Bay school board approves architect contract and environmental study money for replacement of Tyndall Academy

The Bay County School Board voted March 24 to approve an architectural services fee to develop design documents for a replacement for Tyndall Academy and separately approved a $147,080 contract with Tetra Tech for an environmental assessment.

The work approved on Tuesday includes reuse and expansion of drawings from an earlier K–8 project and budgeting for sound‑mitigation and other site‑specific measures. Lee, district facilities staff, told the board the current estimate for design services is being presented at roughly $7.0 million and that the figure will scale with the final agreed construction scope and cost.

The board’s approval authorizes the superintendent to proceed with the architect and with Tetra Tech, a national environmental consulting firm the district hired to pursue an environmental assessment (EA) for one preferred site called the Cleveland Gate site (often referred to in the meeting as Site 3). Board members and staff emphasized that the EA is intended to determine whether the site can avoid the more extensive environmental impact statement (EIS) process.

Why it matters: Tyndall Academy’s current campus is on leased…