By Josh Curran

As the buses pull away from schools on the final day of school this June, a new race begins. For students, summer is a time for family vacations and sleep-away camps. But, for school leaders, maintenance crews and elected school boards, it is the start of an unforgiving 10-week race. The goal is clear: complete essential renovations and upgrades and have their school building safe and ready to welcome students back in August. In the school construction industry, we call this the 鈥淪ummer Sprint鈥�. And, it is the ultimate test of a district鈥檚 capital improvement strategy.听

During the听hot summer听months, the core challenge for local districts is not just the work itself, but the sheer volume of projects that must be delivered simultaneously. Managing听numerous听small to mid-sized upgrades including everything from HVAC replacements to classroom refreshes very often听stretch听the already limited staff resources to their breaking point.听

Increasingly today, savvy district leaders are solving this challenge by shifting to a new construction contracting playbook: one that emphasizes Qualification-Based Selection (QBS).听听For these districts, QBS allows them to choose a trusted partner based on their expertise, capabilities and past performance rather than just the bottom-line low-bid dollars and cents. By prioritizing a contractor鈥檚 ability to deliver, districts can mitigate the risks associated with the compressed 鈥淪ummer Sprint鈥� window, while ensuring they鈥檙e keeping an eye on delivering value for taxpayers.听

Methods like Construction Management (CM) and Job Order Contracting (JOC) are both forms of QBS. While they have nuanced differences, both factor a builder鈥檚 qualifications into the award process. Whether districts decide to go with Construction Management or JOC, both help district leaders close the staffing and resource 鈥渃apacity gap鈥� through an on-going, standing partnership that offer a variety of operational benefits:听听

• Accelerated Delivery:听With a building partner already in place, the work can start in weeks rather than months, ensuring no time is wasted during the short summer vacation.听

• Transparent Pricing:听Whether using a Construction Manager or a JOC Unit Price Book, these methods provide the fiscal accountability and budget control that school boards听require.听

• Reduced Administrative Burden:听A single procurement process can cover multiple summer projects, cutting down on the staff hours needed to manage the workload.听

• Quality Consistency:听Working with a trusted, experienced team ensures that standards听remain听high even when the schedule is tight.听

• Solves the “No Bidder” Problem:听Small and mid-sized projects (like a single door replacement or emergency repair) often听fail to听attract quality bidders in a traditional cycle. By having an established partner,听you鈥檙e听guaranteed to have a high-capacity, pre-qualified builder that is ready to respond to any scope, regardless of size or market conditions.听

• Flexibility and Scalability:听These models are ideal for the small projects that dominate summer renovation听lists听 as听well as larger capital programs phased over multiple summers.听

There are other 鈥榟idden benefits鈥� of QBS for school districts, too. Ask any school CFO about their most-recent design-bid-build capital project. They鈥檒l tell you that their biggest frustration throughout the project is change orders. In many cases, low bids often lead to change orders that ultimately and unexpectedly sets up an adversarial relationship between the district and the builder. Because prices are set by the pre-negotiated Unit Price Book, the adversarial nature of traditional bidding is removed with JOC. If the scope changes, the price is simply adjusted using the same trusted catalog.听听Similarly, in a Construction Management delivery scenario, the CM performs the sealed public bidding on behalf of the district, providing a granular and transparent accounting of all costs throughout the project. No more “low-ball” bids followed by expensive surprises.

By shifting toward this new qualifications-based听selection, local school leaders can manage their aging buildings and upgrade their facilities more effectively while听remaining听responsible with taxpayer funds. This approach allows districts to stay ahead of facility needs during the 鈥淪ummer Sprint鈥� without exhausting their internal teams.听听

But, most importantly, it ensures that when everyone returns for that first bell in August or September, the school will be safe and ready for the students to learn.

Learn more about strategically tackling Summer Sprint projects at the Aug. 5 Design & Construction Symposium in Denver. Get your tickets today!

Josh听Curran is Vice President and Director of K-12 Construction for Chicago-based national infrastructure builder F.H. Paschen.听

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WAKE COUNTY, N.C.鈥� Wake County residents will vote in November on whether to borrow a total of over $1 billion for a number of community improvements that would include ample school construction and expansion projects.

in Raleigh, N.C., reports that of the $1 billion, about $548 million would go towards a school construction bond that would fund two years of a proposed seven-year building program for the Wake County Public School System.

According to the Observer, about $140 million of the school construction bond revenue would fund the construction of seven new schools that include: South Lakes Elementary School in Fuquay-Varina, a middle school in Fuquay-Varina, an elementary school in Apex, two elementary schools in southwest Wake County, a new high school in southwest Wake County and an unidentified elementary school.

The school bond also includes another $283 million for the renovation of 11 other Wake County schools during fiscal years 2020 and 2021.

The Observer reports that complete and partial renovations are planned at the following schools: Wiley Elementary, Stough Elementary, East Wake Middle, Conn Elementary, Fuquay-Varina High, Fuller Elementary, York Elementary, Swift Creek Elementary, West Millbrook Middle, Baucom Elementary and an unidentified middle school.

Such renovations would include the replacement of old equipment like HVACs in aging schools, technology upgrades, and land acquisition, according to .

The Observer also reports that about $89 million of the remainder of the school bond funding would go towards technology, infrastructure, and property management, with the remaining $36 million set aside for contingency and management.

Also included in the $1 billion bond, is $349 million set aside for construction projects at Wake Technical Community College. The Wake Tech bond, as it鈥檚 called, would fund about four years worth of construction projects on the college鈥檚 various campuses as part of the school鈥檚 2017-23 Capital Improvement Program.

According to Wake Tech鈥檚 , the bond funds will enable Wake Tech to expand to meet the growing demand for higher education and workforce training in Wake County.

The remaining $120 million of the $1 billion bond would go towards a parks bond, according to WRAL.com, that for the next six years would provide funding for the purchase of land for county parks and open spaces, and for the extension of greenways.

A public hearing on the bond proposals is scheduled for Aug. 6.

Reports from The News & Observer, and WRAL.com contributed to this story.

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The design and construction team of Chicago-based Wight & Company and Pepper Construction, also based in Chicago, joined students, parents, teachers, administrators and local officials to celebrate the groundbreaking.

“This school will be a tangible symbol of the community’s care and commitment to its children’s education,” said Leanne Meyer-Smith, vice president of architecture at Wight & Company, in a statement. “The aesthetic for the new Sunset Ridge School is very contextual to the neighborhood. We have incorporated elements and building materials that echo the warm, natural tones you see throughout the homes in Northfield.”

The centerpiece the new school’s design is a “village square” complete with performance and dining space and surrounded by “academic neighborhoods” that will be organized by grade level, physical education and music areas, according to Wight & Company. The design is intended to help foster a sense of unity. The building will also seek LEED certification, and will contain a library and learning center in the academic wing complete with a makerspace and science and language laboratories. Breakout rooms throughout will help facilitate individualized learning, and natural lighting will be used prominently throughout the interior spaces.

“We are thrilled to be embarking on a project of this stature that allows us to build a state-of-the art facility from the ground up,” said Superintendent Dr. Edward Stange in a statement. “The educational benefits to our students are outstanding and range from a much improved and larger gym facility, a dedicated theatre space and a variety of 21st century focused educational spaces. This new building will be an exceptional community asset for years to come.

“This is what we call ‘a future ready learning environment,’” Dr. Stange continued. “The process of learning in the school environment has evolved. It’s much more collaborative, interactive and technology-based, and this trend will continue, so we have to design learning spaces that can adapt to changing curriculum.”

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