Full Plate for School Board: MacGregor Replacement, Ballot Measure, Rebuild of Marin & Ocean View

• Authorizing $2.25 million to replacing the soon-to-be-demolished MacGregor High School with long-lasting portables made from recycled shipping containers
• Authorizing $1.56 million for architectural plans for building new schools to replace Marin and Ocean View elementary schools
• Placing a measure on the June ballot next year asking voter permission to use revenues from Measure E for the portables at the MacGregor site

MacGregor High School replacement

District staff assessed six options for "portable" classrooms to replace out-of-code MacGregor High and provide added space for spillover from crowded Albany High and Albany Middle Schools.

The summary in the staff report show the options ranging in price from leasing 10 portables for $426,000 to purchasing 10 new Gen7 portables for $2.63 million.

The staff recommends purchasing eight GrowthPoint portable classrooms and one multi-purposed room, for $2.25 million – on condition that voters approve a June 2014 ballot measure to use Measure E funds for the project.

The GrowthPoint structures, which are recycled shipping containers, have several advantages, including a 50-year lifespan, potential to certified LEED Platinum (the highest green building rating) and ability to accommodate a future second story, according to the staff report prepared by Superintendent Marla Stephenson.

A second story would be needed if the district opts to follow the recommendation of the Facilities Master Plan Steering Committee to relocated the district offices to the MacGregor site, according to Stephenson's report.

The GrowthPoint structures "are the only portable that allows for adding a second story at a future date," the report says. "They meet the City and School District desires for sustainability and are Leed platinum attainable. They have the longest life span and can be easily moved to another site should the district desire to repurpose the site in the future."

Architect contracts for new Marin and Ocean View schools 

The district has re-introduced its recommendation that the contracts for architectural plans for rebuilding seismically deficient Marin and Ocean View schools be awarded to WLC Architects without going through the Request for Proposals (RFP) process.

The staff report prepared for the board's Dec. 10 meeting had recommended giving the contracts to WLC, but the recommendation was withdrawn at the request of Stephenson, who wanted to make sure that an RFP was not required, according to Paul Black, who was board president at the beginning of that meeting. (The board later elected Jonathan Knight as the new President.)

The contracts would be $719,909 for Marin and $844,380 for Ocean View, according to Stephenson's report. WLC has already been working with the district on its overall Facilities Master Plan, including options for addressing the seismic problems at Marin and Ocean View. 

The reason for the recommendation is "in order to approve proceeding with applying for seismic mitigation funding and financial hardship funding," according the staff report prepared by Stephenson for the Dec. 10 meeting.

The district lacks the necessary funds to rebuild the two schools and hopes to qualify for for state "seismic mitigation" funds and state financial hardship funds that could be used to bring the schools up to seismic code.

The estimated construction cost of a new Ocean View school is $25,147,418, and the cost of a new Marin school is $21,402,421, Stephenson told the board on Dec. 10.

New ballot measure

Also on the agenda is a proposal to ask voters next June for permission to use remaining revenues from Measure E for other capital improvements in the district, including the portables for the MacGregor High site.

Measure E, passed by voters in 2008, authorized $10 million in bonds for the now completed Albany city pool, which is located at the high school and owned by the school district.

Stephenson's report to the board on portables for MacGregor says the district has $3,414,943.00 in Measure E funds.

The board meeting will be held at Albany City Hall, with the public portion beginning at 7 p.m.

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