Osseo board approves renovation bids for Osseo Senior High; work to start this summer

The Independent School District 279 board on March 18 approved construction bids that will fund planned renovations and an addition at Osseo Senior High, a district presenter said, with work beginning this summer and finishing in time for the fall 2026 term.

John Morrison, executive director of finance and operations, presented the project and walked the board through renderings and interior plans. He said the work will add a secured vestibule at the main entry, expand and modernize the media center and cafeteria, relocate and enlarge the wrestling and fitness area, update health science labs and locker rooms, build a school store for student-run business programming and add an exterior automotive-shop addition to house a new wrestling and fitness space. "This project starts right away this summer and will carry through the summer of 2026," Morrison said.

Morrison showed before-and-after views of the media center, explained that the current cafeteria footprint will expand by taking space previously used as the weight room and that the old automotive shop will become a more usable wrestling and fitness area. He told the board the new wrestling/fitness area will be about 100 square feet larger in fully usable space than the current arrangement and that several career-and-technical-education lab spaces will be upgraded to align with other district CTE work. Morrison also said the project was "currently under budget."

The board approved the district's consent agenda, which included the construction bid awards for Osseo Senior High and other projects, by voice vote, 6-0. Director Thomas Brooks moved approval of the consent agenda; Director Erica Foster seconded. The consent agenda also included meeting minutes, personnel actions, extended educational trips, a 10-year transportation contract and other routine business.

The meeting record shows separate votes later in the meeting to approve gifts to the district. The clerk initially stated a monthly total of "$27,383.88," then asked for a motion to approve gifts "totaling $27,003.83 and 88¢." Director Keith Tate moved approval of the gifts; Director Brooks seconded, and the board approved the motion 6-0. The record contains that conflicting pair of figures; the final approved amount is not explicitly reconciled in the transcript.

No additional budget detail or contract awards tied to the Osseo Senior High project were read into the record beyond the presentation and the consent vote. Morrison said the exterior addition to the former auto shop will be one of the last items completed and that the district will begin work this summer. Superintendent Dr. Kim Heil and Chair Tanya Prince were present during the presentation; board members asked no substantive follow-up questions during the discussion of the project.

Votes at a glance: the board passed the meeting agenda (moved by Director Sarah Mitchell; seconded by Director Thomas Brooks) 6-0; approved the consent agenda including construction bids (moved by Director Thomas Brooks; seconded by Director Erica Foster) 6-0; approved gifts to the district (moved by Director Keith Tate; seconded by Director Thomas Brooks) 6-0; and adjourned at 7:10 p.m. following a motion by Director Brooks and second by Director Mitchell that passed 6-0.

The board packet and posted meeting materials list additional bid and contract descriptions; those documents provide itemized bid amounts and contractor names that the board asked to approve on the consent agenda. The presentation materials shown at the meeting include renderings, floor plans and a timeline. The district will post archived video of the March 18 meeting and the full consent-agenda listing on the district website, district279.org.

Sources: presentation to the Independent School District 279 school board by John Morrison, executive director of finance and operations; board roll-call votes recorded during the March 18, 2025 meeting.