Walking through the halls of Stone Hill Middle School it is possible to envision the students that will fill them this fall. Even through the dust and insulation, construction equipment and empty rooms, it is easy to see students opening lockers, entering classrooms or calling to one another.
Stone Hill Middle School is set for completion this spring, in plenty of time for the new school year, but the road from an empty plot of land to a school is a long one.
"This school has been built on a pretty typical schedule," Sam Adamo, director of planning and legislative services for Loudoun County Public Schools, said.
Even with a typical schedule, however, school construction in the county is a complicated process. With four new schools opening this year, three elementary and one middle school, and new schools on the schedule every year for the next several years, school construction has become one of the hot-button issues for parents, residents, supervisors and members of the school system.
MANY OF THE school sites are given to the county as proffers from developers' land-use applications. Stone Hill Middle School was one of the proffered sites from Loudoun Valley Estates.
"It was a public-use site that we were able to get dibs on for a school," Adamo said.
Once a site has been located, the school system opens the construction up to contractors for bids.
"We are a design, bid and build procurement entity," Kevin Lewis, director of construction for the public schools, said. "The low bid that is responsible and responsive is who we will go with."
While any company can bid to build one the county's schools, contractors are required to have a Loudoun County business license and Class A state of Virginia contractor license. The county does have a cost estimate for new schools, Lewis said, and if all of the bids received from contractors exceed the estimation, the county will negotiate with the lowest bidder.
"We have seen that happen in the past," he said. "If negotiations with the lowest bidder do not work, we will go on to the next lowest."
ONCE A BID is approved by the School Board, the county puts together performance and payment bonds, which are insurance policies for the county, Lewis said.
"With a performance bond, if a contractor was to go into default on their contract, then an insurance company would come in and finish," he said.
Most of the jobs on a school construction site are handled by subcontractors, such as electricians, plumbers, excavators, heating, ventilation and air conditioning companies.
"The payment bonds ensure that the subcontractors get paid for the work that they do," Lewis said.
AFTER A contractor is awarded a project by the School Board, the county monitors the construction process through architects, project managers and even new principals.
"When we start a new project a project manager is assigned," Adamo said. "They make sure the plans and the contract specifications are executed correctly."
The county's handful of project managers are on the construction site every day and can act as a liaison between the contractor and the county staff.
Stone Hill Middle School Principal Rodney Moore said he makes regular trips out to the job site to tour the building.
"I come out here and talk to the supervisor and the project manager," he said. "So I can learn what is going on, ask questions."
AS WELL AS constant on-site supervision, as a project moves forward monthly meetings are set up to track the process. While the project manager will meet with the contractor to discuss any technical issues, the school's new principal will meet with representatives from the department of construction and planning for updates.
"We talk about the completion date, concerns anyone may have, such as does the space meet the needs of the school," Moore said. "We'll also discuss any questions that came from the community, like questions about playing fields."
With so many different aspects to school construction, it is important to have people who are actively involved in the project's day-to-day operations.
"There are many ways to keep an eye on the quality on construction and making sure we get what we are paying for," Lewis said.