FREEHOLD – The Freehold Borough K-8 School District Board of Education has authorized an increase of $85,199 in a contract for work on a construction project that will address the issue of student overcrowding in the district.
Board members recently approved a change order in a contract with Newport Construction for additions and alterations at the Freehold Learning Center elementary school, Dutch Lane Road. The change order is the second approved by the board.
The first change order, which totaled $266,467, increased the original $8.39 million contract to $8.65 million. The second change order will increase the contract to $8.74 million, according to the board.
A resolution passed by the board states that the change order is for materials and labor costs associated with remediating soft soils. According to the resolution, samples taken at the proposed site revealed soil in certain areas with saturation content unsuitable for the placement of a building pad and foundation.
When the issue was revealed to and assessed by district administrators in December, the construction manager, contractor, architect, structural engineer and geotechnical engineer determined it was necessary for a soil observer from geotechnical engineer’s firm to oversee the removal and replacement of saturated soil with stone, according to the resolution.
The first change order, which was also related to this issue, was for replacing the unforeseen and unsuitable soil with stone at the proposed site of the additions at the Freehold Learning Center.
Since then, the construction manager provided a progress update to board members and the architect notified the New Jersey Schools Development Authority of the necessity of the second change order.
One pending change order remained as of Aug. 21, according to the resolution, the total of which will be rendered when the project is completed.
The board is undertaking a $33 million construction project to expand the district’s three schools: the Freehold Learning Center; the Park Avenue Elementary School; and the Freehold Intermediate School, Park Avenue. The Park Avenue Elementary School and the Freehold Intermediate School share the same facility at the Park Avenue Complex.
From 2007-17, enrollment increased from 1,363 pupils to 1,700 pupils. The construction project will increase classroom space to 1,589 students, which will still leave the schools with an over-capacity of children, but will put less of a strain on classrooms, according to district administrators.
The construction project is scheduled to be completed by the end of the year.