Board members received an update on construction projects and approved two contracting actions tied to ongoing capital work at their Oct. 8 meeting.

Superintendent Doctor Lawson said the overall replacement project for Northeast Middle-High School is on pace and estimated at about $190,000,000. He reviewed building components shown in project slides, including a gymnasium and auditorium, a three-floor middle-school wing, a high-school wing, cafeteria, and athletic fields. Lawson said the new facility will seat slightly more than 1,000 people and include a balcony. He also described site work to create a traffic loop on Irishtown Road, noting that Irishtown Road is planned to be widened to four lanes immediately in front of the new school.

“We have the new school and I have a couple pictures there ... it will seat a little bit over a thousand to include a balcony,” Doctor Lawson said while describing the drawings.

Lawson told the board that as soon as the new school opens, crews will begin demolishing the old building and constructing fields, including a new baseball stadium on the former school footprint. He said middle-school athletic fields on the site will also serve as geothermal fields for HVAC controls and that the high school will continue to use some existing athletic fields.

Two formal procurement items tied to capital work were on the consent agenda and approved by the board:
- Site work change order, Northeast Middle-High School replacement project (RFP 2415): Doctor Lawson recommended and the board approved a change order totaling $739,515.04 to remediate unsuitable fill discovered where the contractor found “clean fill” composed of roots and tree stumps under the former football/lacrosse field. The work will excavate and replace soil over an area roughly the size of a football field, to depths of 3 to 6 feet, to support the planned parking area. The change order passed unanimously.
- Administrative Services Center (ASC) boiler replacement (Bid 26-02ACF): The board voted unanimously to award a contract to R.F. Warder, Inc., in the amount of $338,876 to replace the ASC boiler; the item was funded in the capital budget and brought forward as the low responsive bid.

Board members asked where the boiler work appears in the capital budget; staff confirmed the project has a line in the capital budget and that the site work change order is funded through the project contingency and prior approvals from the county.

When asked about timing and project sequencing, Lawson reiterated that the baseball stadium and additional fields will be constructed after students occupy the new building and after the current school is demolished. He described the overall project as “on pace, maybe even a little bit ahead of pace.”

Public comment at the meeting included concerns about moving graduation from the Northeast campus to an external site. Several public speakers asked for greater and earlier community notification if graduation locations change; staff earlier had noted they discussed graduation logistics with student leadership but the transcript does not show a formal board vote on this issue during the meeting.

The board also heard brief updates on other capital work: Cecil Manor Elementary has an upcoming bid opening for a comprehensive HVAC replacement estimated at about $4,000,000, and boiler and roof replacements are underway at the Administrative Services Center (the former School of Technology). No further formal capital actions were taken that night beyond the two contracting approvals.

Ending note: Lawson invited board questions and said staff will share additional project schedules and procurement details; both contract and change-order votes were unanimous.