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ORANGE COUNTY
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT
Meeting Date: March 22, 2016
Action Agenda
Item No. 7-a
SUBJECT: Consideration of a Third Party Analysis to Prioritize School Capital Projects
DEPARTMENT: County Manager
ATTACHMENT(S):
None
INFORMATION CONTACT:
Bonnie Hammersley, County Manager
919-245-2306
Travis Myren, Deputy County Manager
919-245-2308
PURPOSE: To authorize staff to proceed with the solicitation of a consultant to conduct a
comparative analysis of school facility needs and to prioritize those needs based on standard
criteria.
BACKGROUND: During the September 29, 2015 joint meeting of the Board of County
Commissioners, the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Board of Education, and the Orange County Board of
Education, the Boards discussed the possibility of the County engaging a third party consultant
to compare and prioritize the capital needs of both districts. Since that time, no final decision
has been made by the Board of Commissioners about whether to proceed with this type of
analysis.
During the joint meeting, staff from each of the school districts presented facility improvement
needs. These needs were based on comprehensive facility assessments conducted by
architectural firms. The assessments focused on repairs, renovations, and upgrades of existing
school facilities. The Chapel Hill-Carrboro analysis included the District’s ten oldest schools
while the Orange County Schools analysis studied all of the District’s facilities. The combined
cost of the recommended improvements totaled approximately $330 million.
Since the total cost of the recommendations exceeds the amount of funding contemplated by
the bond referendum for school facility improvements, the Boards discussed whether the County
should hire a third party consultant to prioritize projects. The consultant would review the facility
assessments prepared on behalf of each of the school districts and would apply a set of
standard criteria to rank and prioritize those projects. The criteria would include life, health, and
safety needs, security needs, sequencing based on operational needs, and structural and
mechanical needs. This process would establish an empirical element to the consideration of
capital projects and may help inform the Board of Commissioners’ deliberations on how to apply
the proceeds of a bond referendum and other Capital Budget and Capital Investment Plan
funds.