MUSD choosing construction personnel for 2nd high school

Important decisions for its second high school come before the Maricopa Unified School District Governing Board this week.

The board could hire an architect and construction manager as well as a project manager for the construction of another school to alleviate an over-capacity situation at Maricopa High School. Those items are on Wednesday’s consent agenda.

Also on the agenda, albeit under executive session, is the selection of a school site. District spokesperson Mishell Terry said that information is “not quite ready” to be made public.

MUSD created a selection committee of qualified people to make the recommendation for construction manager at risk and architect/engineer. By policy, at least one member was a senior management employee of a licensed contractor and one was an architect or engineer.

The committee reviewed the proposals that resulted from the request for qualifications and made a short list of finalists before forwarding a final recommendation to the board. While those recommendations are not yet public, the administration is asking the board to approve Facilities Management Group as the project manager.

FMG has been a guiding force for the district on its expansion for more than a year.

The construction personnel and the site are to be paid for with state School Facilities Board funds. The MUSD board is to consider the recommendation from its Land Selection Committee regarding an appropriate site for another high school and then authorize the negotiation with the owner of the property.

Last year, SFB earmarked $22.3 million plus funds for up to 40 acres for the project.

The board meets at 6:30 p.m.