Middle school setback

By Hannah Wever
Review Staff Writer

Published: August 14, 2008

Construction of a new middle school at the county’s eastern end may be delayed until school officials find a new project manager.
The previous project manager, Harold “Fritz” Wolf, tendered his resignation in recently, according to Orange County School Board Chairman Jerry Bledsoe. Wolf worked with county and school officials before, Bledsoe added, on Orange County High School renovations several years ago. His resignation came as a surprise, Bledsoe said.
District 3 School Board Member Judy Carter said the school board agreed to hire Wolf as project manager at the beginning of June. Wolf accepted the position, Carter said, but notified officials he needed several weeks before he could start. But,Wolf told officials he didn’t want the job after all.
“We got an e-mail saying he doesn’t think we can get quality work within our time limit,“ Carter said. “I felt that was an excuse. My feeling is that if he doesn’t want to be there, I don’t want him there.“
Carter explained that the board has already begun the process of advertising for Wolf’s replacement.
“It may hold things up a little bit, but this is too big of a project not to do it the right way,“ Carter added.
According to the latest construction schedule, the project was set to go out for bid Aug. 18.
But officials are reluctant to advertise for bids without a new project manager on board working as a liaison between the county and the contractors.
At an Aug. 5 Orange County School Board meeting, school officials discussed how the unforeseen personnel change would affect the timetable for completion, and scheduled opening of the new middle school.
Inviting contractors to bid on the project without having a manager in place, officials agreed, would be negligent.
The unbiased opinion of a county-paid contractor to interpret architects’ and engineers’ plans and drawings is paramount, Orange County Schools Superintendent Dr. William Crawford said.
“I would feel better if we had someone who wasn’t paid to say a particular thing look at the drawings,“ Crawford said. “The system would save itself a lot of headaches by having someone who really knows about these projects.“
Moving forward without a manager, he added, is “having surgery without the second opinion.“
Until a new manager signs on, officials are reluctant to send the school construction project out for bids.
But Bledsoe said ultimately, the surprise personnel change shouldn’t delay the scheduled school opening by much.
It may be more realistic to expect the first middle-schoolers to walk through the doors in Jan. 2010, a few months later than the fall, 2009 opening school officials first projected.
Bledsoe said quality construction of the $50 million middle school was more important than adhering to what is now an unrealistic construction schedule.
“We’ll take quality construction over a ‘slapped-up’ building,“ Bledsoe said.
When the new middle school finally opens, school officials expect a reprieve of county-wide school overcrowding. Until then, educators, staff and students will remain in close quarters.
“We’ll have to be patient and get a few more trailers and be ready for growth in that area,“ Bledsoe said. “In the big picture, this is not going to set us back,“ he added.
Crawford said a replacement for Wolf could be on board in as soon as 30 days.
Carter said when the school board meets on Aug. 19, it will discuss the possibility of advertising simultaneously for construction bids and for a new project manager.