School board questions process to renovate stadium

(Originally published in the 3/6/16 edition)

    The Governing Board of the Benicia Unified School District heard a discussion on the progress of Benicia High School’s renovated stadium and questioned the approach the project was using. 

   The stadium, which was financed through Measure S, will feature a new all-weather track, a renovated entryway, upgraded lighting and bleachers that can seat up to 3,300 people. Patrick Wilson of School and College Legal Services of California in Santa Rosa explained that the district is planning to use a lease-leaseback process to construct the stadium.

   In a lease-leaseback project, school districts are authorized to circumvent the process of advertising for bidders and instead leases the site to a contractor. After construction is done, the site is leased back to the district. 

   “One thing that lease-leaseback allows you to do is pick the contractor who has special qualifications that meet the need for your project,” Wilson said. “You reserve lease-leaseback for exceptional projects, and the general rule is you’re going to bid your painting and paving projects and the more generic projects. But for a project like this that is complicated and involves track and field and stadium development and school buildings that are associated with that on a short timeline, you’ll want to have a general contractor who has done this kind of project before and has good recommendations.” 

   However, lease-leaseback has seen controversy. Last year, Fresno Unified School District went to court over its alleged misuse of the lease-leaseback method. The district had used lease-leaseback for a variety of projects, including the construction of Rutherford B. Gaston Middle School. The 5th District Court of Appeal ruled that the contract was leaseback in name only and the district violated conflict of interest laws by awarding the project to Harris Construction who had previously done consultation on the process, according to The Fresno Bee.

   However, Wilson said they will not repeat Fresno’s mistakes. 

   “Fresno Unified got into trouble, partly because they were using lease-leaseback for almost everything, and they were sole-sourcing it,” he said. “They weren’t casting the net wide and trying to allow qualified contractors to compete against one another. They tended to overly focus on one contractor who seemed to do all their work.”

   “We’re trying to avoid those pitfalls and help you get your stadium project off the ground,” he added. 

   The board trustees were quick to ask questions about the process.

   “If we state what we’re looking for, why wouldn’t qualified contractors apply to the job in the first place?” Trustee Andre Stewart asked. 

   “When you go out to bid, which is the general method of selecting contractors, you basically have to pick the low bidder regardless of whether you think they’re as qualified as you’d like them to be or not,” Wilson responded. “The way that we structure lease-leaseback is you reach out to four or five contractors, all of whom you think are highly experienced, and you get them to compete against one another. You whittle the pool down to one or two, and the board decides who you want to proceed with.” 

   Trustee Peter Morgan raised issues over the political impacts of lease-leaseback.

   “The lease-leaseback approach, used improperly, can circumvent a lot of the controls that are intended to ensure that taxpayers’ dollars are used most effectively,” he said.

   Morgan requested a written report detailing why lease-leaseback makes sense for the district and what the issues were in the Fresno case.

   “Fresno Unified forgot that bidding is the general rule, and lease-leaseback’s an exception that should be used for exceptional cases,” Wilson responded. “They started using it in all instances, and they had no element of competition. In virtually every lease-leaseback I’ve worked on, we do have competition.” 

   In other business, the board approved a new facilities master plan, and Superintendent Charles Young highlighted the process of implementing a new bell schedule. A special meeting will be held in Room L-3 at Benicia High School at 7 p.m., Thursday, March 10 where high schools from Albany and Piedmont will talk to parents about how their schedule changes worked for them. 

Roxanne Egan, Measure S bond director, briefly talks about the stadium renovation before handing the microphone to Patrick Wilson. (Photo by Nick Sestanovich)

School board to hear update on stadium renovation project

(Originally published in the 3/1/16 edition)

   The Governing Board of the Benicia Unified School District will listen to a status update on Benicia High School’s new stadium at Thursday’s meeting.

   The stadium is one of the largest projects to be financed through Measure S, an initiative approved by Benicia voters in 2014 to provide $49.6 million in bond funding to be spent on facilities at district schools. 

   The renovated athletic facility will still be used primarily for football and soccer as well as track and field, pole vaulting and discus throwing. It will also retain the existing scoreboard, but it will have a new 8-lane all-weather track, upgraded lighting, bleachers that would fit up to 3,300 people and a redesigned entryway. 

   The project is awaiting approval from the Division of State Architecture. If approved, construction will begin when summer break starts in June and is projected to be completed in October. 

   Bond Director Roxanne Egan will give a presentation on where the status of the project lies at this point in time. According to a report by Egan, the district is still looking for contractors.

   “The district’s standard practice when constructing school buildings is to use the traditional low bid process which allows any licensed contractor to bid on the work,” she wrote. “However, there are other legal methods of construction delivery that sometimes are a better fit.”

   Egan cited a “lease leaseback” method, which authorizes a district to lease a school site to a contractor for a nominal amount. After the contractor builds the project, it leases it back to the district for 40 years, at which point ownership returns to the district. This process is done without competitive bidding. 

   “The stadium project involves multiple complex construction challenges which must be completed on a tight schedule,” Egan wrote. “The lease leaseback method will allow the district to select from a list of preferred contractors who have previously performed similar stadium projects for public school districts.” 

   Egan also noted that staff is working with legal counsel to make sure all construction documents meet legal requirements. 

   In other business, the board will consider the criteria for determining the order of seniority for employees who have the same date when they began working in the district. Chief Business Official Tim Rahill will also be reviewing the 2015/16 Second Interim Financial Report.

   The board will meet at 7 p.m., Thursday, in the Benicia Unified School District Board Room at the district building on 350 East K Street. There will be an earlier closed session at 6 p.m.

2015 year in review: Benicia Unified has big year

(Originally published in the 12/31/15 edition)

   The past year for Benicia Unified School District has been characterized primarily by changes in leadership and continuing bond projects.

   In February, Superintendent Janice Adams announced her retirement after eight years with the district. In May, Dr. Charles Young was chosen as her successor. Young had spent four years as associate superintendent of educational services in the Palo Alto Unified School District and earned his master’s degree in educational leadership from California State University- East Bay in 1995 and his doctorate in educational leadership from the University of La Verne. 

   Benicia High School and Benicia Middle School also saw new leadership. Benicia Middle School principal Christina Moore was appointed to become the new principal at Robert Semple Elementary, where she previously taught for 16 years. She was succeeded by Stephen Brady, who had previously served as principal of Ygnacio Valley High School in Concord. Maya Nelson, an art teacher at Benicia High, was appointed to become one of Benicia Middle School’s new vice principals. 

   At Benicia High, Mark Corti was announced as the new interim principal following Damon Wright’s resignation in June. Corti received his master’s degree in educational leadership at Saint Mary’s College in Moraga and served as principal of California High School in San Ramon for 15 years. 

   Measure S projects continued to dominate school board discussions in 2015, and some projects were even completed. The bond revenue initiative was passed by voters in June 2014 to provide $49.6 million in bond funding for projects at the district’s schools. In September, new playgrounds were constructed at Robert Semple Elementary School and Mary Farmar Elementary School, and buildings at Benicia High received new coats of paint designed to fit more with the school’s blue and gold colors. The renovation of Benicia High’s stadium was discussed at many school board meetings, and the draft design was approved in November. The project is scheduled to be completed in October.

   On a sad note, longtime board member Rosie Switzer passed away Nov. 29. Switzwer had been representing the district for 46 continuous years, first as an elementary school teacher from 1969 to 2004 and then as a board member from 2005 until her death. The board observed a moment of silence for Switzer at its Dec. 10 meeting, and members praised her generosity and dedication to students. The board will appoint a new member Jan. 21 after an application process. The new trustee will serve until the general election in November.

School board approves draft design for Benicia High School stadium

(Originally published in the 11/8/15 edition)

   The Governing Board of the Benicia Unified School District voted to approve the draft schematic design for Benicia High School’s renovated stadium at Thursday’s board meeting. As with the Oct. 15 meeting, the project prompted much scrutiny from the board’s trustees.

   The stadium, which will primarily be used for football and soccer games, is one of the next major projects to be financed through Measure S funds. Measure S was put forward to provide $49.6 million in bond funding to be spent on facilities at Benicia schools, including fixing the roof at Benicia Middle School and renovating the elementary school playgrounds. The initiative was approved by voters in June 2014.

   Chief Business Official Tim Rahill delivered a Power Point presentation on what the new stadium would consist of and responded to questions from the previous meeting. The renovated stadium will feature an all-weather track, new synthetic turf, new bleachers that would support 3,300 spectators- both home and visitor guests- and new bathrooms that will be moved to the renovated main entrance along with the concession stand. The estimated preliminary cost would be $8.9 million.

   Rahill also responded to inquiries from the previous meeting over what material would be used for the synthetic turf and what else the new field would be used for. He assured that the infill material would be cork or something similar, and the field would also be used for the annual elementary track meet, two annual walk-a-thons, five Benicia Youth Football home games and Benicia High’s graduation. 

   Trustee Peter Morgan expressed gratitude to Rahill for answering some of the questions from the previous meeting but expressed frustration over the project.

   “The fact that we’re put in this position to vote on this tonight ahead of the Facility Master Plan means we’re having to take it on faith that we’re making the right allocation, because we don’t know,” he said.

   “This is the first large project that we’ve gotten an estimate for, and we’ve not yet gotten a real estimate as to what the other things will cost,” he added. “I would hope in the future we do better planning.” 

   Trustee Andre Stewart questioned the necessity to nearly double the amount of seats from 1,960 to 3,300. Trustee Gary Wing said they would seat more people during graduation and cut down on the cost of renting chairs.

   “In consultation with the high school, one of the goals was to provide seats for all participants who come to different athletic events, especially football,” Rahill added. “Right now, there’s a huge ‘standing room only’ by the concession and existing bathrooms. Part of the idea to move the concessions and bathrooms to the main entrance is to move the population out of that area and into the stands so there’s a little bit more crowd control.”

   Trustee Diane Ferrucci also expressed frustration over the timing of the project.

   “The fact that we’re now having this discussion, I’m finding it very uncomfortable,” she said. “I feel in some way we’re being dishonest. This conversation should have happened when we were all concerned about the price tag in November when we approved going forward.”

   Ferrucci also warned the board about potential inflation, which could drive costs for Measure S projects up.

   “The price that you got in 2013 is not going to happen in 2018,” she said. “I think that’s something we need to consider.”

   Morgan agreed that the project should move on, but he also suggested that if the project reaches a point where it isn’t feasible, it should be ended.

   “I do feel like our hands are tied and we should go forward, but I do think we should have a point where  we should kill the project,” he said. “If we get to a point where as a board, we look at the Facility Master Plan and realize we’ve made a mistake, we should have the ability to stop this project.”

   Ultimately, all board members voted to move forward with the project. In the next month, documents will be prepared to be submitted to the Division of the State Architect in January. The board will vote to approve the Facilty Master Plan in February, and the project will be scheduled to be completed in October, 2016.

   In other business, the board highlighted some of the recent achievements of the Benicia Middle School band under the direction of Glenn Walp. The include earning second place in concert at the Foothill Band Review in Pleasanton on Oct. 24 and first place in parade competition and percussion at the Santa Cruz Band Review on Oct. 17.

   

School District to provide update on status of Measure S projects

   (Originally Published in the 10/13/15 edition)

The Governing Board of Benicia Unified School District will hear an update on current Measure S projects at Thursday’s School Board meeting.

   In June 2014, Benicia citizens voted to approve Measure S, which will provide $49.6 million in bond funding for projects at each of the seven district schools. The bond funds will be issued in three series: Series A, Series B and Series C. A fund of $20 million was issued in November 2014, and Series B and Series C are planned to be issued in 2017 and 2020 respectively.

   The bond projects are grouped into four different categories: health, safety and security improvements; modernization and technology upgrades; infrastructure improvements; and student support facilities.

   Among the projects to be funded by Series A are constructing new bleachers for Benicia High School, repairing or replacing leaky roofs and refurbishing multi-use rooms at all the schools, including the High School’s Performing Arts Building.

   According to a written update provided by Chief Business Official Tim Rahill, Measure S has actively funded projects in the last few weeks. On Sept. 29, Robert Semple Elementary’s new playground opened and received positive reception from the students, staff and community, Rahill wrote. However, additional work is needed to construct a handicap access point from the blacktop. The maintenance department began working on the handicap access Oct. 2, Rahill wrote.

   Repainting at Benicia High began on Oct. 3. The school’s mansard roofing in particular has been in need of recoating, Rahill wrote.

   A smoke hatch was installed at Robert Semple on Sept. 23 to complete the school’s roof project, Rahill wrote. Additionally, the maintenance department is evaluating rain gutters at each site.

   “The remaining parts to complete the softball field bleachers at BHS have arrived, and we are working on a schedule to have them installed,” Rahill wrote.
   Finally, a new play structure at Mary Farmar Elementary’s playground was completed in September.
   Rahill will be providing additional information on the Measure S Bond Quarterly Update on Thursday. In other business, the Board will hear a presentation from Rahill and Verde Design, Inc providing a draft of the schematic design for Benicia High’s Upper Field and Stadium Project. The Board will also hear a report from Assistant Superintendent Marie Morgan on The Single Plan for Student Achievement, which would develop goals to support elementary students’ academic performances. 

   The Governing Board will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 15 in the BUSD Board Room at the district building on 350 East K Street. There will be an earlier closed session at 6:30 p.m.