Board approves Thomas Nelson bids, authorizes bonds and advances multiple school facility projects

The Nelson County Board of Education on Sept. 23 approved recommended construction bids for the Thomas Nelson Middle School project, authorized the Nelson County School District Finance Corporation to issue revenue bonds to finance that construction, and advanced multiple other facility-planning steps including BG-4/BG-5 closeouts and new BG-1 design phases for New Haven School and Nelson County High School. The board recessed to convene the district finance corporation to act on the bond resolution and reconvened the regular meeting after the vote.

Why it matters: The Thomas Nelson project will add a new middle-school wing and field-house elements and is expected to be a visible, 19-month construction program that district leaders say will expand classroom capacity and modernize aging facilities. The bond authorization creates the local financing mechanism the district plans to use to pay construction costs.

Board and staff discussion focused on contract closeouts for completed jobs, starting the design phase for New Haven, and a multi‑phase master plan for Nelson County High School. Facilities staff described BG-4 and BG-5 forms required by the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) to close contracts and projects. For New Haven, staff said an initial planning estimate aligned with a previously discussed $6,000,000 budget; for Nelson County High School the district presented a phase‑1 classroom project budget of about $40,000,000 to replace the 1969 wing. Staff said the Thomas Nelson Middle School bid packages came in competitively with a recommended total construction cost of about $28,200,000 and that, if approved, work would start around early November with substantial completion targeted in April–May 2027.

Superintendent Bradley, facilities lead Mr. Martin and finance staff Miss Rogers explained next steps: approving BG-4/BG-5 closeouts for completed projects, approving BG-5 to close an older BG for New Haven and opening a new BG-1 for the new scope, approving a BG-1 for Nelson County High School phase 1 (classroom wing), and accepting the Thomas Nelson bid recommendations so construction contracts can be executed. The board approved BG-4/BG-5 closeouts and the New Haven and Nelson County High BG motions by voice votes. The Thomas Nelson bids and the bond resolution were approved on 3–2 recorded votes.

Quotes: “The bidding process was competitively bid,” facilities staff said, noting multiple bidders on nearly every package. A construction representative said the large project landed where market expectations predicted and that participation from local contractors was healthy. "If the bids are accepted, the timeline is early November start and April–May 2027 completion," a staff member said.

Details and next steps: The board approved staff requests to close older KDE projects using BG-4/BG-5 forms and to open new BG-1 design authorizations for New Haven and Nelson County High School. For Thomas Nelson, staff presented separate bid-package totals that sum to approximately $28.2 million and recommended the low or next-lowest qualified bidders for the packages; board members noted the project will be highly visible during construction. The board adopted a resolution authorizing the district finance corporation to issue revenue bonds for Thomas Nelson and recessed the regular meeting to convene the finance corporation, which approved the resolution and then adjourned.

What the board did not do: The board did not finalize construction contracts at the meeting; it accepted bids and authorized bond issuance. Specific contract award letters and individual contractor contracts were not read into the record at length during the public meeting.

Ending: District staff said they will return with design documents, updated project budgets and construction schedules as the design and contracting phases proceed.