The George County School Board approved a construction contract award to Stewart Construction Company for the high school culinary building project in a recorded voice vote.

District staff told the board the project is tied to state appropriations: House Bill 603 was listed at $1,000,000 and Senate Bill 3015 at $500,000, which together account for $1.5 million in state funding identified in the presentation. The contractor award approved by the board was for $1,597,150. District presenters discussed project components that include classrooms, kitchen/dining/laboratory space, drainage, walkways and modifications to connect classrooms to the culinary lab so teachers can move students safely between instruction and kitchen areas.

Staff stated the construction specifications call for roughly 32,100 square feet (the transcript contains the figure “about 32,100 square feet”) and answered board questions about schedule and contractor timelines, saying the bid specifications required contractors to include a timeline and that the timeline submissions were comparable across bidders. Staff said architects and contractors will set the construction schedule after the contract award.

The board approved the award by motion, with a motion and second recorded and a voice vote of 'All in favor' as noted in the transcript.