CARLSBAD -- How to control costs while building several projects at once occupied the minds of Carlsbad school district officials in a special information-only school board meeting at the district office Saturday morning.

Although the 7:30 a.m. meeting was open to the public, only a half-dozen people attended. Four of them were construction industry representatives hoping to get a piece of the $198 million in school construction and modernization projects made possible with the passage of Proposition P in the November election.

The meeting was held to share with school board trustees ideas on how the district might organize planning, management and construction at nine schools over the next eight years, Superintendent John Roach said in his introduction. The board took no action.

Tentatively, Prop. P money has been allocated for these projects:

- $80 million to renovate Carlsbad High School;

- $83 million to build another high school on 55 acres at College Avenue and Cannon Road in northeast Carlsbad;

- $12 million to replace temporary classrooms with permanent buildings at Pacific Rim Elementary and Aviara Oaks Middle School;

- $3 million each to renovate Buena Vista, Magnolia, and Hope elementary schools;

- $5 million to renovate Valley Middle School

- $6 million to upgrade technology across the district.

Those figures include an extra 30 percent for "soft costs" such as furniture, fixtures and cost escalation over the six years that it could take to begin the last projects, Roach said.

The meeting began with a history of construction over the last 10 years, including renovations at several schools funded by a $26.5 million school bond measure in 1996.

In the past, the district has built schools one at a time, said construction director Robb Todd, using a process called design-bid-build, a linear step-by-step way of a planning, pricing and construction that takes 18 months to three years from conception to completion.

But now, with many simultaneous projects envisioned over several years, Roach said such a linear approach could consume much time and money. Walter Freeman, the district's finance chief, said construction costs are escalating by 12 percent to 15 percent per year.

"If we do these projects one at a time, even $198 million will not be enough, because we realize the money would just dissipate over time," Roach said.

Freeman and Todd led trustees through several alternatives to "design-bid-build" -- each appropriate in certain situations, each with advantages and disadvantages, and a few that could be combined.

In the "design-build"option, an architect, a project manager and a builder could combine forces to form a legal entity hired by the district to handle all phases of design, licensing and construction, speeding up the process.

Because the designer and contractor are "married at the hip" from design through construction, Freeman said, this approach typically results in fewer costly change orders, giving the district more financial control.

Another approach is called "construction manager with trade contracting." Under this approach, the district acts as the general contractor by hiring subcontractors to do such work as concrete, framing, painting, cabinetry, and carpets. The district hires a construction manager to oversee the subcontractors, evaluate their work and ensure that the proper materials are being used. Because the district contracts directly with the subcontractors, the construction manager bears no risk should they fail to perform.

In a similar arrangement called "construction manager at risk," the district hires a construction manager who acts as an adviser through the design phase and as a general contractor through construction. Because the construction manager hires the subcontractors, he is at financial risk for cost overruns or failures to perform by subcontractors.

The process has not been used by the district, but has been employed successfully by nearby school districts such as San Marcos, Oceanside, and Vista, Freeman said.

Although the board made no decisions Saturday, Freeman said Monday that he likes the design-build process.

Freeman also presented a financial arrangement called "lease/leaseback" that could be combined with any project management approach. Under this approach, the district would select a builder, stipulate the details of the project and lease the land to the builder. During construction, the builder would receive lease payments form the district.

As district officials consider the various construction management options, they continue to create a districtwide facilities master plan and a master plan for each school.

In terms of a timeline, Todd said the district expects to have the scope and budget for each project completed within 90 to 120 days. The district will have decided by that time which project management methods it will use.

Within 180 days, the district will decide what management methods it will use for specific projects, issue requests for proposals and quotations, and meet with potential architects and contractors. It will also begin planning some of the smaller "early start" projects, such as technology upgrades, heating and air-conditioning retrofits and construction of temporary classrooms on the Carlsbad High campus.

A month later, it plans to issue the first series of Proposition A bonds to finance planning and construction.

Contact staff writer Phil Ireland at (760) 901-4043 or pireland@nctimes.com.