But the board declined to reveal what P. J. Dick would charge the district, in part because P. J. Dick has yet to sign off on the terms approved by the school board, said member James Fraasch.

"We've approved a proposal to them, but the documents we had in front of us were not signed by the company," Fraasch said. "When we get their signature on the agreement, then we'll release all the numbers and the terms."

Fraasch declined to give cost estimates for the work pending receipt of the signed contract from P. J. Dick.

The board met Oct. 2 to consider the contract offer. At the meeting, board members declined to share what they said was a contract "proposal" document with the public.

The other firm, URS, was just slightly higher in cost than P. J. Dick.

The contract is split into to parts with separate fees. One is a pre-construction schedule with a "cost not to exceed." The other is a monthly payment based on a 30-month timetable.

The board approved the proposal with P. J. Dick by an 8-0 vote. Board President Mark Hart was absent at the special meeting.

Resident Paula Bongiorno asked the board to reconsider approval of the construction manager at this time, saying serious problems in the national economy warrant suspension of the project. She also criticized the board for not revealing details of what the costs are for P. J. Dick.

"One can very easily get the impression things are going on behind closed doors, because you can't tell where the board is coming from, or what the costs are for this," Bongiorno said.

Two firms were sent contract proposals the first week in September. The board narrowed the list of construction managers to two: P. J. Dick and URS Corporation. URS is a national firm with a local office.

Rough construction-only estimates for a 440,000 square foot high school range between $80 million and $132 million. The difference in the estimates reflect renovation, partial renovation and a completely new facility.

Kerry Leonard from Celli-Flynn Brennan (CFB) said those figures do not include any architect or engineering fees, construction testing, furniture, fixtures, equipment or cost escalation.

The present 545,000 square-foot building on a 28-acre tract houses 1,912 students in grades 9 to 12. District administration is also located within the building.

School board member Dan Remely presented a new alternative for the high school renovation on Sept. 8. This alternative provides a new building, but retains the current auditorium and Fine Arts Theatre. The performance areas would still undergo renovation, but according to Remely, this option would eliminate close to 80,000 square feet of new construction costs.

The high school is comprised of a series of buildings which were added to the original 1928-1930 buildings with no real attempt to merge all into a uniform, flowing structure. Two additions were constructed in 1955. Three additions featuring fine arts were added in 1972.