
Administrators are wasting no time after a big vote on Tuesday gave them the go-ahead to borrow $20 million and spend it on local school buildings and services.
An initial step taken Wednesday is the hiring of S.M. Wilson & Co. of St. Louis, Missouri, in the role of manager-at-risk for all construction projects. S.M. Wilson will charge $1.3 million for various services. They underbid Universal Construction Company Inc. of Kansas City, Kansas, which presented a $1.4 million offer. The Board of Education approved the hiring of S.M. Wilson & Co. by a vote of 5-0, with Kenneth Reeder and Rick Gehring absent.
“We’re very happy to come and ask you to approve this … because it was going to be a moot point if we didn’t pass the bond,” Assistant Superintendent Robert Sigrist told the board on Wednesday. “A thank you to the community for doing that. Of the firms that we interviewed — both very strong, both have a lot of good experience — S.M. Wilson came in with a lower bid.”
Because there is a hard cap on the funds the district is permitted to borrow and spend, the “at risk” mechanism vests authority in S.M. Wilson & Co. to monitor and enforce the projected $18.3 million budget. Unless the Board of Education approves change orders in advance authorizing new spending, the company will have to pay for cost overruns itself.
Work on the projects, including often-discussed field replacements at Central, Benton and Lafayette High Schools at a cost of $6.5 million, will begin in earnest this summer. There are many additional projects to be managed, including a $2 million installation of new intercoms in each school, climate control upgrades across the district for $2.4 million and expanded learning spaces for $3 million — most prominently, adding three classrooms to Hosea Elementary.
Superintendent Gabe Edgar remarked in a video statement how this is the second successful tax-related election to occur during his tenure as chief executive. The district relied on Friends of SJSD, a privately run political action committee, to promote the bond with about $22,700 of expended private donations, according to the Missouri Ethics Commission. The Friends PAC has existed in various forms. This year, the campaign was chaired by Kevin Kelly and Melanie Barnes.
“They (voters) showed us that they have faith in … the direction that the district is going,” Edgar said. “And, you know, I can sit here and make the promise that we’ll spend those dollars just as we said, and do what’s best for kids at the end of the day.”
