Every minute a student spends in the classroom has the potential to shape their future. In California, K-12 students are required to attend school for 180 days each year. Over 13 years, that’s more than 700,000 minutes of instructional time and 2,340 days in the classroom.

The quality and adequacy of their learning environments matter. They influence how students learn, how teachers teach and how families feel about their schools. Every construction decision, from scheduling to budgeting to design coordination, influences future student success.

 

 

Whether it’s modernizing a 60-year-old campus or adding new facilities to support increasing enrollment, the completion of every capital improvement project must support the district’s mission by maintaining safety during construction, providing predictably through phasing and schedule alignment and minimizing disruptions to learning.

Sundt’s decades of experience completing school projects across California has allowed us to hone our approach to building safer and more efficiently on active campuses while consistently maintaining program and design intent within budget.

 

 

School Days Come First

Building on an active campus is one of the most complex challenges a district can face. This is made easier with a contractor who understands that construction can’t stop instruction. Sundt’s approach begins with one guiding principle: safety first while preserving educational excellence.

Coordinating drop-off, scheduling noisy work after hours, working around athletic schedules and making room for graduation stages fit for 500 excited seniors is all part of the scope.

Northern California Regional Manager for Sundt’s Building Group, Sean Falvey, explains, “We begin by focusing on site logistics and phasing, so the academic focus stays sacred. Our teams plan every phase of construction around the instructional calendar, minimizing disruption to students, teachers and the community at large.”

 

 

Modernizing a 60-year-old campus brought no shortage of surprises. As construction progressed at Canyon Hills High School in San Diego, the team encountered multiple unforeseen conditions inherent to aging infrastructure. Still, the project advanced smoothly thanks to transparent communication and a “green-light” attitude that kept everyone focused on solutions.

To accommodate ongoing campus activities, work was continually sequenced in collaboration with district and school leadership with no disruption to the student experience. The project is being delivered through five phased GMPs, and to date, four have been completed on or ahead of their contractual completion dates.

Since being awarded the CHHS modernization in 2021, Sundt has been selected to modernize five additional campuses across four subsequent project awards, reinforcing the strength of the partnership and the success of the approach.

 

 

Build Predictability and Trust: Cost Certainty from the Start

For district leaders, few things threaten success like late budget surprises. Transparency and timely communication empower stakeholders to make informed choices before dollars are committed.

“The thing we do best is create predictability through enhanced planning during the design phase. We give districts a clear pathway to decision-making that’s transparent, data driven, and brings the whole team — owner, architect, and contractor — to the table early before dollars are committed.”

— John Messick, Project Director, California Building Group

 

 

To create exceptional value during the design phase, we actively pursue cost savings without compromising program or quality.  We flag problems and present solutions, walking the team through cost and scope options so our clients can make the decision that meets the needs of their community.

John Messick, Project Director for Sundt’s California Building Group, explains, “Some general contractors don’t have the expertise required to accurately forecast a final GMP value when estimating schematic and design-development documents. As a result, they quantify only the limited scope reflected on each progress set of design documents, which underrepresents the true project value.

To create predictability, we use historical data and trade contractor input to account for all systems costs, whether shown in the documents or not. Our milestone estimates tend to be within 5% of the final GMP value, providing districts with accurate data for critical decision making.”

During preconstruction for a large, multi-phase whole site modernization project, Sundt identified a $20 million gap between the target budget and estimated cost of work within the first four weeks of service—early enough for the district to course correct with confidence. By collaborating with the architect and project team, Sundt helped the district realign scope and budget proactively, avoiding late-stage problems that could have derailed schedules and community trust.

This proactive mindset drives our entire process: early site investigations, verification of existing conditions and collaboration with facilities staff to uncover issues before they impact the schedule.

 

 

Every Decision Serves the Mission

The common thread in every K-12 project is a district’s mission. Every construction and design decision should advance that mission and understanding it means becoming part of the community.

“We adopt the district’s values as our own,” Senior Project Manager Chad Figel explains. “The mission matters: the mission of the student, the parent, the principal and the community, and that’s where we show up. We volunteer, host community outreach events, and make sure we understand what the stakeholders really need.”

Our teams engage with the people who know campuses best: the administration, teachers, custodians and coaches who understand what’s working and what isn’t. Their insights often reveal simple fixes that make a big impact — from rethinking traffic flow to improving classroom comfort.

 

 

“The new facilities have been nothing short of transformative for our students and staff. From the design to the final execution, every detail reflects a commitment to quality and excellence. Your attention to detail, clear communication and dedication to meeting the needs of our school community have not gone unnoticed.”— Vincent Riveroll, Superintendent, Gompers Preparatory Academy

The success of any school project depends on trust among contractor, districts, design team and the communities they serve. Our responsibility is to strengthen that trust— through clear communication and proactive planning. At the core of it all is the shared belief that each improvement should make a difference for students, ensuring each of their 180 days on campus is fit for learning.

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