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Board approves single-point-of-entry and culinary-lab projects for summer 2026
Summary
Trustees authorized staff to proceed with single-point-of-entry security upgrades at several schools and renovations to Fernley High School’s culinary lab; staff recommended a mix of construction-manager-at-risk and general-contractor approaches.
The Lyon County School District board voted unanimously Aug. 26 to let staff proceed with a group of single-point-of-entry security upgrades across the district and renovations to the Fernley High School culinary laboratory, projects scheduled for summer 2026.
Executive Director of Operations Harmon Banes and maintenance supervisor Kirk McKellar presented the plan, which proposes different procurement approaches by site. For Fernley High School and Dayton High School, staff recommended hiring construction managers at risk (CMARs) because those are the largest projects and would allow guarantees such as a guaranteed maximum price and contractor involvement during design. For Silverstage High School and Yerington High School, staff recommended separate general contractors — one for general construction and a separate contractor specializing in storefronts and secure doors. Silverland Middle School was described as a smaller, more straightforward project and would be procured accordingly.
Banes told trustees that a legislative change limits counties under 100,000 population to two CMAR contracts per year, and that rule requires assigning each CMAR to a specific site rather than using one CMAR districtwide. He said the approach balances cost and quality and avoids past problems where a lowest general-contractor bid led to poor specialty work.
Trustee Hendricks moved that the board approve proceeding with the single-point-of-entry and Fernley High culinary projects for summer 2026; Trustee Bull seconded. The motion passed 7–0.
District staff said they will return with guaranteed maximum prices for the CMAR projects and with lowest-bid results for the general-contractor work. Banes warned the board the district’s project-management workload will increase next summer — two CMARs plus several general-contractor contracts — and urged trustees to consider that timeline when approving additional projects.
The board did not adopt construction contracts at the Aug. 26 meeting; the approval allows staff and architects to continue design and procurement work ahead of next summer’s construction season.
