The Knoch School District will adjust plans for a major construction project at the High School campus after general contractor bids came in significantly higher than expected.
At a Wednesday night special meeting, school board members approved a motion to reject all three general construction base bids received and return to the redesign phase.
The district will attempt to hang onto bids received from other contractors like HVAC, plumbing, and electrical since those bids were in line with anticipated figures.
The board also approved a motion to direct the district’s planning consultant and design firm to work with district administrators and board members to revise plan specifications at a cost not to exceed $100,000.
The objective is to cut around $5 million dollars from the plan in order to stay within the budget of $38.5 million that the district has already borrowed. Some of what had been in the project base bid will now become alternative bids but there is no guarantee putting the project back out to bid will result in lower proposals.
The redesign and drawing revision process is expected to take about six weeks with the project going out to bid in early October. If acceptable bids are accepted in November, the target date for project completion will be December of 2025 with the majority of work expected to take place over the next two summers.
