Taxes suck

[tprice]

The taxes are high because of the amount of money public schools piss away and extort. The stories I hear about who gets the construction jobs and why are mind melting. Lots and lots of people should go to jail. If you are right color you can get away with just about anything. Racism at its finest.

Total BS

Schools have one of 2 choices per SC procurement code



1-Low bid process, which really SUX a lot of times Sealed bids and opened in public forum with GC's present

2-CM at Risk, actually better for all involved and basically eliminates change orders for most part which is very common in low bid process (GC's and Subs go into bid work looking to hammer you on any little thing they can )

You can FOYA records and read everything you want to read All documented with any school district


Got no damn idea what race has to do with it however there is a minority owned business clause in most any Government contract but never seen that even an issue . Hell lot of red blooded white USA born men will put their wife as business principal to get around that one amigo

Now I will agree most any Government organization will not be the most efficient business model to follow but it is a different monster than private industry As I say first rule of any government business is common sense does not apply In their defense they have to rely on Government funding and have no other streams of revenue , it is all they know

[BuckyTownsend]

25% increase from the previous year. Assessment did not change. I do feel like I received 25% more service from my local government this year. so there is that....

[uschntr]

Unless you own rental property or commercial property (6%), you are not paying for kids to go to school. The school operations portion of the millage rate is exempt from legal residence tax bills. Act 388.

[Remy]

Unless you own rental property or commercial property (6%), you are not paying for kids to go to school. The school operations portion of the millage rate is exempt from legal residence tax bills. Act 388.

That's a fat negative. 45% of my taxes go toward schools.

[First Coat]

Total BS

Schools have one of 2 choices per SC procurement code



1-Low bid process, which really SUX a lot of times Sealed bids and opened in public forum with GC's present

2-CM at Risk, actually better for all involved and basically eliminates change orders for most part which is very common in low bid process (GC's and Subs go into bid work looking to hammer you on any little thing they can )

You can FOYA records and read everything you want to read All documented with any school district


Got no damn idea what race has to do with it however there is a minority owned business clause in most any Government contract but never seen that even an issue . Hell lot of red blooded white USA born men will put their wife as business principal to get around that one amigo

Now I will agree most any Government organization will not be the most efficient business model to follow but it is a different monster than private industry As I say first rule of any government business is common sense does not apply In their defense they have to rely on Government funding and have no other streams of revenue , it is all they know

Being on the GC side 2 decades ago and on the Sub side for more than 18 years, I'd have to say you are wrong about most Subs trying to "hammer" you on change orders (assuming that's where you were going with this). It's your brush, make that stroke as wide as you like.

[Fish]

Being on the GC side 2 decades ago and on the Sub side for more than 18 years, I'd have to say you are wrong about most Subs trying to "hammer" you on change orders (assuming that's where you were going with this). It's your brush, make that stroke as wide as you like.

He doesn’t know what he talking about. I turn in a bid I can live with. Without fail, something is wrong with the plans or there is a change in conditions. Typically, there are numerous plan revisions which are rarely a net zero change.

[First Coat]

He doesn’t know what he talking about. I turn in a bid I can live with. Without fail, something is wrong with the plans or there is a change in conditions. Typically, there are numerous plan revisions which are rarely a net zero change.

Agree with all of the above. Owners forcing Arch's to send plans out prior to them being ready, creating holes in bids that people think they should be paid for. Can you imagine, I think I should be paid to do work even though it wasn't shown on the bid docs but the owner/arch says it was "implied".

TPrice - plenty of good ones out there but they aren't always your low bidder on a school.

[Mars Bluff]

We got us a slick superintendent from New Jersey. He was not happy about the slap down that the voters gave him. So he went to plan B. Moral of the story, your vote doesn’t mean a damn thing. They do what they want to do.

[santee11]

Total BS

Schools have one of 2 choices per SC procurement code



1-Low bid process, which really SUX a lot of times Sealed bids and opened in public forum with GC's present

2-CM at Risk, actually better for all involved and basically eliminates change orders for most part which is very common in low bid process (GC's and Subs go into bid work looking to hammer you on any little thing they can )

You can FOYA records and read everything you want to read All documented with any school district


Got no damn idea what race has to do with it however there is a minority owned business clause in most any Government contract but never seen that even an issue . Hell lot of red blooded white USA born men will put their wife as business principal to get around that one amigo

Now I will agree most any Government organization will not be the most efficient business model to follow but it is a different monster than private industry As I say first rule of any government business is common sense does not apply In their defense they have to rely on Government funding and have no other streams of revenue , it is all they know

You need to meet some folks I know.

[Chessbay]

Being on the GC side 2 decades ago and on the Sub side for more than 18 years, I'd have to say you are wrong about most Subs trying to "hammer" you on change orders (assuming that's where you were going with this). It's your brush, make that stroke as wide as you like.

He doesn’t know what he talking about. I turn in a bid I can live with. Without fail, something is wrong with the plans or there is a change in conditions. Typically, there are numerous plan revisions which are rarely a net zero change.

He knows what he’s talking about he just did not explain it the right way.

You might turn in a bid you can live with, but all those gaps and other things that are “wrong with the plans” puts you in a position to generate a change order. Your competition is going to do the same thing on “bid day” so nobody fills in those gaps including the GC that is participating in the hard bid. As you fill in those gaps, you get more expensive as your competition remains low putting you out of contention.

When it’s over and everyone is under contract the only one that suffers is the client. They don’t know or understand construction, they don’t know or understand much of anything. All they know is that they’re supposed to be getting a building for a stipulated lump sum. As the gaps, unforeseen issues or anything else begin to surface, they are put on the defense and remain that way for the balance of the project. Maybe they have a small owners contingency to cover some of that, but generally they end up with the short end of the stick.

Should they be more educated about the process……perhaps, but generally they are not.

They end up with bottom of the barrel subs who either screwed something up in their bid or went through and calculated all the crap they can find wrong in the plans and took that into consideration in their number.

CMR allows you to hire based on qualifications and performance. It allows both the GC and the Subcontractor to fill those gaps in so that they both have the RIGHT number. The gaps are filled in regardless of what the drawings and specs show and owners are presented with the right number. There is a mutually agreed to contingency established and it’s carried within the GMP. Issues that arise are discussed openly and there is a mutually agreed to path forward should contingency need to be spent.

It puts an owner and a contractor on the same side of the table on the first day as opposed to opposite sides of the table.

It’s simple…….you do a bad job and you don’t get an invite back. You do a good job and hopefully you have a seat at the table on the next project.

Low bid work is an archaic procurement process that generally leaves a bad taste in everyone’s mouth. There are GC’s that are really good at it and successful, but the majority of the time it’s one and done. There is no relationship established and it’s not collaborative.

A sub bidding to a GC that is working on a CMR project is not the same thing as a sub bidding to a GC submitting on a low bid project.

[FULLCHOKE]

^What he said.

I’ve built for both sides. Low bid is outdated and an owners nightmare. Heck TPrice, AIT we did for you was low bid I believe. You may have a bad taste in your mouth after that one.

CMR is better all around for all parties involved.

All I’ve ever built is schools. Taxes are what puts food on my table.

[BuckyTownsend]

First school board meeting since the tax bills came out. Only one person has reminded the school board who elects them…. Would have liked to have seen a little more enthusiasm in the public comment period.

[tprice]

First school board meeting since the tax bills came out. Only one person has reminded the school board who elects them…. Would have liked to have seen a little more enthusiasm in the public comment period.

I would suggest to anyone to be involved in your School Board meetings. Let them hear from you and do not hesitate to run for office. It is very rewarding and to me this affects our greatest resource. Our kids/grandkids and our Future.

[Remy]

First school board meeting since the tax bills came out. Only one person has reminded the school board who elects them…. Would have liked to have seen a little more enthusiasm in the public comment period.

Anything worth mentioning come out?

[DoubleSprig]

Did you just say that FBI involvement has been requested in school board meetings?

[BuckyTownsend]

Anything worth mentioning come out?

An immediate feigned interest from board members in how much programs are costing and the origin of their funding… Judging by the ignorance in their questions, its not surprising that the implications of their decision to let the fox guard the hen house came as a surprise..

[tprice]

An immediate feigned interest from board members in how much programs are costing and the origin of their funding… Judging by the ignorance in their questions, its not surprising that the implications of their decision to let the fox guard the hen house came as a surprise..

What county and district are you in, just curious

Reason I ask is we get daily updates from around the State of SC regarding schools and school boards. First to admit some are a disgrace and/or have very bad leadership. Down right embarrassing at times to see some of the shenanigans I see some BOT pull