The board likes the plans, too, and puts them out to bid. The low bidder says the cost cannot be reduced 20 percent without losing 15 classrooms. The architect says the plans just included what the staff wanted, costs have been going up, contractors have plenty of work to do, and, besides, no architect can guarantee what contractor bids will be. The local newspaper is calling for an investigation. In 25 years of facilities planning, I've seen plenty of cost overruns in school construction projects, and there's usually plenty of blame to go around.
Most districts build almost blindly, without a long-range comprehensive plan.
School boards are often unrealistic about construction budgets, expecting to get work today at prices the district paid yesterday for buildings that didn't have many of the snazzy new features. But even the best-laid plans can be derailed by failing to select an appropriate architect or by failing to work with the architect through the design process. The right architect can make the difference between a building project that goes relatively smoothly and one that goes seriously awry. Let's give other firms a chance. Typically, these construction-management firms guarantee the price of the final product and provide reasonable assurance of staying on a tight schedule from the first steps of design to the opening of school.