Lee district needs $13.9 million more to build Bonita Springs High School

Budget problems have hit Bonita Springs High School again, and this time staff are asking the Lee County School Board to up the project's allowance by $13.9 million.

This revelation is outlined in the board's briefing agenda for Tuesday. It's the second time in five months that staff have had to approach the board over money for the project.

In March, the board found the construction costs surged $14.9 million over its approved budget, requiring 400 student seats to be cut out of the school and pushing the project forward with "value” construction products and engineering services.

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Staff blamed a labor shortage, rising costs of building materials and tweaks to the school's design.

Those issues never were factored into the estimated costs for building the school, which the board approved with a construction price of about $49.9 million in April 2016.

As the project progressed on the 76-acre property, the district continued auditing the budget.

That's how the district found the nearly $15 million figure given in the spring was actually an "underestimation" of the issue, said school system spokeswoman Lauren Stillwell.

"Only after digging deeper into the numbers did we learn that the costs would be significantly higher than that, mainly due to the reasons above," she wrote in an email. "At the time we made changes to the design to bring the cost back in alignment with what the board approved, but now we know that wasn’t enough."

Staff say the total project will require a 19.7 percent increase in funding, bringing it up to more than $84.9 million. 

This is an increase of more than $13.9 million overall and breaks down to:

• A 24.5 percent increase in construction costs, or about $12.2 million more than currently set aside.
• A 37.1 percent increase in design services, or $835,300.
• A 29.5 percent increase in ancillary costs, which are not explained in the document. This brings this fund up by $541,500.
• A 3.2 percent increase related to land, which is an increase of $377,240.

The money being requested will help the district "complete all phases of the project," Stillwell said.

Board documents show that funding is available to complete the main school building, media center, offices, cafeteria, gym and campus roadways and parking lots.

What isn't funded are a theater and music classroom, a detached field house, concession stands, athletic bleachers and lighting.

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As part of the Tuesday presentation, the board will hear how staff have taken steps to make sure similar mistakes aren't made in the future.

"We have made changes to the process which follow best practices in the construction industry, and the leadership team will share those with the board during the Aug. 22 briefing," Stillwell said.

The first class of Bonita High students started their freshmen year in a portable campus at Estero High School last Thursday.

The district's goal is to have the school, off Imperial Parkway and Shangri-La Road, open for the first day of the 2018-19 school year. 

Stillwell said the updated budget will mean the school should still be completed on time.

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