New high school may open early

A snow-free and sunny fall may be bad news to skiers, but it has been a boon to the construction crews building the new Sisters High School.

"Because we've been blessed with such good weather, we're moving along nicely," said School District Construction Manager Bob Martin at the Monday, December 2, school board meeting.

In fact, the project is moving along well ahead of schedule.

According to Superintendent Steve Swisher, "certain portions are significantly ahead -- perhaps as much as five weeks."

The quick pace may mean the school can be opened earlier than the projected January 2004 target -- maybe even as early as September. The school board will make that call in February, as they begin crafting next year's schedule.

According to Martin, it should be clear by then whether the accelerated pace of building is holding up.

Current cost projections peg the entire high school project at just shy of $21.6 million. That's almost $600,000 over the $21 million budget, but the overage is still covered within $1.17 million in contingency funds.

Project contractor Kirby Nagelhout Construction Company (KNCC) is carrying $544,994 in contingency funds.

The Sisters School District built up $969,733 in contingency funds through cost savings on the project. The district has spent $345,010 of that amount to cover unanticipated change-orders such as construction of additional water lines and to add elements back into the project that had been relegated to an options list.

The $624,723 remaining has been largely consumed by expenses that must be paid by the district outside of the construction contract, such as sewer service, legal expenses, permit fees and some engineering costs.

The "owner costs" are $571,268.02 over budget, including $200,000 the board has estimated for the purchase of irrigation water rights.

The net result is that -- by using up savings -- the project costs are covered, but without much room to spare.

Swisher and school board member Eric Dolson continued to debate operational costs for the new school. Swisher is projecting approximately $102,000, a figure Dolson believes is optimistic.

Dolson believes the budgeting for maintenance and custodial personnel is thin and he questions the calculation of sewer fees. He also believes charges for city irrigation water should be factored in in case the school district doesn't acquire water rights and set up a system by next spring.

"You've made some very, very, very optimistic assumptions here that concern me a lot," Dolson told Swisher.

Swisher adamantly defended his figures.

"This is a good best estimate for my part," he said.

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.

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