District staff presented results of competitive bids for the Prairie Elementary roof replacement, reporting a low base bid of $1,138,000, alternate 1 at $364,000 and alternate 2 at $218,000. Staff told the board those alternates would cover the gym and kitchen sections and that completing the alternates now would increase the portion of the building replaced to roughly 40% for the current phase; completing the entire building was estimated at about $4,500,000 depending on inflation.

Board members discussed whether to include alternates now or delay to later phases. Some trustees urged doing more work now to avoid future inflation-driven cost increases; others noted the district had budgeted $1,000,000 for the project and would need to draw on long-term facility maintenance and capital reserves to cover the added cost. Staff said the district can cover the overall cost but the fund balance and the mix of reserve accounts used would change.

After discussion, a motion to proceed with the base bid and both alternates carried by voice vote. The board gave administration authority to contract with the low bidder and to manage the funding mix (long-term facility maintenance, capital reserves) to cover the difference between budget and bid prices. No roll-call vote was recorded in the transcript; the motion was approved by the board.

Key figures provided by staff: base low bid $1,138,000; alternate 1 $364,000; alternate 2 $218,000; combined work on the building if alternates included is roughly $1.7 million for these phases; entire building estimated at $4,500,000 (range $4,000,000–$5,000,000 noted by staff). Staff said the estimate of near-term cost escalation was about 4% per year based on prior contractor guidance.

The board directed staff to proceed with contracting and to manage cash-flow and reserve use during implementation and future phases.