Chancellor: reforms will result in less expensive school projects

Real Estate Weekly, Feb 26, 2003

Major reforms being enacted by the Bloomberg administration will result in more efficient and less expensive school construction projects, New York City Department of Education Chancellor Joel I. Klein told members of the real estate industry at the New York Building Congress meeting on Jan. 30.

The Chancellor said the goal of the Bloomberg administration is to bring down the cost of construction from its current $438 per SF to $325 per SF, adding, "I think, quite frankly, we can do much better than that. We all know there are ways to stimulate competition."

The school construction reforms outlined by Chancellor Klein include: merging the New York City School Construction Authority and the Department of Education's Division of School Facilities, which, prior to 2002, had overlapping responsibilities and little to no coordination; creating one clear line of authority and accountability in the city's school construction process, with a single entity overseeing all capital planning, budgeting and operations; reducing administrative overhead by decreasing headcount at the SCA by 50%.

As the Chancellor noted, "We would rather squeeze limited funds into school construction than the bureaucracy;" and promoting competition through streamlining the pre-qualification process, simplifying specifications and actively recruiting the City's best construction firms.

"The actions being taken by the Bloomberg administration will bring down school construction costs by creating accountability and increasing the number of competitive bidders engaged in the school construction

process," Klein said.

Chancellor Klein praised two of his colleagues, New York City School Construction Authority president and CEO William H. Goldstein and deputy chancellor Kathleen Grimm, for their work in streamlining and improving the school construction process.

He also noted that they have been meeting with prominent engineers, architects and other industry leaders to help find ways to make the process more attractive to the best and the brightest of the building community.

"The building community shares the Bloomberg administration's desire for a more efficient, cost-effective and competitive school construction process," said Building Congress president Richard T. Anderson. "We are encouraged by the mayor and Chancellor Klein's outreach to our members and look forward to further assisting them as they press for reform of the entire school system."