School construction plans hit with delays

San Carlos and Burlingame educators continue grappling with their challenges, while South San Francisco Unified School District administrators are celebrating the near completion of a project which has long been a thorn in their side.

Buri Buri Elementary School in South San Francisco

Builders are in the last phase of constructing a new Buri Buri Elementary School, but not before the problematic project generated a series of lawsuits and community concerns.

Crews are still finishing modular classrooms at the school, but a new library and multipurpose room are completed, along with a student quad and parking lot for teachers. The only lingering issue remaining is a new athletic field, said Ryan Sebers, spokesman for the South San Francisco Unified School District.

Following years of challenges posed during the construction process, Sebers expressed appreciation for the project moving ahead.

“The district is proud of the new Buri Buri campus and we thank students, parents, staff and our neighbors for their patience in completing the work,” he said in an email.

The project was slated to start in 2013 and finish two years later, but a waylaid construction schedule and a variety of financial issues postponed completion.

The building may soon be culminating, but a legal battle remains. District officials and a former building partner took their differences to court late last year due to a disagreement over legal and monetary responsibility for the troubled campus construction program.

USS Cal Builders claims the district owes the construction company $25 million in unpaid dues, while officials maintain their decision to fire the builder was justified.

South San Francisco officials parted ways with the firm following claims of shoddy craftsmanship, numerous project delays and continued unresponsiveness to concerns expressed by school officials, among other issues.

The lawsuit follows a variety of claims issued by nearby residents neighboring the campus who claimed ongoing construction vibration caused damage to their property. Financing for the project was provided by the $162 million Measure J bond, approved in 2010 and found in 2015 to have been overdrawn to the tune of nearly $11 million.

Roosevelt and Washington Elementary schools in Burlingame

South San Francisco educators are not the only ones to face monetary hurdles while attempting to build a new campus, as Burlingame school officials recently amended plans for rebuilding two new schools due to budget constraints.

The Burlingame Elementary School District Board of Trustees approved last month cost reductions in their plan to build new classrooms at Roosevelt and Washington Elementary schools.

The plan unanimously approved by the board seeks to remove covered walkways, shade structures and overhangs from the campus building plans, among a variety of other plan changes designed to cut project costs.

Superintendent Maggie MacIsaac said the decision stems from rising development costs facing the district, as the construction program’s price tag has doubled since its initial proposal.

“It’s very frustrating,” said MacIsaac. “It’s very difficult.”

The district is now expecting to pay $16 million for the work, which MacIsaac said is due primarily to the affordability crisis spreading throughout the Bay Area.

The cost of living and doing business locally is causing issues not only for school districts or public agencies seeking to build projects but residents and private corporations as well.

“Anyone who is trying to do any kind of construction work can’t find the people, and when you do they charge you so much more than you really expected,” she said.

Though the development cost increases are not unique to Burlingame, MacIsaac said the district does face unusual circumstances when considering its school construction plans. Unlike districts experiencing a shrinking enrollment — due to residents leaving in favor of cheaper housing markets — Burlingame’s student body is growing, said MacIsaac.

Despite the budget hurdles, MacIsaac said school community members were largely supportive of officials’ amended vision, in recognition of the challenges facing so many locally.

“The circumstances that have contributed to this are under no one’s control,” she said.

Charter Learning Center, Tierra Linda Middle and Mariposa school in San Carlos

While there may be no one to blame for the issues in Burlingame, San Carlos Elementary School District officials have pointed their finger at a modular classroom builder for the holdups in a struggling school construction project.

GrowthPoint Structures, hired by the district to place converted storage containers at the Charter Learning Center campus, missed its initial delivery date last year, setting off a series of delays in completing the campus housing three schools.

Since the problems were announced last year, Chief Operating Officer Robert Porter said progress has been made and the learning center project is expected to be completed in time for all students to occupy at the start of next school year.

Those students will not be joined on the new campus by the fourth-graders at Mariposa School, who are expected to stay on their home campuses at Arundel and Heather elementary schools for the entire 2018-2019 school year while construction continues on their classrooms.

Fourth-graders were slated to move into makeshift classrooms constructed in the school library, until the unconventional plan raised concerns among parents who preferred their students stay at their home campus until the new school is complete.

Fifth-graders and administrators at Mariposa School are slated to move into buildings occupied by Charter Learning Center students, once their campus is completed.

Despite the delays generated by GrowthPoint, Porter said officials have not filed a claim against the company. Porter estimated last year the project is roughly $5 million over its initial budget.

austin@smdailyjournal.com

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