The Flossmoor School District 161 Board of Education discussed additional construction costs tied to ongoing HVAC work at three district buildings during its May 11 regular session before later returning from executive session and voting to table a proposed 2027 fee agreement with Wold Architects and Engineers until its next regular meeting.

“My confidence in you guys is extremely low,” board member Cameron Nelson told a representative of the firm after learning a change order calling for more steel supports will cost the district more than $135,000.

District documents stated the required reinforcing steel scope was omitted from the original bid documents approved by Wold, with the added costs expected to be incorporated into the district’s 2026-27 and 2027-28 budgets.

The proposed 2027 agreement would authorize Wold to complete architectural and engineering work tied to classroom refresh projects at Flossmoor Hills Elementary School and Western Avenue Elementary School. Work has been completed at the district office. District documents estimated the 2027 construction work would cost approximately $3.8 million. Wold’s proposed fees totaled $295,958, or 7.75% of the estimated construction cost.

Earlier in the regular session, Wold representatives were questioned by district board members who later approved a requested increase that doubled the 2026 structural steel costs from the original estimated $149,683 to an additional $135,473 tied to rooftop HVAC work at Flossmoor Hills, Western Avenue and the Normandy Villa district office. 

Associate Superintendent Frances LaBella told board members the district was seeking action because the HVAC units are scheduled to be installed in early June.

“We need to continue to get this moving,” LaBella said. “They’re scheduled to be put in at the beginning of June.”

Representatives from Wold acknowledged the steel reinforcement requirements were not included in the original bid package.

“That scope was omitted from the original bid documents,” said Michael Eichhorn who is the education practice leader for Wold. “It should have been in there.”

Several board members criticized the omission during the regular session discussion.

Nelson said repeated construction cost increases were creating frustration among taxpayers and the board.

“This creates no end of problems for us board members with respect to taxpayers because they watch these meetings,” Nelson said. “Every time you guys make this mistake, the community gets up in arms over cost overruns.”

Nelson also said his confidence in Wold had declined following multiple construction-related issues, including previous concerns surrounding humidity problems at district schools.

Later in the discussion, Nelson questioned why additional structural investigation had not been completed before the project was bid.

“I don’t understand how you’re going to bid out a project for structural steel,” Nelson said. “What I’m hearing is nobody ever actually looked at the steel” needed under the roofs to support the HVAC units.

Board President David Linnear also voiced frustration over what he described as repeated project mistakes.

“I don’t feel comfortable consistently, three times, bailing out mistakes,” Linnear said.

Board member Christina Vliestra said the district should have received a more comprehensive bid package before the work was approved.

“That’s a lot of money to come back and ask for when this is something that could have been addressed,” Vliestra said.

The board voted to table the proposed 2027 Wold fee agreement until the board’s next regular meeting.