BY SUSAN RUMBLE

Special to The Press

Parkland School Board directors approved change orders of $1,300,882 for work at the operations center under construction along Stadium Drive.

The original plan for the operations center included 40,000 square feet at a cost of $19.9 million.

As officials looked ahead to emptying the Troxell building, they decided to expand the operations center to 52,000 square feet, bringing the cost to $23.2 million.

Director of Communications and Community Involvement Nicole Mehta McGalla, said the change orders can be attributed to “the scope of the change” in the project but should “still be within the $23.2 million” amount.

She noted the extra square feet will provide three classrooms — two for alternative education and one for the Parkland Virtual Academy.

A separate entrance is required for students using the building.

McGalla reported the offices of special education and student services currently housed in the administration building will relocate to the operations center.

The department of teaching and learning will also move to the operations center.

Although a goal is to have the Troxell building vacated, no plans have been announced for the future of the property.

A change order of $490,594 was approved for Gordon Baver Inc.

The work will include additional doors and revised hardware to match the district standard, as well as layout revisions for additional offices, work space and lockers.

A change order was approved for Szoke Brothers Inc. in the amount of $138,760, to provide and install additional steel and modifications for the expanded spaces.

A $139,895 change order for Tri-County Mechanical Inc. covers additional heating, ventilating and air conditioning modifications with new exterior ductwork and exterior insulation.

Albarell Electric’s change order of $531,630 was approved for additional power and data locations, branch circuits and a fiber conduit to the pole barn to provide district wide data redundancy back to the high school.

The district submitted a request to the South Whitehall Planning Commission for an additional 24,459 square feet of impervious surface for the parking lot expansion at the operations center.

The item was listed on the Oct. 10 planning commission agenda.