Abstract
The student population of California's public school system is expanding at an alarming rate. Many schools throughout the state are at or exceed design capacity. Construction costs for new facilities continue to spiral upwards, yet there is a pressing need for more schools. State and local spending limitations and the changing priorities of the voters has increased the difficulty to raise the needed funds. The resulting problem is that there are not enough schools to cope with growth and overcrowding, and the bureaucratic system which regulates financing for school construction has not provided the flexibility for consideration of alternate methods of project delivery to determine which may be most economically feasible. The purpose of this study was to determine if the agency form of construction management, compared to general contracting, was more advantageous to public school systems in terms of cost effectiveness, timely project completion, and improved quality of the finished product. Descriptive research was selected as the most appropriate method for this study because of the desirability to collect data from a wide area. Survey questionnaires were mailed to school districts believed or known to have used both methods of projects delivery, without regard for geographic location or enrollment size. This study found that: (1) Respondents focused most heavily on cost savings and construction quality. (2) The economics of agency construction management was the reason most often cited for the use of this method. (3) The construction manager should be selected before the architect. (4) A program to license or certify construction managers was of significant importance. (5) The use of agency construction management results in more paperwork for the school district. Agency construction management positively contributes to the cost effectiveness, timely completion, and improved quality of school construction projects. It is, indeed, recommended that this method be given worthy consideration as a viable alternative when building new schools.