Southwest Marion high school project is $29 million over budget

File photo: Meeting of the Marion County Public School Board in Ocala on Tuesday, March 28, 2023. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2023.

Recent estimates show that the new southwest Marion County high school project is more than $29 million over budget, caused in part by a delay from the school board’s debate over choosing a contractor during the botched procurement process.

The total anticipated costs for High School “CCC” have racked up to $164,777,011, $153,930,244 of which consists of construction costs, said Ivonne Bumbach, interim director of facilities for Marion County Public Schools.

The available funds for the project are $135,585,439, leaving the district over $29 million short after changes to the school’s design, delays in starting construction, and cost escalations.

“I anticipate that we still need $91 million to finish the project as it is designed today. That means we are right now $29 million short,” Bumbach told the Marion County School Board at its Nov. 21 work session.

No increase will be seen for the contract with Wharton-Smith Inc. construction, which was negotiated for $130,000,000 with a fee of $5.2 million.

“How did we get to this increase? That original budget was based on a smaller school. We were probably anticipating 275,000 square feet for that high school,” Bumbach said. “Right now, the school is designed for 310,000 square feet. So, we increased the square footage of the school by 35,000 square feet.”

Adding square footage to the school cost a price increase of $14 million.

In addition to adding square footage to the school, cost increases are being attributed to the need to relocate gopher tortoises—a protected species in Florida–that live on the property, the accelerated timeline for opening, the construction of a shelter and projected regional and national material cost escalation.

The delay in choosing contractor for the high school caused a cost escalation of about $5 million. The accelerated timeline for opening the school, considering subcontractor overtime, costs about $9.3 million. The construction of a shelter at the school is estimated to cost about $2 million.

“We also had a little bit delay of the construction manager selection, around five months,” Bumbach said. “We couldn’t start breaking ground, that delayed it another month. If we look at that, that’s probably almost $5 million because of the cost escalation. I did that percentage based on that cost escalation fee of 7.5% for six months.”

A cost increase is usually expected every January, and construction firms already are sending out letters to contractors that they are anticipating pricing to go up, Bumbach said.

In April, a district selection committee chose Wharton–Smith Inc. as the winning bidder for the project. In the days and weeks following, a competing firm—Ausley Construction—and School Board member Sarah James were accused of tampering with the procurement process by violating the “cone of silence” policy. They also were accused of issuing threats to school district staff, another board member, and Superintendent Diane Gullett. An external investigation by the GrayRobinson law firm substantiated the allegations. The contract was eventually awarded to Wharton-Smith in July.

So, rather than breaking ground in July as originally anticipated, the groundbreaking will be held on Dec. 16.

“The outcome has been a fiscal disaster, something that the school board should be ashamed of themselves,” said school board member Nancy Thrower.

The investigation over the procurement process revealed that threats were made by AusleyConstruction, including toward Thrower’s husband, and also insinuating that the school district’s half-penny sales tax referendum on the November ballot would be jeopardized if Ausley was not awarded the bid.

“It is just unconscionable that not only did that occur, but then it extended to, I think, every school board member sitting up here feeling under tremendous pressure, that half-penny sales tax could have been jeopardized, and the direct threats that were made,” Thrower said.

Voters approved the school district’s half-cent sales tax measure during the general election last month, in addition to approving an extension of the county’s penny sales tax to fund infrastructure and public safety.

The school half-cent sales tax has been a revenue generator for the district in the past, from January 2005 through December 2009. Levying the tax generated over $111 million in revenue and helped to fund the construction of four schools: Horizon Academy at Marion Oaks, Legacy Elementary School, Liberty Middle School and Marion Oaks Elementary School, according to MCPS.

The school district has a $330 million certificate of participation loan to pay for two new elementary schools, the new high school, the new Lake Weir Middle School, a wing at Liberty Middle School, a wing at Hammett Bowen Elementary, a wing at Marion Oaks Elementary, a wing at Horizon Academy, and the replacement of the Osceola gym. The debt service will be paid by the capital outlay budget, which is now being supplemented by school impact fees and the half-cent sales tax.

The new high school is anticipated to open in August 2026 with a capacity of 2,011 students but could eventually house 2,711 students once the third floor is completed.

It was suggested to cut costs by building the third floor, but not finishing it out. This option would accommodate growth by adding classrooms later, Bumbach said.

The school will house 61 classrooms, 20 labs, three building complexes, enhanced security features and minimal entry points, an administrative building, first-floor office areas, a second-story media center, a full-service cafeteria, art and music suites, a performing arts auditorium, 867 parking spaces, a gymnasium, an athletic stadium for football and track and field; and playing fields for baseball, basketball, beach volleyball, soccer, softball, and tennis.