Board approves Arp Elementary design contract, Central High scoreboard purchase and East High tennis-court redesign work

The Laramie County School District #1 Board of Trustees approved three separate facilities actions during its meeting: a design contract award for a replacement elementary school, a purchase for a new video scoreboard at Central High School funded by a private gift, and a professional-services contract to design relocation of East High School's tennis courts.

Design for Arp Elementary: The board approved a contract with Stasis Design PC for architectural and engineering services to design the Arp Elementary School replacement. District staff said the school has been on the district's long-term facility plan for years and that the design process follows a competitive selection. Staff described a six-firm request-for-proposal, four shortlisted firms, presentations to a six-member selection committee (three district personnel, two State Construction Department members and a local architect), and the selection of Stasis Design. District staff said schematic design documents are scheduled for completion in February 2026, with bidding roughly 30 days later and an anticipated opening of the new school in fall 2028. The meeting record notes demolition was not included in this contract and would be funded separately when appropriate.

Central High School scoreboard: Trustees approved purchase and installation services for a video scoreboard at Central High School. The district clarified the project will be funded from a private gift to Central High School from the Maury Brown Foundation and will not come from major maintenance or general fund dollars. The meeting record includes two different dollar figures stated aloud during the motion discussion ($1,377,000 and $964,413); the board approved the procurement but the meeting transcript shows both numbers were mentioned. The district stated the scoreboard funds are a gift restricted to the school.

East High School tennis courts: The board approved professional services with ADI Professional Corporation to design relocation of East High School tennis courts. The design contract was presented at $87,000, including a 10% contingency for associated governmental fees and requirements. District staff said moving the courts responds to long-term site planning: current courts sit near a parking lot exit and limited spectator/landscaping space, and several facility-planning options under study could remove parking that currently sits adjacent to the tennis courts.

Votes and immediate outcomes: Each motion passed on voice vote; no roll-call tallies were recorded in the public transcript.

Why it matters: The Arp replacement is a multi-year capital project that will remove a long-standing facility from the district's maintenance list; the scoreboard is a donor-funded improvement that will not draw on the district's general maintenance budget; and the tennis-court relocation is part of site and capacity planning at East High School.

What wasn't decided: The board did not approve demolition funding for Arp Elementary as part of the Stasis contract; demolition and remediation funding will be requested separately if needed. The scoreboard motion contains two different figures in the meeting record; the district said the purchase is funded by a private gift. The council did not provide detailed construction schedules beyond the schematic design and bid timing referenced above.