Board hears progress report on high school renovation, schedules gym floor bid and parking-lot work

District staff told the Burlington Community School District Board of Education on Feb. 10 that major renovation work at the high school is advancing and that the district will bid a new gym floor to be installed this summer.

The update covered two capital programs: the ESSER-funded punch-list work at the high school and the multi-phase SAVE project. Staff said Phase 6 of SAVE is nearly complete, with a target of finishing on or about March 14 so the district can use spring break to help move classrooms. Phase 7 work is planned to begin later and continue into summer months.

Officials showed gym-floor drawings and said the bid package is out; a pre-bid meeting was scheduled for the Thursday after the meeting. The bid specifications include a start date in mid-June (documented in the bid packet as a June 13 start) and a completion target before the start of school (the packet lists Aug. 18 as the target completion date). Staff described the gym floor as a project enhancement that was in the original master plan, removed, and now restored because savings and contingencies are available.

Facility staff said they expect contractors to attend the pre-bid meeting and reported visits to comparable installations. Another enhancement category the district is pursuing is concrete and parking-lot repairs around the athletic entrance and courtyard. Staff said approximately $100,000 has been allocated from project enhancements for concrete and parking-lot work; they described the work as phased so the district can address the most urgent safety and ADA-accessibility items first.

ESSER project remarks focused on punch-list items and an upcoming control upgrade that will temporarily take some HVAC and lighting controls offline on a teacher work day; staff said it will be a limited outage affecting some areas (they referenced the weekend date in the meeting but did not provide a clear standard calendar date). On bid-package closeout, staff said they have completed change orders for Bid Package 1 and have submitted documentation to the bond company; one claim against the bond remains to be resolved for final closeout.

Board members and staff discussed sequencing to keep heavy equipment away from fresh concrete and minimize disruption, and they emphasized prioritizing tripping hazards and life-safety repairs in the parking areas. Board members asked about schedule risk from winter weather; staff said they built a small safety margin into the start date and will expect contractors to complete the work during summer months to avoid changes that would require additional funding.

The board did not take a separate vote on these items during the presentation; later in the meeting other formal actions were recorded separately.