SMMUSD Prop X Construction Projects

Hannah Heineman
Mirror staff writer

   Though some Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD) Proposition X projects have been completed, others are behind schedule, and have, in some cases been dragging on for years.
   Serious concerns about these construction delays and related issues prompted a meeting between the District’s Proposition X Oversight Committee and the District’s Board of Education in January.
   At that meeting, Jacobs Engineering, the parent company of the firm that is managing the construction, Jacobs Facilities, Inc., was heavily criticized by both District parents and officials. Jacobs’ response, presented by Jacobs Engineering CEO Noel Watson, included an action plan that would have all District work completed by 2003. The Board accepted the plan, although details are still being hammered out.
   Some of the current facilities projects are being financed by Proposition X money only, while a combination of Proposition X funds and money from the State of California are financing others.
   The District has Budget Limitation Agreements (BLA) on all projects, so that if delays occur, cost increases due to those delays are limited. All costs cited in this article for individual projects reflect the maximum allowed under the District’s BLA. This step was taken, according to the District’s Director of Facilities, Wally Berriman, because it was learned the hard way during ES construction (a local bond measure passed prior to Proposition X) that “there were a lot of change orders for architect’s changes and inspections” that drove up costs.
   The Mirror spoke with Superintendent John Deasy regarding the status of the projects earlier this month. There are 20 projects that are being financed by Proposition X money only and 13 of those are complete. Incomplete projects include the construction of two panelized (semi-permanent, pre-fabricated) classrooms at McKinley Elementary School, which will cost $422,985. Also incomplete are two panelized classrooms at a cost of $429,176 at John Muir Elementary as well as six permanent classrooms (in a two-story building) for Roosevelt Elementary School, at a cost of $1,334,190.
   Other incomplete Proposition X projects are three permanent classrooms at Santa Monica Alternative School House (SMASH), at a cost of $1,062,298 and Phase II/IIA construction of Barnum Hall at Santa Monica High School, which includes an addition to the stage area, and the construction of a storage/maintenance building, and will take $1,754,081 of its funding from Prop X monies.
   At Malibu High School, the majority of the work on an all-weather track, a new athletic field and a new faculty parking lot is complete. Berriman notes that only final landscaping must be finished there. (The new field and track are already in use.)
   All State fund line-items are characterized as “general state modernization work,” or GSMW.  This includes roof repair or replacement, lighting and electrical upgrades, replacing heating and ventilation equipment, upgrading of science and computer labs, and other maintenance projects. According to Berriman, the majority of District construction and projects are actually funded by a combination of local and State funds.
   Most modernization work at the following sites has been completed, but final work still needs to be done, such as painting or installing moldings. The schools and total cost for the work at each of them are:

Cabrillo Elementary $1,111,011
Edison Elementary $958,635
Franklin Elementary $2,597,339
Grant Elementary $1,924,668
McKinley Elementary $1,303,330
Will Rogers Elementary $2,103,671
Roosevelt Elementary $2,202,790
Webster Elementary $1,257,469
Adams Middle School $3,468,666
Lincoln Middle School $2,931,992
Lincoln Pool $1,725,704
Olympic H.S. $1,865,181

   General state modernization work at a cost of $742,646 has not been completed at Point Dume Elementary, and is well behind schedule. GSMW has not been completed at Malibu High School ($321,865) or Samohi ($8,562,771) but these projects don’t have contractural completion dates until later this year.
   Other incomplete projects at Samohi are $5,388,724 in additional classrooms and a $4,380,072 music building. Both projects have contractural completion dates of June 1, 2002.
   At Malibu High School, formerly Malibu Park Junior High, several projects are in the works. The mixed fund projects that still need to be completed are a $2,772,605 auditorium, $3,607,550 in additional classrooms, a $7,291,232 gym, and $646,941 in underground utilities. Work on the auditorium, which Berriman describes as “taking an existing building that houses what was a middle school ‘cafetorium’ and coming as close to a high school performing arts center as possible,” is set to be completed in July of this year.
   Berriman has been busy assessing “liquidated damages,” due to endless delays and incomplete work, and docking Jacobs’ pay on its monthly invoices. District Chief Financial Officer Ken Bailey told the Mirror that so far, “Jacobs has disagreed with the District on the amount” of the damages for which they are responsible. Berriman, who says that he’s assessed “just below $1 million in liquidated damages” since last October, adds that these unpaid monies “can be used for other District needs.”
   Deflecting criticism of what some Santa Monica parents consider to be a lack of proper oversight on the part of the District, Jean Gebman, Chair of the Proposition X Oversight Committee, stresses that, “construction at 16 District sites simultaneously is a complicated endeavor, so communication within the endeavor is challenging and communication within the community is extremely challenging.” He says he’s done an informal study of the way 18 other School Districts have handled and communicated about their construction projects on the world wide web and has concluded this District is “by far the most open and most self-critical.”
   Looking ahead, Berriman explains that it’s difficult to consider future facilities projects prior to completion of the strategic plan currently being put together by District and community members. Although, he says, “you don’t have to have a programmatic need to replace a leaking roof,” he believes that any significant upgrades or new projects will develop from the District’s strategic plan.
Ed. note: Associate Editor Clara Sturak contributed to this story.