District 11 OKs $5 million COP transfer and $5.44 million contract modification for Jenkins Middle School repairs

The Colorado Springs School District 11 Board of Education on April 9 approved a $5,000,000 transfer from certificate of participation funds and a related contract modification to begin emergency and design work at Jenkins Middle School.

The board voted unanimously to transfer $5,000,000 from COP funds for initial stabilization and repairs, a motion made by Director Patricia Nelson. The board then approved contract modification C2025-1011-02, with a total modification amount of $5,441,757 and a period of performance beginning 04/10/2025 and an estimated completion date of 12/23/2025. The contract modification was moved by Director Bankes and was approved by roll call.

Superintendent Golry described the immediate work the money will fund: stabilizing a gymnasium piling with micropiles, cosmetic repairs to interior and exterior cracking, and structural foundation work at the media center where the main building intersects the seventh/eighth grade wing. "We will repair that piling called micropilings ... to make sure that there is no condition in which it will slip any further," she said during the public portion of the meeting. The district also plans to place five mobile classrooms on campus in time for partial occupancy in August 2025.

Dr. Comfort, a district administrator leading the capital/construction briefing, told the board the initial funding request covers two components: the gym work and the media-center foundation plus design efforts and feasibility. He said the $6.5 million figure referenced in the briefing includes previously allocated funds and that the board was being asked to approve the first tranche tonight to allow Bridal Construction and CRP Architects to begin on schedule. "A lot of this is already what we talked about. We're basically funding two components tonight ... as well as design efforts related to feasibility," Dr. Comfort said.

The district said the gym is a standalone wing and is expected to be available for use by the start of the 2025–26 school year; the media center repair may extend into the fall semester with substantial completion targeted for Dec. 23, 2025. The board and staff emphasized that the work will be phased to keep learning spaces isolated from construction zones and to minimize disruption to students and families.

Contractor representatives from Bridal Construction and CRP Architects attended the meeting. The board's approval authorizes the district to proceed with the design-build approach; additional budget requests for later phases were described as likely and will return to the board for approval as the design-build team refines scope and cost estimates.

Why it matters: Jenkins serves families in the district’s northeast area, and the board said the repairs are necessary to stabilize building movement attributed in geotechnical reports to soil/fill issues near a creek. The work and the planned academic additions are intended to deliver a safer, modernized school rather than short-term patches.

Board action summary: The COP transfer motion (moved by Director Patricia Nelson) and contract modification C2025-1011-02 (moved by Director Bankes) were both adopted by unanimous roll-call vote. The board also announced a public town hall for Jenkins families the next evening to review the plan and answer questions.