From the Office of the Superintendent:

The Board of Trustees at White Oak ISD met at 6 pm Monday, March 26, 2018.
Members in attendance to establish a quorum were David Carr, Eric Swanson, Dr.
David Ummel and Colonel Randall Smith. The posted agenda for the meeting
contained two action items to be considered by the members.
 The board took action to approve the payment of $490,255.03 to the
district’s Construction Manager, Jackson Construction. It is the second
payment for services and work completed and in progress to date. The
motion to approve the payment was made by Eric Swanson and seconded by
David Ummel. The motion was approved by a vote of four in favor, zero
opposed and three members not present.
 The board also took action to approve Jackson Construction’s presentation
for the Guaranteed Maximum Price for the work to be done at the
Primary/Intermediate Campus. The motion to approve the GMP of
$1,694,560 (presented as option 2) was made by Colonel Randall Smith,
seconded by David Ummel. The motion was approved by a vote of four in
favor, zero opposed and three not present. Option two includes the
completion of all roof replacement work and the installation of all new HVAC
Air Handlers. The plan also calls for the use of materials to mitigate the water
leaks around the windows until they can be permanently repaired in the
summer of 2019.
Discussion concerning the GMP for the Primary/Intermediate included two options
for the members of the board to consider. Option 1 included an additional scope of
work to include the removal of all the insulated siding (walls) and replacing that
siding with a new metal stud wall construction including new metal paneling and
windows. The need for the replacement of the paneling was determined after the
bond election had been approved.
Option 1 was not selected by the board or recommended by Superintendent Michael
Gilbert due to the extra cost ($1.1 million) and lack of time to complete the work
before the start of the 2018/2019 school year. Here are the talking points discussed
before the vote on a GMP:
 The inclusion of the wall and window project cannot be completed before the
start of next school year. Delaying the start of school and/or trying to
complete construction with students in the building is not safe.
 Postponing the replacement of the panels and windows will allow Huckabee,
Jackson and the district time to fully research the best long-term solution to
the water intrusion problem and will give an appropriate amount of time to
complete the work without disrupting the instructional day.
 Approval of Option 2 will not put the district in a position to go over the
budget for the total project. The targeted construction budget was set at
$13,167,643. This is the money to be spent directly on the projects listed in
the bond proposal. With Option 2 in place, the construction budget is set at
$13,862,643. That is $695,000 (11.4%) above the target budget but well

within the overall budget of the project including contingency funds that are
in place for the contractor and the district. This scope of work will not cause
the district to use general fund balance dollars to complete the project.
 All projects approved by the voters of White Oak ISD will be completed and
will be within the scope of the $19,005,000 budget. With the approval of
Option 2 at the Primary/Intermediate campus, all projects (district-wide) will
be complete by the end of August 2018 with the exception of the window
replacement. That project will be completed in the summer of 2019 due to
time constraints and additional scope that needs to be fully researched.
Replacing the windows without addressing the failing panels would be
extremely irresponsible and not in the best interest of the taxpayers.
I hope this information is helpful in clearing up any confusion in the community.
Unfortunately, inaccurate information has been released that is at best, misleading
and intentionally deceiving at worst. The district has been completely transparent in
our efforts to communicate accurate information.
Any attempts to report that the board is not going to complete projects due to going
over budget in another area of the bond project is false and should not be taken
seriously. The Board of Trustees and I have worked for many years to build and
maintain a level of public trust in our efforts to make the best decisions possible to
provide a safe, relevant and challenging educational experience for all the students.
It is our hope that you can see that level of commitment and support the efforts of
this leadership team.