Board approves HLS amendment for Southside Elementary, tables guaranteed-maximum-price and related design amendment; extends mobile classroom lease and approves

The Effingham CUSD 40 Board of Education on June 23 approved a Health-Life-Safety (HLS) amendment for Southside Elementary and took interim procurement actions while tabling related construction agreements.

The board approved the HLS amendment, which the administration estimated would make about $360,000 of the Southside project eligible for HLS funding through the Regional Office of Education and the Illinois State Board of Education. Superintendent Johnson described HLS approval as a necessary procedural step to allow use of HLS funds for leak and safety-related work.

Superintendent Johnson told the board that the overall package for the Southside work (masonry restoration, waterproofing, plumbing and an asphalt parking/drive area) had a total construction estimate of about $782,000. He said roughly $360,000 of that amount could be approved for HLS reimbursement if the state approves the amendment, which the district will submit for ROE and ISBE review.

The board tabled the guaranteed-maximum-price agreement with Holland Construction for the full Southside project to allow more follow-up. The administration also asked to table the amendment to the professional-services agreement that would define full design and scope for the waterproofing work, again to allow additional review and to confirm whether rebidding would be needed for specific sitework if the board removed the asphalt element.

Board members and staff discussed sequencing: the administration recommended approving the HLS amendment now so the district could pursue state approval for the HLS-eligible portion while the board and staff gather further information about bidding, storm-sewer work, and parking scope. The superintendent said the asphalt bid from Cabas (the only asphalt bid received) was for $361,459 and that the city had required additional parking tied to placing mobile classrooms on the site.

Separately, the board approved a three-year extension of the district's mobile-classroom agreement with Mobile Modular (the district is replacing a previously approved two-year term with a three-year term at the same monthly rate). The administration said the extension was sought to avoid immediate displacement of classroom capacity while the district resolves long-term facility decisions; the monthly contract cost was listed as $8,505.

The board also approved several routine procurement items included in the meeting packet:

- FY25 amended budget adoption and related financial approvals (separate motions recorded in meeting minutes). - Cafeteria and food-service vendor awards for the 2025-26 school year: dairy to Prairie Farms, bakery to Alpha Bakeries, pizza to Domino's, grocery bid to Kohl's (as listed in the packet). - Insurance renewals for property, casualty, cyber and workers' compensation at a combined cost of $520,318 for fiscal year 2025-26.

What this means: Approving the HLS amendment starts the state review process for HLS-eligible work at Southside, while tabling the GMP and design amendment gives the board time to resolve questions about bidding and project scope (particularly whether to proceed with asphalt or alternative surfacing). Extending the mobile-classroom contract preserves classroom capacity while those decisions are made.

The board voted to move the HLS amendment forward and to table the GMP and related professional-services amendment; it approved the mobile-classroom extension and the procurement items listed above. The board closed the regular business meeting and entered closed session on personnel, litigation and collective-bargaining matters.