JSCB Meeting - June 25, 2026: Bond Refunding, Nottingham Project Update, and Diversity Compliance Report
JSCB Meeting - June 25, 2026
The Joint School Construction Board (JSCB) met on June 25, 2026, to receive reports on financial activities, project progress, and diversity compliance, and to authorize payments and a change order. The board also entered executive session for legal discussions on the project labor agreement and the Elms contract closeout.
Consent Calendar
- Acceptance of Minutes: The board approved the minutes from May 21, 2026. (Unanimous)
- Resolution 14‑2026 – Monthly Payments to Contractors: Authorized monthly payments to all JSCB contractors, including the Program Manager, at a cost not to exceed the specified amount. (Moved, seconded, all in favor)
- Change Order for Elms Close‑out: Approved a change order of $135,000 to close out the Expeditionary Learning School (Elms) project, finalizing Phase II. (Unanimous)
Reports
Secretary’s Report
- Audit: The city and school district are engaging the Bonadio Group for the annual audit; the JSCB’s audit will be a separate report in November.
- Bond Refunding: The JSCB successfully closed on a bond refunding on June 17, 2026, saving approximately $5 million. A similar refunding is planned for 2027 if market conditions remain favorable.
- Executive Session: The board was informed of two legal items requiring executive session: the Elms close‑out and negotiations on the Project Labor Agreement (PLA).
Program Manager’s Report
- Nottingham Project Timeline: Schematic design documents were received from the Nottingham team. The construction manager will perform an estimate, and the package will be submitted to the State Education Department (SED) by late July/early August (on schedule). Design development submission is planned for November 2026, construction documents in Q2 2027, and bid/construction start in Q3 2027.
- Public Input: Three public input sessions were held at the three “A” buildings (Webster, CMOR, Nottingham). Feedback was generally positive; concerns about traffic flow at Webster (kitchen/cafeteria) and at CMOR (drop‑off/dismissal) were noted and will be addressed in designs. Another input session is planned for September 2026.
- CM Services: A kickoff meeting was held, and monthly meetings with SED continue.
Diversity Officer’s Report (Sherelle Pace, Assistant Director, Division of Equity Compliance and Social Impact, City of Syracuse)
- Overview: Ms. Pace described her office's support for the project’s diversity plan, including reviewing the plan, workforce training, and procurement compliance. All utilization plans for professional services (PM, A/E, CM) have met or exceeded the 30% MWBE goal.
- Workforce Training: Conversations focus on creating a direct pipeline from training programs to project employment, rather than only increasing the pool of trained individuals.
- EEO Data (Hours):
- Total hours to date: 871,000 (corrected from initial misstatement of 104,8007).
- Minority hours: 18,544 (17.68% vs. 18% goal).
- Women hours: 15,359,000 (15,359 hours? The transcript says "15,359,000 hours" but context suggests 15,359 hours – likely a recording error; reported as 14.65% vs. 12% goal).
- City of Syracuse resident hours: 18,866 (17.99% vs. 20% goal).
- Syracuse City School District (SCSD) resident hours: 15,743 (15.01% vs. 2% goal – well above target).
- Utilization Data (Dollars): Approved payment applications were used; for firms with approved pay apps, actual payments to MWBE subcontractors were reported. Some firms had N/A due to no payment applications yet. The board requested headcount data in addition to hours.
- Discussion on SCSD CTE Programs: A board member suggested leveraging current Career and Technical Education (CTE) students as a pipeline for internships and future employment on the project. The district will provide contact information to start that conversation.
Key Outcomes
- Bond Refunding: Completed with $5 million savings; second refunding planned for 2027.
- Project Schedule: Nottingham project remains on track; public input incorporated.
- Diversity Compliance: Met or exceeded goals in multiple categories; reporting will be expanded to include headcount and more detail as construction begins. An independent compliance officer will be brought in during the construction phase.
- Executive Session: The board moved into executive session (after open‑session items) to discuss legal matters regarding the PLA and Elms close‑out. They returned to open session to approve the change order.
- Next Meeting: Likely to include further reports on the PLA and diversity progress.
Meeting Transcript
I would uh first on the agenda is acceptance of the May twenty-first twenty twenty-six minutes. So moved all in favor? So moved. Report of the secretary. Yes, good morning, Mayor and board members. Um I'd like to report that the city and the school district are in the process of engaging the Bonadio group to do the annual audit. Uh the JSCB is a comp what's called a component unit of the school district. So it's folded into that that overall audit. But there's a separate, it'll be a separate report to the JSB board, which typically takes place in November. Okay. So that'll be a coming attraction, but um they'll be um engaged to begin that work. Thank you. Uh second item, as I reported by email, we successfully closed on the JSB bond refunding on June 17th, which I believe will bring a savings of approximately five million dollars to the district. And um, after the financial folks reviewed current market conditions, we're looking forward to doing a similar refunding in twenty twenty-seven. Uh that's when the next round of bonds have what's called a callable date where we can call in the old bonds and replace them with new bonds. And if interest rates remain favorable, we can uh do it again next year. Awesome. That's good news. And um finally, uh we have um our PLA attorney here, Andrew Bobrok. Um suggest we go into executive session at the end of our uh reporting different reports um to talk first about this a illegal issue with number six, the elms close out that I can brief the board on. And then uh as we've talked about, we want to uh have a legal discussion about the PLA as we begin negotiations with the trade unions. Okay. Any questions? All in favor of do I have to get away for you? No, we ask you that every single moment. Always good to ask. Never heard Stask and uh no we just move on to the report of the program manager. Thank you. Uh, earlier this week, we did receive schematic design documents from the Nottingham team. Uh Webster. So excuse me. The um construction manager then will perform an estimate. We'll reconcile that, and then we'll put together the package that goes to state ed for review and approval as part of the special legislation. We anticipate that being near the end of July, early August. Which is right on schedule. Um you mind moving your mic up just a little bit then. Something is hovering over my head. Were you able to hear everything? Yes, okay. That's much better. Um and then beyond that, we roll into design development documents, and we anticipate that submission to SED in November. And then after that comes the construction document submission, we anticipate that being quarter two of 27. Still on track to uh bid and award and start construction third quarter of 27. Um CM services, we uh conducted a kickoff meeting with them uh moving forward, which is good. Um we continue to meet with state ed at a monthly basis just to talk about uh any uh issues that arise code wise and/or aid. So those meetings will continue, which is good. And then as Joe mentioned, uh we're continuing interior or internal discussions on PLA. Uh the contract for the CM services, this is across the entire just for the first three buildings. Thank you. Okay, and we're calling those the three A buildings.
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