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Refuting Allegations

As its response to the recent letter of Thomas Lamberti, the board of education refutes those allegations of "unwise and unlawful expenditures of taxpayer monies." Mr. Lamberti has omitted important and relevant facts and has put forth allegations which are inaccurate.

J. Michael Orifici & Associates commenced assisting the school district with bond and non-bond activities in March 1997. On March 17, the board passed a resolution that approved the appointment of J. Michael Orifici Associates Inc. to provide project management services relating to capital construction projects approved by the voters as part of the 1996-97 budget and, at the time, those under consideration in the 1997-98 budget. Because the scope of the work to be done as part of the 1997-98 budget was still under review, the fee for such services was to be commensurate with the size and scope of the projects.

During the spring, the District continued negotiations with Orifici Associates on a contract for construction management services related to the bond referendum. The Board tabled approval of the contract in June and continued negotiations during the summer. The Board verbally approved payment of the bills received for work done as per the resolution passed in March. In August, the Board approved a contract with Orifici which incorporated the agreement made in March and was made retroactive to March 13, 1997.

Construction management fees for several projects: high school roof; fuel tank for bus garage; portable classroom at Stratford, were not to exceed $27,000 as expressed in page 8 under non-bond projects of the draft contract and as per the March resolution. To date, the charges have amounted to $26,000.

Although there is a cap on expenditures, there was still the need for Orifici to submit supporting documentation for personnel, days, hours, etc. The draft contract lists construction staffing based upon personnel working a 40-hour work week. Since the number of hours per week for these summer projects was limited to 20, along with a maximum weekly dollar amount, Orifici submitted bills for these services referencing his March 4, 1997 letter for monitoring and administration. The weekly maximum divided by the number of hours resulted in the $75 rate used prior to payment of the bills. At the District's request, Orifici did supply back-up documentation listing employees working on the project and hours worked.

The Sept. 30 bill for $5,500 for additional services relates to the bond project and was exactly that - additional services. This fee is covered in the contract and is not part of the fixed pre-planning fee.

The school board welcomes all comments from residents of this District; however, we believe that it is incumbent upon us to correct the record when faced with incomplete facts and unfounded allegations.

Garden City Public Schools
Board of Education