VISTA
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Mission Vista High Schools, a long-planned dual magnet high school campus in east Oceanside, is back on track.
Trustees of the Vista Unified School District have approved a revised contract with builder Edge Development to complete the $97 million project.
The school district and Edge had been negotiating for several weeks to find a way to keep escalating costs under control while completing the project by summer 2009.
The two parties agreed on a contract price of $54,942,395. The cost of the land, architecture and permitting fees, and several modular classroom buildings have been covered under separate contracts.
Rising construction costs, changes to the school's plan and several additions have pushed the cost of the school up – increasing the contract price from about $47 million two years ago.
The negotiations reduced the latest cost estimates by nearly $2.5 million to arrive at a guaranteed maximum price of $54.9 million.
The new contract will allow Edge to build a permanent administration building, a portion of the project that had been put on hold.
The district will delay building a food service building. At Thursday's board meeting, the district's chief business officer, Donna Caperton, said she believed the district would have enough money remaining at the end of the project to build it.
The school board approved the new contract on a split vote Thursday. Trustee Jim Gibson reiterated his opposition to building a school at the site – on about 42 acres on state Route 76 at Melrose Drive. Gibson had wanted the district to build the school at the former Lincoln Middle School campus in downtown Vista. But at Thursday's meeting, he thanked the district and Edge Development for working together on a new contract.
Trustee Stephen Guffanti, who was absent and didn't vote, submitted a letter to the board reiterating his opposition to the site.
Mission Vista High, the largest project funded by a $140 million bond measure that voters approved in 2002, will be divided into two academies – one specializing in the arts and communication, and the other specializing in science and technology.
The campus will include a performing arts center, an arts and music center, a science and technology center and a gym.
The school is intended to alleviate severe overcrowding at Vista and Rancho Buena Vista high schools.
“This project has been difficult from the beginning, and it's partly because it's a huge undertaking and it's very complicated,” Trustee David Hubbard said. “And while all of this is going on, we've dealt with market fluctuations which tend to stress everyone out.
“The only thing that has remained constant is the upward drift of materials costs.”
Hubbard said he was eager for progress.
“I just want to get people out there working,” he said. “It's nice to see a wonderfully graded piece of land, (but) we need to start putting buildings on it.”
Bruce Lieberman: (760) 476-8205; bruce.lieberman@uniontrib.com
