Building Trades News

4-Year School Construction Largest in US History

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The new schools are a part of LAUSD’s overall plan to provide approximately 180,000 new school seats throughout the District in order to end severe overcrowding. Additionally, 1,773 projects renovation and modernization projects were started in 2006 with a projected cost at completion of just under $340 million dollars.

The massive $19.3 billion School Construction and Renovation Program accomplished tremendous milestones during the last four years—65 new schools, 22 early education centers, 41 existing school additions, and over 14,483 renovation projects, none of which could have been accomplished without the hard work and skilled labor of the Los Angeles and Orange Counties Building Trades Council. The Los Angeles Unified School District and the Building Trades are partnering on the largest single school district building program ever undertaken in the United States. The work in being performed under a Project Labor Agreement that was negotiated between LAUSD and the LA/OC Building Trades Council and craft unions in 1998.

"Our partnership with the Building Trades has been critical. Last year we opened 60,000 new seats to help alleviate our crowded classrooms. That took a lot of hard work from Building Trades members," said Guy Mehula, Chief Facilities Executive for Los Angeles Unified School District.

At the close of 2006, the New School Construction Program delivered approximately 180,000 two-semester classroom seats at a total of more than $11.7 billion. The program is funded primarily by state and local bonds passed by voters. Voters recognized the need for better and additional schools and approved the issue of bonds to address this need for additional seats.

"The success of LAUSD’s school construction program speaks volumes about the great partnership between the Building Trades, our Union contractors, workforce and LAUSD. Our members are working hard to build modern school facilities for students in the district," said Richard Slawson, Executive-Secretary of the LA/OC BCTC.

The construction program is composed of four phases that generally correspond to the school building plan defined in the four local bonds. Phase I projects are targeted for completion by 2008; Phase II projects are targeted for completion by 2010; and Phase III and IV projects by 2012.

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One of the keys to the success of this historic construction program has been the PLA between LAUSD and the Building Trades crafts. "The PLA has been one of the keys to the success of the School Construction and Renovation Program. The Project Labor Agreement has been a critical part of our efforts to keeping the construction money in the community through local hires and hiring local, small contractors," said Mehula.

In addition to the funding for K-12 schools, the New School Construction Program also includes over $180 million for the expansion of charter schools, early childhood education centers and funding for joint use opportunities in conjunction with financial contributions from partner organizations.

According LAUSD, a number of projects stood out last year for the craftsmanship and efficiency of Building Trades members. These included the Miguel Contreras Learning Complex, a, a sophisticated urban campus featuring small learning communities, new tech classrooms and Olympic class athletic facilities. The project was delivered on time despite demanding site conditions and the wettest winter on record. "This was a superb example of construction partnering at its best, with a strong collaborative effort by the District, the Contractor and a host of outside agencies," said LAUSD officials.

The Frank Del Omo Elementary School Received the CMAA Southern California Chapter 2007 Project Achievement Award. This was a particularly difficult project due to unforeseen site conditions, the incorporation of post-contract award site program changes, and a very wet winter, said officials. Some of the issues included significant geotechnical work to offset unusually wet and unstable soil conditions on site; incorporating a City-required comprehensive structural concrete retaining wall system to support a reconfigured City alleyway along the property line; and incorporating site program changes involving rearranging the entire playground area and incorporating an additional area for emergency and maintenance containers.

This will be yet another busy year with $1.4 billion expected to be spent on the new construction program in 2007. Construction on six new schools is scheduled to begin this year; three new schools will be opened, but there is still plenty of work left to do according to Mehula. "The biggest challenge to accomplishing our goal of returning all of our children to a traditional two-semester calendar in schools near their homes is having enough contractors and labor capacity to do the jobs we need to. Our partnership with the Building Trades has been critical in getting the job done."