Box Elder board approves architects, construction managers to design 9th‑grade additions at two high schools

The Box Elder School District Board of Education on March 11 approved hiring separate architectural firms and construction-manager/general-contractor (CMGC) teams to design additions that would bring ninth graders into Bear River and Box Elder high schools.

Facilities Director Corey Thompson told the board the district ran a procurement process and interview panel that included principals and two board members, and selected KMA Architects for Bear River High School and NGRA (listed as NJRA in the record) for Box Elder High School. Thompson said separate CMGC firms were recommended for each campus and presented a schedule that would allow the district to seek construction bids in an “optimal bid window” (December–January) to get the best pricing.

Thompson gave a ballpark construction estimate: “Our best guess is between 30 and 35,000,000. So we’re roughly saying between 60 and 70,000,000,” and clarified that the 30–35 million figure was for construction only and did not include architectural design fees or classroom furnishings. He also described typical architect fee rates used in school work: roughly 4–6% of construction cost for architectural fees and 1–2.5% for CMGC fees, depending on project type and market conditions.

Board members voted to approve the recommended firms and gave district leaders authority to negotiate fees. The motion to approve the two architectural firms and authorize Superintendent’s designees to negotiate fees passed after a brief public board vote; one board member registered opposition on grounds that voters had recently rejected a bond proposal that included roughly similar work. A separate motion to approve Westland Construction for Bear River and Hogan Construction for Box Elder as CMGCs likewise passed, with one trustee voting no for the same reason.

Thompson said design will start immediately if the district proceeds; the firms will work with stakeholder representatives from each high school so that the final facility programs reflect both schools’ differing campus configurations and academic needs. He emphasized that the design process can identify components that differ between schools and that the district does not plan to simply split costs evenly if campuses require different work.

The board approved both sets of firms and granted the district business administrator and facilities director authority to finalize fee agreements.

Planning context: the district has been discussing grade‑alignment changes that would reduce the number of student transitions (moving ninth grade into high schools is intended to reduce overall transitions). Thompson said options for other elementary or middle‑school projects remain under discussion and that some previously selected architectural plans (for a western elementary site) would require code updates before reuse.

What’s next: district staff will negotiate fees, begin stakeholder design meetings, and—if the board or taxpayers later authorize construction—seek bids timed to the winter bid window to help control cost volatility.