Board approves multiple facilities bids, orders and pre-purchases for CTE, Willow and Sexton projects

The Lansing Public School District Board of Education voted on March 20 to approve a set of purchase recommendations and pre-purchases tied to ongoing building projects, including Hill CTE Phase II work and upgrades at Willow and Sexton.

The board voted to approve items labelled A through F (purchase recommendations and pre-purchase of AC equipment) after a staff presentation and questions from trustees. The motion to approve items A through F was moved by Doctor Narvin Nevarez Martinez and seconded by Doctor Kavanaugh; the motion passed (vote tally not specified in the record). Trustee Boyer and others asked for clarifications on line items, encumbrances and whether sales tax or installation were included in the pre-purchase price. Christina (facilities staff) said the pre-bid package excluded work the district already had under contract and that the district achieves savings by pre-purchasing when lead times are long.

Facilities committee members reported progress on multiple construction projects, including a near-complete Mount Hope rebuild and advanced roofing and electrical work at Willow in preparation for solar panels. The committee also described a recommended RFP for commissioning services for new Mount Hope and new Willow schools to verify mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) work.

On Willow's change order discussed in committee, Christina said the work is being handled within the project's contingency budget and that a separate roofing deduct offset much of the increase; the net change to the Mount Hope project was described as about $5,000.

The board discussed applying for universal service (E-rate) funds to cover roughly 802 85% of network and wireless equipment costs for Mount Hope; staff said the district has not been declined for E-rate applications in recent years and that the anticipated local cost after E-rate would be about $14,700.

Trustees asked for additional procurement documentation to be circulated after the meeting, including bid comparisons and clearer timelines on the EV bus project and Hill CTE package. The board approved the purchase recommendations at the meeting; no separate contract award beyond the board motion was executed at the session.