On Budget…

After a 3-meeting, 7.5-hour Value Engineering (VE) process, the project remains on budget!

As anyone who’s done a major renovation knows, a construction project is a nearly continuous stream of choices and decisions. Things begin with big decisions like size, scope, and scale, and end with small ones like: Which knobs to put on the cabinets? Each choice has a range of options & tradeoffs, almost always at different budget points (some of us may remember “Good,” “Better” and “Best” rankings in the Sears catalog).

To keep the school on budget, the SBC considered well over 100 items spanning every aspect of the project. For example: Should we have phenolic (composite resin) lockers, as was proposed in the design, or choose metal lockers, which are very durable and less expensive? The SBC made the choice to go with metal hallway lockers, which is a good alternative and saved $134,550. Making these kinds of choices allowed the committee to ensure that the project is entirely within budget. To see the slides that accompanied the discussion, click here.

The Modulars are Arriving!

How is the project a learning opportunity? Check out this drawing by a Lincoln School 1st grade student who was very proud of his drawing because he “used real shapes.”

First-Hand Scientific Observation + Geometry + Drawing + Writing + Feeling Connected to Your Work = Authentic Learning! Thanks for sharing your drawing, Graeme!

Next SBC Meeting: Wednesday, September 25th, 7:00pm, Hartwell multipurpose room.