School board to discuss options for administration building

Long Beach school district administrators and Board of Education trustees will go back to the drawing board next week, when they will again discuss options for how the new administration building will be built and funded.

The previous administration building, at 235 Lido Blvd., suffered extensive damage from Hurricane Sandy and was condemned. Throughout the last school year, the district and the board considered a number of options for both the reconstruction of the building and how it would be funded. In May, the district decided on a plan that would eliminate any cost to taxpayers. But now that the state has announced that it will cover 10 percent of the local share of storm recovery projects, the plan it had decided on may no longer be the most practical option.

In the spring, the district’s Chief Operating Officer, Michael DeVito, and architect Heather Fagans, presented a way for the district to use Federal Emergency Management Agency funds to cover the entire cost of the construction of a new building. Usually, FEMA would reimburse the district for 90 percent of the project. But for this project, FEMA also gave the district the option to receive an upfront payment of 90 percent of the anticipated cost. School officials said that by taking the FEMA award upfront, rather than as a reimbursement, they thought they would be able to make the project fit within the award budget, leaving no cost to the district. However, they said, there were some risks, adding that FEMA would not reimburse the district for any unforeseen costs — the district would only receive the initial agreed upon rate. The board eventually decided on taking the award upfront.

Now that that 10 percent local share will be covered by the state, DeVito and Fagans told board members at the Aug. 26 meeting that it may make more sense for the district to take the reimbursement option, to eliminate risk and allow for a larger budget. Additionally, the district originally chose to build using cheaper, modular construction to cut down on costs. But now, a traditional building method that would create a more durable building may be the better option, since the additional cost will be covered.

At last week’s meeting, DeVito and Fagans asked the board trustees to share their preference, as FEMA needed a decision soon, they said. However, the trustees said they could not make a decision without seeing their options detailed, and requested a presentation at the next meeting.

The next Board of Education meeting will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 9 at 7:30 p.m. at the Long Beach Middle School auditorium.