St. Paul Public Schools has halted planning on future construction projects while it awaits recommendations from an external review team.

That group, with expertise in school construction planning and finance, starts meeting Tuesday and is expected to submit recommendations to the school board by fall.

They were brought together after the Pioneer Press reported in May that the cost of 18 key projects had grown by 61 percent — $179 million — in two years.

“The goal is to … see how we got here and provide recommendations to the board for moving forward in a different way,” Chief of Staff Cedrick Baker told the school board at their June meeting.

The school board typically updates its five-year construction plan in October each year. The 2018 plan called for pre-design work on five schools, all of which is now on hold:

Cherokee Heights Elementary (scheduled to break ground in 2020)

Ramsey Middle School (2021)

Farnsworth lower campus (2022)

Highland Park complex (2022)

Obama Elementary (2023)

Those schools had been slated to break ground in 2020 under the original Facilities Master Plan, which the school board adopted in 2016.

But when earlier projects wound up costing far more than anticipated, the district delayed work on those schools and others to keep property tax increases in check.

Baker said he wasn’t sure whether the review would cause further delays in construction.

“I can’t say for sure. Our goal is to bring in the expertise from this group to look at next steps,” he said.

THE REVIEW TEAM

Targets for the external review are internal controls, the ability of current employees to get their work done and whether the district’s construction processes align to industry standards.

The review team could grow larger but for now stands at five members:

Baker, chief of staff to Superintendent Joe Gothard

Steve Torgrimson, retired director of business finance for Minneapolis Public Schools

Mike Vogel, who retired in October as assistant to the superintendent for operations for South Washington County Schools;

Kelly Smith of Baker Tilly, who advises the district on school construction finance; and

Don Mullin, who heads the St. Paul Building and Construction Trades Council

Baker said after the June board meeting that only Torgrimson was being paid by the district; he hadn’t discussed compensation with the others.

Torgrimson spent the last five years of his career leading financial planning for a similarly ambitious slate of construction in the Minneapolis district. When he left that job in early 2017, he offered to help St. Paul but was turned down.

While the Pioneer Press was looking into the St. Paul district’s facilities department, Facilities Director Tom Parent reached out to Torgrimson. Torgrimson began consulting for the district in April on a contract that pays up to $21,600 at $75 per hour.

“I’ve noticed some of the issues. A lot of it is centered around lost personnel with historical knowledge, both in the (chief operating officer) position, the superintendent position and the finance positions that support facilities,” Torgrimson said in an interview.

“That was a big thing because when you can’t communicate effectively between finance and facilities, there are issues.”

Parent still is facilities director and will assist with the external review, Baker said.

As they look for a path forward, the review team will examine timelines and work scopes for several school projects now underway. These seven are in the design phase and already have some contracts signed:

American Indian Magnet (scheduled to break ground in 2020, according to last year’s facilities plan)

Frost Lake Elementary (2020)

Phalen Lake Elementary (2020)

District service facility (2020)

Washington Technology Magnet athletic improvements (2020)

Central High School turf replacement (2020)

Battle Creek Middle School locker replacement (2019)

BOARD ADMINISTRATOR JOB

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The Pioneer Press report on construction spending in May highlighted a lack of understanding among board members of the facilities department’s financial woes.

The school board created the “administrator to the board” position in early 2016, but it’s been vacant since June 2018, when Baker was promoted to chief of staff.