Check this out...
At the January 21st Board of Education (BOE) meeting, the estimate for elementary school construction project was announced at $190,870 which included a project contingency of $38,174.
Superintendent Mark Fredisdorf stated in The Doings on March 5th, "The project will be bid in a very competitive economic environment saving taxpayers in the long run. The entire project should come in under $200,000."
Below you will see the estimate from STR Consulting at $190,870, and right next to it, a "new" estimate of $254,000. Did you see how all those numbers changed? It must be magic!
Click on the documents to enlarge them. Notice the words on the document on the right, "Based on our February 18 estimate..."
According to the ad the district published in the newspaper, the bidding documents/blueprints were available on February 16, two days before the "new" estimate was made.
There was a Board of Education meeting the evening of February 18, shouldn't it have been mentioned to the members of the BOE that the construction estimate increased? Isn't this information important to them as well as members of the community? Apparently not when an election is looming and you want to fly under the radar!
The February meeting minutes can be viewed here: http://www.d107.org/media/Board/minutes-agendas/2009_02_18_Minutes.pdf and not one mention is made of a "new" estimate.
The above memo from STR Partners is dated March 12. Our BOE receives an email update every week from the superintendent. Was this information included in their weekly update? The "new" estimate reflected an increase in the cost of the construction project to the tune of $63,000. They should have received an update about this, right?
The change in the estimate was also never mentioned at the March 18th meeting. Meeting minutes can be viewed here: http://www.d107.org/media/Board/minutes-agendas/2009_03_18_Minutes.pdf
This was an INCREASE of $63,000! Shouldn't it have been mentioned at one of these board meetings? Did the BOE not know about this "new" estimate or did they pretend not to see it?
In an email sent to community members on April 5th, just 2 days before the election, board member Patti Essig wrote: "Getting the facts Right... The current 2008/2009 school budget, following public review and discussion, approved allocated funding for the Elementary School entryway remodel in the amount of $200,000. At the January, 2009 Board of Education (BOE) meeting, the Superintendent's report included architectural estimates for this project in the amount of $190,870 which included a $38,174 project contingency. At the March, 2009 BOE meeting, it was reported that subsequent to the public bid opening, the lowest bid had to be discounted because it did not meet the bid specifications. The other bids were being researched and reviewed. The BOE has not taken any action on this item."
She never even mentioned the "new" estimate. Was she aware of it? Were any of the BOE members aware of it? Hmmm, maybe there really never was a "new" estimate.
The superintendent's report on April 15 states, "Per the cost breakdown, the estimated cost of the project is $254,000. Construction Solutions' bid is $236,723 which is $17,277 under the estimate."
Umm, hello??? Wasn't the estimate $190,870? It looks like they're over the estimate!
On Wednesday, April 15th the Board of Education voted 5 to 1 to approve Superintendent Fredisdorf's recommendation to move forward with spending $236,723 on an 826 square foot office renovation. All in the name of "security" or was it "safety?" It's hard to remember since the story changed so many times.
The important thing is that the superintendent wants the community to believe that this project came in "under budget." Sorry, but this community is not that dumb!
As we've said all along...it's just smoke and mirrors, and now even a little magic!
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