By JIM BUTLER

Back in September the School Board fired the firm managing the District 62 bond issue improvements in favor of finding a replacement, which evidently is easier said than done.

Today the board will instead consider continuing to use staff for that task, and pay them accordingly.

The agenda motion is to discuss and take action on allocation of bond funding for project oversight and reporting, allowing  staff to be compensated for documented work on bond activities above and beyond normal activities in lieu of hiring an outside project management firm, pending legal review.

The $100 million construction schedule has plenty left to manage.

Today’s agenda includes nine items related to the bond issue.

Standing out among them is changing the scope of field house construction at Peabody Magnet.

Catalyst for that is discovery that the existing locker room was constructed in a defined flood plain.

Revising the project to include locker room rebuild raises the project estimate by $1.5 million to $2.6 million. Cheaper alternatives are available but not recommended.

Additional funding is proposed from bond premiums and interest earned.