School district taking cue from TDOT?
Hamilton County Board of Education members approved a plan Thursday night that would allow the county to develop a school construction process similar to what TDOT is using on the local interstate project and elsewhere across the state.
Instead of separating the design and construction parts of a project, the county and the school district would work to find contractors who are involved in design and construction and work to keep a project within a guaranteed minimum price.
They also approved the district using up to $100,000 from its fund balance to hire architects for the next phase of school facilities projects. Doing so now will save time and money in the future since, barring unforeseen problems, the next seven projects already have been earmarked in a longer term general facilities plan determined in 2023.
Hamilton County Schools Superintendent Dr. Justin Robertson said the idea of securing the designers now is transparent and an effective use of funds, and we agree. A conservative government always should be looking at ways to be more efficient.