District of Columbia Public Schools: Availability of Funds and the Cost
of FY 1997 Roof Projects (Testimony, 03/09/98, GAO/T-AIMD-98-95).

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the results of its
review of the District of Columbia Public Schools' (DCPS) efforts to
repair school roofs during the summer of 1997, focusing on: (1) when
funds were made available to pay for roof repairs; (2) the cost of the
roof repairs, including cost per square foot; and (3) additional roofs
to be repaired in fiscal year (FY) 1998 and beyond.

GAO noted that: (1) roof repairs were done at 61 D.C. schools during FY
1997; (2) the General Services Administration managed the work at 10
schools and DCPS at 51 schools; (3) the majority of District public
schools were built over 50 years ago, generally have not been well
maintained, and, consequently, substantial deferred maintenance existed;
(4) in addition, concerns about safety and problems with leaky school
roofs have been widely reported; (5) GAO and others have documented less
than adequate condition of the District's public schools in several
reports; (6) when D.C. schools closed for the summer, at least $38
million was available for DCPS-managed roof repairs; (7) DCPS was not
prepared to start making repairs immediately because it had not
completed sufficient initial work and it had difficulties insecuring
bids; (8) GAO'S review showed that DCPS spent about $37 million for roof
replacement/repair in FY 1997; (9) extensive work was performed to
repair and replace masonry, cornics, flashing, and coping and to clean
drains; (10) as a result, the costs were higher than what would have
been incurred for roofing work only; (11) considering the costs for all
the work involved, the average per square foot cost was about $20; (12)
years of neglect and inadequate repair and maintenance practices all
served to increase costs over what could be expected in well managed,
adequately financed entities; (13) for FY 1998, the DCPS Capital
Improvement Program budget indicates that about $35 million will be
spent on 40 school-roof projects; and (14) currently, DCPS has 45 closed
schools, which it intends to sell or lease.

--------------------------- Indexing Terms -----------------------------

 REPORTNUM:  T-AIMD-98-95
     TITLE:  District of Columbia Public Schools: Availability of Funds 
             and the Cost of FY 1997 Roof Projects
      DATE:  03/09/98
   SUBJECT:  Public schools
             Educational facilities
             Repair costs
             Facility repairs
             Facility maintenance
             Future budget projections
             Building codes
             Funds management
             Educational facility construction
             Safety standards
IDENTIFIER:  District of Columbia
             
******************************************************************
** This file contains an ASCII representation of the text of a  **
** GAO report.  Delineations within the text indicating chapter **
** titles, headings, and bullets are preserved.  Major          **
** divisions and subdivisions of the text, such as Chapters,    **
** Sections, and Appendixes, are identified by double and       **
** single lines.  The numbers on the right end of these lines   **
** indicate the position of each of the subsections in the      **
** document outline.  These numbers do NOT correspond with the  **
** page numbers of the printed product.                         **
**                                                              **
** No attempt has been made to display graphic images, although **
** figure captions are reproduced.  Tables are included, but    **
** may not resemble those in the printed version.               **
**                                                              **
** Please see the PDF (Portable Document Format) file, when     **
** available, for a complete electronic file of the printed     **
** document's contents.                                         **
**                                                              **
** A printed copy of this report may be obtained from the GAO   **
** Document Distribution Center.  For further details, please   **
** send an e-mail message to:                                   **
**                                                              **
**                                            **
**                                                              **
** with the message 'info' in the body.                         **
******************************************************************


Cover
================================================================ COVER


Before the Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management,
Restructuring and the District of Columbia Committee on Governmental
Affairs, U.S.  Senate

For Release on Delivery
Expected at
1 p.m.
Monday,
March 9, 1998

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PUBLIC
SCHOOLS - AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS
AND THE COST OF FY 1997 ROOF
PROJECTS

Statement of Gloria L.  Jarmon
Director
Health, Education, and Human Services Accounting and Financial
Management Issues
Accounting and Information Management Division

GAO/T-AIMD-98-95

GAO/AIMD-98-95T


(916249)


Abbreviations
=============================================================== ABBREV

  DCPS - District of Columbia Public Schools
  GSA - General Services Administration

============================================================ Chapter 0

Mr.  Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee: 

We are pleased to be here today to discuss the results of our review
of the District of Columbia Public Schools' (DCPS) efforts to repair
school roofs during the summer of 1997.  You indicated that your
Subcommittee had received widely varying information on the cost of
the roof repair work ranging from $11 to $19 per square foot, and
that there were divergent views on when funds were available to do
that work, ranging from as early as April 1997 to July 1997. 
Consistent with your request, we focused on when funds were available
to pay for the roof work and the cost, including the cost per square
foot, of the work completed in fiscal year 1997.  These issues are
discussed in greater detail in our report, which is being issued
today to the Subcommittee.\1

My statement today covers three points: 

  -- when funds were made available to pay for roof repairs;

  -- the cost of the roof repairs, including the cost per square
     foot; and

  -- additional roofs to be repaired in fiscal year 1998 and beyond. 


--------------------
\1 District of Columbia Public Schools:  Availability of Funds and
the Cost of the FY 1997 Roof Projects (GAO/AIMD-98-82, March 9,
1998). 


   BACKGROUND
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 0:1

Roof repairs were done at 61 D.C.  schools during fiscal year 1997. 
The General Services Administration (GSA) managed the work at 10
schools and DCPS at 51 schools.  The majority of District public
schools were built over 50 years ago, generally have not been well
maintained, and, consequently, substantial deferred maintenance
existed.  In addition, concerns about safety and problems with leaky
school roofs have been widely reported.  We and others have
documented the less-than-adequate condition of the District's public
schools in several reports.\2


--------------------
\2 School Facilities:  Condition of America's Schools
(GAO/HEHS-95-61, Feb.  1, 1995); School Facilities:  America's
Schools Report Differing Conditions (GAO/HEHS-96-103, June 14, 1996);
School Facilities:  Profiles of School Condition by State
(GAO/HEHS-96-148, June 24, 1996); District of Columbia Draft
Emergency Supplemental Funding Request for District of Columbia
Public Schools (GAO/HEHS-97-116R, May 5, 1997); and GSA's study,
Determination and Prioritization of the District of Columbia:  Public
Schools Projects (February 18, 1997). 


   AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 0:2

Sufficient funding was available to begin roof work when schools were
closed for the summer on June 20, 1997.  Bond proceeds of $11.5
million that became available in October 1996 were being used to fund
the GSA-managed work.  Additional funds later became available for
the DCPS-managed work:  $18 million in March 1997 and an additional
$20 million in June 1997.  Thus, when D.C.  schools closed for the
summer, at least $38 million was available for DCPS-managed roof
repairs. 

Although these funds were available when schools closed, the
DCPS-managed roof work was delayed to the third week of July.  DCPS
was not prepared to start making repairs immediately because it had
not completed sufficient initial work, such as determining the scope
of work on individual projects that forms the basis for seeking bids. 
One reason for DCPS not being prepared to start work was the almost
complete turnover in technical capital project staff during the
school year.  Also, work was delayed because of difficulties in
securing bids.  DCPS told us that at the time the long-range plan was
submitted in February 1997, it expected to complete roof work by the
end of October 1997 but accelerated it in response to a court order
that roof work not be done while classes were in session. 
Consequently, the work was accomplished under a highly compressed
schedule. 


   COST OF REPAIRS
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 0:3

Our review showed that DCPS spent about $37 million for roof
replacement/repair in fiscal year 1997.  This cost included an
extensive amount of work to ensure that facilities were structurally
sound and watertight.  A significant, but not determinable, amount of
these costs was attributable to factors other than what would be
strictly interpreted as roof replacement/repair work.  Among these
were structural integrity, fire damage, the general deterioration
from deferred maintenance, and warranty stipulations.  Extensive work
was performed to repair and replace masonry, cornices, flashing, and
coping and to clean drains.  As a result, the costs were higher than
what would have been incurred for roofing work only. 

DCPS had initially budgeted $22 million for roof work, which
according to DCPS officials, did not address the complexity of the
roof areas and other issues.  Subsequently, based on the detailed
evaluations done at the individual schools as a basis for contracting
for work during fiscal year 1997, the aggregate cost estimates--which
we understood considered the relevant factors--was $31.7 million. 
The contracts for work at 54 of the 61 schools totaled about $32.7
million.  Work on the remaining seven schools was done primarily by
DCPS in-house maintenance staff.  As of February 4, 1998, DCPS had
provided us with change orders totaling about $2 million for the 54
schools, which brings the total repair costs reported to date to
about $34.7 million.  In addition, DCPS incurred about $2 million for
consulting, contract administration, and construction management
fees. 

Considering the costs for all the work involved, the average per
square foot cost was about $20.  For GSA-managed contracts, the
average cost per square foot was about $13 whereas, for DCPS-managed
contracts, the average cost per square foot was about $22.  DCPS
officials attributed the higher square-foot costs of their contracts
to extensive roof-related work that was required to achieve sound
facilities.  Also, GSA issued task orders against its existing
contracts and did not have to seek bids when the market was saturated
with roof work, its projects were done over longer time frames and
required less overtime pay, and its contracts covered only flat roof
work whereas DCPS contracts covered multiple roof areas and
materials, which are costlier. 

The individual schools worked on by DCPS contractors had square foot
costs ranging from $4.19 for Ketcham Elementary to $77.27 for Cook
Elementary.  The square foot cost for GSA-contracted work ranged from
$10.10 for Shadd Elementary to $27.43 for Spingarn Gym.  According to
GSA, it encountered unusual conditions at Spingarn Gym because of
fire damage, the installation of a new roof deck and supporting
structures, and a significant amount of asbestos removed. 

DCPS officials indicated that the wide range in per square-foot costs
among schools resulted primarily from roof-related work.  For
example, less than 20 percent of Cook Elementary's total cost was
related to roof replacement.  Most of the cost was related to the
repair of an ornamental cornice just below the roof level.  The
cornice had deteriorated, and portions of it were at risk of falling
off; therefore, Cook was considered a major safety concern.  In
addition, the cornice had to be repaired from a crane.  Further, DCPS
officials stated that much work was done to repair the skylight and
to repair coping with new stainless steel covering. 

For MacFarland Junior High ($64.45), DCPS officials and engineering
consultants stated that large amounts of masonry repair (repointing
and replacement of broken brick), installation of metal panels on
high parapet walls, and skylight repair were performed.  In addition,
the flashing was repaired, the stone coping was replaced, and drains
were cleaned. 

Insufficient data exist to ascertain with any certainty the added
cost associated with the degree of deferred maintenance encountered
in this extensive project.  Years of neglect and inadequate repair
and maintenance practices all served to increase costs over what
could be expected in well managed, adequately financed entities. 
Material suppliers would not provide or honor extended warranties
unless prescribed roof-related and other preventive maintenance was
completed concurrently with the roofing repairs or replacement. 
According to GSA, DCPS, and the architectural and engineering firm
overseeing the work, these factors precluded a more economical
solution to the school roofing project. 


   FUTURE ROOF WORK
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 0:4

For fiscal year 1998, the DCPS Capital Improvement Program budget
indicates that about $35 million will be spent on 40 school-roof
projects.  DCPS has about $41.8 million to get an early start on
these projects.  DCPS has engaged an engineering consultant to (1)
identify the scope of work and (2) develop cost estimates.  DCPS
informed us that as of November 3, 1997, they completed roof repair
work on five schools for which the scope of work and cost estimates
had been completed in fiscal year 1997.  DCPS officials anticipate
that roof repair work at the remaining 35 schools will begin in the
spring and will be completed during the 1998 summer recess.  DCPS
told us that as of February 27, 1998, the engineering consultant had
inspected 26 of the remaining 35 school roofs and developed scope of
work and cost estimates.  According to DCPS officials, scope of work
and cost estimates for the remaining 9 schools will be prepared some
time in May 1998. 

Currently, DCPS has 45 closed schools, which it intends to sell or
lease.  DCPS officials stated that they intend to use the proceeds
from those schools to help finance fiscal year 1998 and later school
projects.  An additional $63 million for school roof repair or
replacement is included in the DCPS Proposed Capital Improvement
Program Plan for Fiscal Years 1999 to 2004. 


-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 0:4.1

Mr.  Chairman, this concludes my statement.  I will be happy to
answer any questions that you or members of the Subcommittee may
have. 


*** End of document. ***