Board approves $18.8M pool modernization hard-cost contract
Vote 5-0
At the January 8, 2026 regular board meeting, the board unanimously approved a hard-cost construction contract of $18,813,222 for the LBHS Pool Modernization Project, and a separate soft-cost construction-services contract not to exceed $2,176,305. Total project estimates ranged $21.79 million to $25 million against $20.4 million in assigned funding, leaving a funding gap of $1.4 million to $4.6 million; CBO Manoj Roychowdhury described potential sources including a projected $1.5 million property tax revenue increase and a Prop 2 state match estimated at approximately $5 million. Construction is scheduled to begin June 2026; the pool size is 45 meters. The board also approved three bond-feasibility contracts (True North Research for polling, Fieldman Rolapp as municipal bond advisor, and DWK for bond election legal services); Trustee Hills proposed and the board adopted 4-1 a sub-motion clarifying that "approval does not constitute an act of the board in determining whether or not to proceed with the bond." Trustee Malczewski voted no on the sub-motion.
People referenced
Citations (13)
- Laguna Beach Unified School District
Official LBUSD recording of the January 8, 2026 meeting where the pool hard- and soft-cost contracts were approved. See /meetings/2026-01-08-regular for the full meeting summary.
- Laguna Beach Unified School District
Agenda and packet for the January 8, 2026 meeting are accessible through the LBUSD BoardDocs portal.
- Laguna Beach Unified School District
LBUSD recording of the meeting; see /meetings/2025-07-24-regular for a transcript-derived summary.
- Laguna Beach Unified School District
LBUSD recording of the meeting; see /meetings/2025-08-14-regular for a transcript-derived summary.
- Laguna Beach Unified School District
LBUSD recording of the meeting; see /meetings/2025-09-11-regular for a transcript-derived summary.
- Laguna Beach Unified School District
LBUSD recording of the meeting; see /meetings/2025-10-09-regular for a transcript-derived summary.
- Laguna Beach Unified School District
LBUSD recording of the meeting; see /meetings/2025-10-23-regular for a transcript-derived summary.
- Laguna Beach Unified School District
LBUSD recording of the meeting; see /meetings/2025-11-13-regular for a transcript-derived summary.
- Annual Organizational Meeting + Regular Board Meeting (Open Session) — Dec 11, 2025 primary Laguna Beach Unified School DistrictLaguna Beach Unified School District
LBUSD recording of the meeting; see /meetings/2025-12-11-regular for a transcript-derived summary.
- The Good, the Bad, and the Boring of School Bonds op-ed A Public Record for Laguna Schools (publicrecordlaguna.com)A Public Record for Laguna Schools (publicrecordlaguna.com) · Erika Hennon Rule · 2026-03-18
Erika Hennon Rule op-ed published 2026-03-18 at publicrecordlaguna.com. The Good, the Bad, and the Boring of School Bonds.
- FUEL — Families Unified for Education in Laguna · Emily Rolfing · 2026-01-12
FUEL's contemporaneous recap of the January 8, 2026 board meeting at which the pool-modernization contracts were approved.
- A Rigged Game: The Troubling Story Behind a California High School's $19 Million Pool op-ed LagunaUnmuted (Medium)LagunaUnmuted (Medium) · Laguna Unmuted · 2025-08-11
LagunaUnmuted's August 2025 critique of the pool modernization project preceded the January 2026 hard-cost contract approval; cited here for the board-majority-aligned framing of the project's history.
- Laguna Beach Unified School District · 2026-01-08
Closed-session counterpart to the January 8, 2026 open session (1m38s).