By Kimberly Hopson
L’Observateur

NEW ORLEANS – Discussion during the St. John the Baptist Parish School Board retreat provided a few incremental updates on the status of negotiations to build Lake Pontchartrain Elementary’s temporary campus.
The board is currently reviewing approximately 20 prospective architect services for the campus. Superintendent Kevin George said the board is still on schedule to make a final selection during the Sept. 19 board meeting, but there is much work to do. Executive Director of Business and Finance Felix Boughton said there may be anywhere from 18 to 20 trailers on the temporary campus.
As for the Disaster Management Recovery Services Contract, the school board will begin advertising for RFQs and RFPs on Sept. 25. The RFP will entail project management and grants administration services, while the RFQ will pertain specifically to architectural services. Both three-year contracts will include an option to renew for two years and will have an evaluation team to score applicants and make a recommendation to the board. Boughton said the three-year term would provide for any future disaster so the board would not have to repeat the advertising process.
Board members will also attend two precursory meetings regarding the contracts on Oct. 11. The deadline to receive proposals is Friday, Oct. 18, at 2 p.m. The evaluation team is tenatively scheduled to make recommendations by Dec. 5.
George also mentioned that he was considering building the evaluation team from a trusted group of retired engineers and architects in the parish this time around so the board could take advantage of their collective expertise.