Bond measures, facility projects, committee appointees, consultant agreements - they'll all get their time in the limelight at Thursday night's Santa Monica-Malibu Board of Education meeting.
The school board is scheduled to hear an update on projects funded by Measure ES, the $385-million bond for school improvements that voters approved in 2012.
School district staff will provide information about technology projects, according to an SMMUSD report.
Meanwhile, a major overhaul of windows, floors and paint across the district awaits board attention. The board could approve nearly $1 million for upgrades at Will Rogers, Grant and Cabrillo elementary schools, which have been designated as three early sites for renovations.
The district's focus on facilities is evidenced by the forthcoming creation of a facilities district advisory committee. The board is expected to appoint 18 members to a panel that will have Santa Monica and Malibu subgroups, according to the SMMUSD report. Applications were due Feb. 12.
The board is also slated to review the district's amended agreement with Ramboll Environ, the consultant hired to handle environmental remediation after the discovery of polychlorinated biphenyls at Malibu schools more than two years ago. The current agreement expired Feb. 14, and the board is being asked to extend it through June 30, 2018.
New purchases top $800K
More than $800,000 in new purchase orders and facility improvements are up for board approval.
The biggest single expense on the list of more than $609,000 in new purchase orders is a $150,000 payment to Fagen Friedman & Fulfrost for legal fees. The district has spent millions of dollars on consultants and lawyers since the discovery of chemicals in the caulk at Malibu schools more than two years ago.
Also up for consideration are several payments for semi-private music lessons, including $31,200 to the CRE Outreach Foundation, $30,000 to Elemental Strings and $20,400 to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Santa Monica.
Educational enrichment activities show up on the bill as well. The district is scheduled to pay the nonprofit International Association for Human Values $30,000 for mindfulness programming and fork out $16,000 to Chad Scheppner for theater programming at John Adams Middle School. The Exploratory is set to receive nearly $15,000 in exchange for science programming at John Muir Elementary School.
The list of payments also includes more than $31,000 to Zonar Systems toward GPS installation; more than $26,000 to Intelli-Tech for laptops; more $25,000 to Hirsch Pipe & Supply for plumbing equipment; more than $23,000 to Waxie Sanitary Supply for mats; and $15,600 to Shields Sewer Contracting for sewer line maintenance; $10,000 to Chevron for fuel; and $10,000 for postage.
Cooling study
Amid ongoing discussions about classroom temperatures across the district, the school board appears ready to approve a cooling load study at Malibu High School.
The board on Thursday will consider a $218,733 payment to Arup North America, an engineering consultancy, for the study.
Money for the analysis will come from Measure ES. Of the bond's $385 million, $77 million (20 percent) was allocated for Malibu projects.
jeff@www.smdp.com
