On Wednesday, the Santa Monica - Malibu Unified School District Board of Education will meet to discuss the current status and budget for construction at Santa Monica High School.
The Santa Monica High School Campus Plan (SCP) phase one began in 2015 to establish an overall campus layout of all facilities.
SMMUSD Chief Operations Officer, Carey Upton said construction will begin Winter 2018 and said the biggest challenge is rebuilding the campus while continuing to operate as a school.
On Wednesday Upton will discuss the current status of the project, and what will be underway in the near future.
There will be discussion regarding parking, as the City intends to convert Civic lot into a playing field. This action will impact Samohi parking.
“We need 420 spaces to support the school day (faculty, staff and visitors, not students). We also need parking for parents and community members to attend events at the school. As currently planned, we anticipate 240 spaces on campus at the end of Phase 1. We will continue to have a parking deficit until the end of the SCP project, 25 years,” said Upton. “This is why we were pursuing the partnership with the City at the Civic Center. With that not moving forward, we are contemplating building an additional 120 spaces under the Phase 1 building. This is what we will be discussing on Wednesday night.”
Upton will also discuss the current budget with the Board.
The original preliminary draft budget for construction was set at $87M and the current project’s scope will exceed that budget by about $6.6 million. This comes from 50-meter pool ($3.1 million), displacement ventilation ($1.4 million), outdoor pool canopy ($1.3 million), outdoor classroom on roof ($300,000), additional freight elevator stops ($200,000), additional site area ($200,000) and operable windows ($150,000).
Suggested additions to the project scope are estimated to cost $13.9 million including $450,000 for equipment to reduce construction time and $13.4 million to add 120 spaces for parking.
The total potential budget impact is $21.5 million however this does not include soft costs of $5- $8 million.
The previously presented draft preliminary working budget established the overall project budget as $141 million, with $87 million assumed as the hard cost construction budget.
Samohi’s allocation from Measure ES is $18.5 million below the preliminary working budget. The Board has previously directed staff to utilize Certificates of Participation (COPs) to cover the difference. COPs are an alternative form of financing that sells a share shares of lease revenue.
The revised scope of the project would result in $45 - $48 million of COPs, including increased soft costs. The districts financial advisors have previously advised that the District has capacity for up to $70 million of COPs.
Based on the direction given during the discussion item, staff will return at a future date to provide an overall budget update.
After the SCP discussion the Board will take action on two items, the 2016 -17 Unaudited Actual Financial Report and adoption of a resolution for the Malibu Unification Negotiations Committee Supplemental Memorandum Report.
The Board of Education Meeting will begin at 6 p.m. at 1651 16th St.
marina@www.smdp.com
