$1 million in funding approved for overages at East Middle in Westminster
The Board of Carroll County Commissioners on Thursday unanimously approved the transfer of $1,015,000 to the Board of Education to pay for overages in the construction of the new East Middle School building in Westminster.
The overall project budget increased from the initially approved $65,869,168 to $66,884,168, according to Ted Zaleski, director of Management and Budget for the county. The largest extra expense was due to unexpected rock removal at the site where the new school’s bus loop and parking lot are to be constructed.
“Obviously the rock was the most significant thing, and somewhat of a surprise under the old building,” said Commissioners’ President Ken Kiler of District 2. “It’s very hard to have it investigated prior to construction.”
The rock’s existence was unknown when the school board approved the construction project to replace the 85-year-old school building on Longwell Avenue.
Robert Burk, chief financial officer for Carroll County Public Schools, said the Board of Education approved the budget transfer at its Dec. 13 meeting, and that the funding would come from leftover funds from other school projects. State law requires commissioners to approve school budget transfers, Burk said.
Jon O’Neal, the school system’s assistant superintendent of operations, said in an email Friday that the school board approved two items related to the East Middle project at the December meeting. One was a $600,000 change order for the removal of rock at the bus loop portion of the site. The second item was a Capital Improvement Program transfer of $1,015,000 for the middle school project, O’Neal said.
“The change order is specific to the cost of removing the rock itself,” he said. “The CIP transfer finalizes the entire project budget, so that includes the rock removal amount as well as other changes to the budget. Those included adjustments to general conditions in the contract and allowances for escalations in certain costs if the project extends beyond the term of the original contract due to the delay.”
The new, three-level 126,000 square-foot school building opened in September for a population of 790 students. Construction of the school’s bus loop and parking lot were not complete when the school opened and construction has been delayed due to the rock issue.
The former school building was 120,400 square feet and was constructed in 1936. It served for 35 years as Westminster High School, then nearly 50 years as a middle school, until it was closed in June. Additions were built in 1941, 1950 and 1964, and it was last renovated in 1976. The school system began construction on the East Middle School replacement project in November 2021.
