Board ranks SHP for master‑facility work; district aims to complete admin move and Mark Hook renovation in a year

Superintendent Brian Bailey told the board the district closed on a property and has begun a conventional zoning notification with the township; the board then considered a resolution ranking firms for architectural and engineering services and approved SHP as the top-ranked firm. Bailey said the RFQ had been posted July 15, applications closed July 29, and two firms applied; a district scoring panel (Bailey, Todd, Teresa and Troy) ranked SHP first.

The board approved the ranking and authorized moving forward with negotiations and an agreement. "So tonight, you guys will approve a resolution for the ranking of the firms and then authorizing the execution of agreement for the architectural services related to that," Bailey said before the vote. The motion to approve the resolution was made by Corey and seconded by Bill; roll call showed unanimous yes votes on the motion.

Charlie, who described project sequencing, said the district will perform a tenant fit‑out of the former KinderCare building for administrative offices and then renovate roughly 5,000 square feet at Mark Hook to free up classroom spaces in that building. "In order to have everything done literally a year from now, that's really the target," Charlie said, describing a fast timetable that would bid the administrative office work by November, construct during January–March (about 90 days) and bid Mark Hook separately in late December or early January with construction during spring and summer so substantial completion lines up with the next school year.

Charlie said the administrative office retrofit is a relatively small, formulaic project for roughly 14–17 staff; Mark Hook's renovation requires educational construction methods and heavier‑duty finishes. The plan envisions using the vacated administrative space in Mark Hook to reprogram and create about five to six classroom‑equivalent spaces, potentially yielding additional classroom capacity in the district.

Bailey and Charlie said the district will perform biweekly check-ins during design, produce renderings for board review, and hold two levels of community engagement: ongoing master‑planning engagement plus specific public presentations on the Mark Hook re‑design. "We're still going to be doing the community engagement for master planning," Charlie said; Bailey added the district will schedule additional presentations to let residents "come let your voice be heard."

No contract was signed at the meeting; the board approved the ranking and authorized staff to finalize an agreement with SHP. The timeline and budget were presented at a program level; detailed construction contracts and funding sources will return to the board for future approvals.